ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥

An affidavit of property value and other documents say Bannon bought the 4,865-square-foot home on Jan. 31 for $1.55 million.

Bannon put down $350,000 on the Mediterranean style house, at the end of a street alongside one of the town’s golf courses, the affidavit says. The house had gone on sale Jan. 7.

Neither Bannon nor his spokeswoman returned messages seeking comment.

Bannon has longstanding connections to Southern ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥. He arrived at Biosphere 2 in 1994, working on behalf of chief financier Ed Bass, and became acting CEO of the project that year.

Bannon’s brother, Chris, also became involved in the Biosphere project and settled here. He also owns a home in Oro Valley, county records show.

Steve Bannon, long a leader among right-wing nationalists, became a household name when he took over Donald Trump’s shaky campaign in 2016 and led it to victory. He was ousted from the Trump White House in August 2017, but he has continued to push Trumpism, first at Breitbart ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, and more recently in .

Bannon has made frequent appearances at political events in the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ area. In 2017, he received an award from the Brian Terry Foundation at the Marriott Starr Pass resort, drawing a crowd of protesters.

In 2019, Bannon joined Brian Kolfage and others at Quail Creek in Sahuarita to launch a nationwide fundraising campaign for the We Build the Wall effort to build a privately funded border wall.

Bannon, Kolfage and two others were indicted the next year on felony counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering for misusing the money raised. Trump pardoned Bannon the last day of his presidency.

In October 2021, Bannon was the headliner for a Lincoln Day fundraiser for the Pima County GOP. It took place at the Hilton El Conquistador, not far from Bannon’s new home.

The next month, Bannon was indicted on charges of contempt of Congress, for refusing to comply with a subpoena from the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He still faces those charges.

In January, the that Bannon had sought a loan against a Connecticut property previously owned by a nonprofit he is linked to, the Rule of Law Society, although that group no longer owned the $1.4 million property. Bannon listed that same Connecticut address on the affidavit filed with the Pima County Recorder’s Office Jan. 31.

- Tim Steller </&h6>

Chamber backs ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s Prop. 411

The ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Metro Chamber endorsed Proposition 411 this week, an upcoming ballot initiative that’s expected to generate about $740 million to repair city streets and add roadway safety features like upgraded traffic signals.

Voters will decide in May whether to authorize the initiative’s half-cent sales tax to fund the work over the next 10 years. It’s an extension of a soon-to-expire 2017 ballot measure called

Proposition 101

.

The chamber — an advocacy and community development organization that represents thousands of businesses in the region — is asking ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ans to vote “yesâ€� on the initiative, saying it’s an investment that needs to be made sooner rather than later.

Proposition 411 “will save taxpayer dollars in the long run,� the chamber said in a statement. “The longer we wait to fix our roads, the more expensive the repairs will cost.�

The chamber said increased road repair efforts are critical because 85% of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s residential streets are in “poor or in failing condition,â€� according to ratings by independent road engineers.

The statement went on to say that ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s deteriorating roads also have a significant impact on the local economy and business operations because of issues like shipment delays, which the advocacy group said can be mitigated through Proposition 411’s investment in repavement.

“Improvements to our roads are in direct support of our region’s economic vitality because traffic congestion delays appointments and deliveries,� the organization wrote. “According to a U.S. Chamber study, small, onsite service providers, such as plumbers, schedule fewer service calls, resulting in less revenue. Large businesses, such as UPS, have delivery drivers waiting extra time, resulting in an annual cost of $114 million.�

The chamber’s statement will be included in the city of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s publicity pamphlet ahead of the May 17 special election. The pamphlet will also contain arguments for and against Prop. 411 submitted by numerous other local organizations.—Sam Kmack</&h6>

Contact columnist Tim Steller at tsteller@tucson.com or 520-807-7789. On Twitter: @senyorreporter