A Few Common Cents on the Pending Pima County Board of Supervisors Appointment

I just finished watching the League of Women Voters candidate forum for the applicants for appointment to the District Three Supervisorial position on our Board of Supervisors. I was impressed by everyone’s professionalism and enthusiasm for public service. No one stood out as being especially unqualified by temperament, experience, or motive in seeking the position.

My first little contribution to the take-a-penny-jar of political advice likely being offered to our Pima Supervisors considering this appointment to replace our beloved and retiring District 3 Supervisor, Sharon Bronson, is that there seems to be little point in appointing a caretaker for the position who will not run in the 2024 race for the next 4 year term.

The months until the next election are really too short a time span for a caretaker to accomplish all that much in an institution as large and ponderous as Pima County government, even if experienced enough to proverbially “hit the ground running.” Much better in my view to choose one of the three candidates who are clearly committed to running for a full term in 2024. As appealing as it might be to remain “neutral” in the certain primary contest to come by appointing a caretaker, I think that would just be a wasted opportunity.

That one cent eliminates 5 of the 8 applicants, leaving Kristen Randall, April Ignacio, and Jennifer Allen.

It seems to me that this appointment gives the Board an important opportunity to benefit FROM a candidate, with an ancillary benefit TO that candidate as just a secondary consideration.

It is absolutely unquestionable that there are many viewpoints that exist in our Pima County community that are not at the table making decisions for Pima County right now. Most notably among the three candidates, that of our Native tribal citizens is – in my view – the most significant experience deficit of our Board. Gaining that insight and viewpoint FOR the Board seems to me an exciting and important opportunity, and clearly suggests April Ignacio as the interim appointee.

April Ignacio also provides a working class and rural view of our Pima County economy and community. She is an accomplished leader in her own right by dint of her own organizing and energy, but she is not from an executive professional background working a white collar job in her daily life. I think these additional viewpoints she brings to the job are ones far more common among the citizens of Pima County than among the members of the Board of Supervisors. This also gives the Board an exciting opportunity to add still further to the diversity of experiences of those serving on our Board.

If a major focus of the Board is going to be processing and implementing the poverty reduction plan recently adopted – the experience of a rural, working class, Native woman seems to me the most vital and relevant viewpoint among those of the candidates for appointment to add to the Board’s mix of experiences.

I think all three of the women who have indicated that they will run for the nomination have excellent backgrounds, qualifications, skills, and life experiences to bring to the Board, and any of the three would make an excellent Supervisorial representative for District 3. But April Ignacio provides the best opportunity to benefit the Board with several unique and under-represented viewpoints, as well as for the candidate to learn more about the daily work of a Supervisor by doing it.

To the extent that this appointment could give one of the appointees a slight edge in the appointee’s primary campaign, April’s relative inexperience in running for office and/or electoral politics in comparison to the other two candidates helps to even the playing field among the three – more so than would the appointment of Randall or Allen.

Thus, from a standpoint of bringing a greater diversity of experience to the Board, and adding to the strength and competitiveness of the primary contest among the three currently declared candidates for District 3, it seems to me the best appointment choice is April Ignacio. She might herself benefit from the appointment, certainly; but, more importantly, our community in District 3, that of all of Pima County, and the decision-making of the Board itself would benefit from her unique experiences and socio-cultural viewpoints – and the Pima County staff she will interact with and lead might also benefit of her service as interim Supervisor.

So that’s my couple of common cents to the Board: take them for what they are worth…a few cents. And if our readers agree – or disagree – with any of the pennies I’ve offered, let your Supervisors know of your views on the appointment, too.