Last Friday January 15, the PCs (Precinct committee people) in LD 9 selected 3 Democrats to send to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, to choose one for appointment to a vacant LD 9 House seat at today’s regular board meeting. Victoria Steele, twice elected to that position resigned last week to run for CD 1 House, currently held by freshman Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally. (Steele faces opposition in the Dem primary on August 30 for that seat from Dr. Matt Heinz, who also served in the Arizona State House.)
The 3 people nominated were:
Pamela Powers Hannley, managing editor (now part time) of the American Journal of Medicine, blogger here at Blog for Arizona and her own blogsite Tucson Progressive;
Matt Kopec, Pima County Dem Party Treasurer and Council aide to Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich;
and Ted Prezelski, Council aide to Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham, founder of blogsite Rum, Romanism & Rebellion (inactive), who also ran for LD 28 House in the Democratic primary of August, 2010. He is the twin brother of former LD 29 House Rep. Tom Prezelski, who served 2 terms in the Arizona State House.
District 5 Richard Elias thanked all 3 candidates for their commitment to the Tucson community, saying it was a difficult choice, then made the motion to appoint Matt Kopec. 2nd by District 2 Supervisor Ramon Valadez.
Vote was 4-1 with Supervisor Ally Miller voting no, to fill the vacant LD 9 House seat. Kopec will serve through the Nov. 2016 general election. Powers Hannley has already declared she will be running for this seat and said she will run even if not appointed to it. The other House Rep. in this district is 1 term Democrat Dr. Randy Friese, who is running for re-election.
Not my district so in some ways my comments are irrelevant. However, all of us have a right to expect newly appointed legislators to have a program and a direction to pursue in the legislature. Unlike those who get there by means of an election, there is no luxury of time to learn the job ahead of time. He has jumped into the deep end of the pool and now must deliver for his new constituency, which is not just his own district, but all of Pima Co. in this crazy state. Will he pursue education needs from K12 to University, not skipping community colleges along the way? Does he know what he needs to know or will he merely vote as he is directed by the caucus? Steve Meissner wrote a fun mystery about such a hapless individual. I wish Mr. Kopec well during his time in office, because if he succeeds, it will be good for everyone. But he faces a strong primary and a strong opponent in the general. He must be ready. No time to bask in congratulations.
Matt Kopec at age 27 is the youngest member of the AZ House of Rep. He will face a primary Democratic 3 way challenge with our Blog for Arizona’s Pam Powers Hannley and Dr. Randy Friese (the incumbent in LD 9), then Republican Ana Henderson in the general.
Candidate Pam Powers Hannley’s take on this recent appointment: http://tucson-progressive.com/2016/01/19/pima-county-supes-give-ld9-appointment-to-the-men/