Hopefully all candidates will attend this League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson (LWVGT) candidate forum. The forum will be moderated by former LWVGT President Shirley Sandelands. Members of the audience will be able to submit questions in writing. Index cards will be made available for questions.
Ward 3 (open seat)
Paul Durham (D)
Gary Watson (I)
Ward 5 (unopposed)
Richard Fimbres (D), incumbent – 2 terms
Ward 6
Mike Cease (G)
Steve Kozachik (D), incumbent – 2 terms
Mariano Rodriguez (R)
Also this week on October 11: Both Ward 3 candidates will be hosted on the Bill Buckmaster radio show (1030 AM on the dial) at 12:30 p.m., www.buckmastershow.com.
AZPM Channel 6 Metro Week will be hosting the City Council candidates on Friday the 13th of October, 6:30 p.m., or online at ww.azpm.org.
Also on this General Election ballot are five propositions:
Prop. 202 and 203 on Reid Park Zoo authorization & implementation of increase in sales tax
Prop. 204 Strong Start Tucson (early childhood education), also a proposed sales tax increase
Prop. 406 Increase in salaries for Mayor (to $69,300/year) and Councilmembers (to $39,300/year)
Prop. 458 Bonds for TUSD (Tucson Unified School District)
Early ballots go out on October 11, 2017, so vote wisely on or before Nov. 7, 2017.
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My concern about Gary is he did not change his affiliation after Trump was elected, but only when the Tucson Rep party rejected him.
. My concern about Paul is he sent out, not 1, but 2, hit pieces about one of his Dem opponents.
Why don’t you ask Gary Watson why he didn’t change earlier from Republican to Independent? His email is watson4citycouncil@gmail.com. As for Paul’s hit pieces against Felicia Chew, I did hear about them, but not living in Ward 3 we did not receive or see them. At a recent forum, Felicia did say that she was surprised at the “negative campaigning” in general, not specific examples.
Oops, I mistyped. Gary Watson’s campaign email is watson4citycouncil@gmail.com. Sorry. Corrected in previous comment too.
That is an excellent observation, Carolyn. It appears that Watson only changed his registration because his party would not support him. I don’t object to having a split City Council, just as I do not think having all of Congress and the Presidency of the same party. We all know Dems will be in the majority anyway, but if a decent Republican runs, is it necessarily catastrophic? Look at how Kozachik worked out.
Councilman Steve K ran first as a Republican and upset incumbent Democrat Nina Trasoff in that Nov. 2009 election. Candidate Gary Watson is correct that people appear to be labeling him as a former Republican and not listening to his views on City of Tucson issues, many of which are nonpartisan.
Can’t wait to get on-air and on-stage with my opponent this week. I am still waiting for him, or someone, to explain what they mean when they say I am really “just a republican”. I know it is ment to be negative like a racial slur or sexist remark, but I don’t know what it means. Are they saying I am a bad person? Are all Republicans evil? This kind of hate and anger and name calling needs to stop and people should be held accountable for what they say. Name calling and finger pointing are not leasership. Understanding, respect and modeling behaviors are qualities of leaders.
Yes, Gary, you and Paul will be together this week at this LWVGT forum, on the radio airwaves via the Buckmaster Show, and also on TV (AZPM Metro Week). From comments on FB, it seems that voters are concerned that you did not change your party affiliation after the Nov. 2016 election.