“I’m a working-class, union-proud candidate running to serve working people like you, your families, and your neighbors. Running for public office while continuing to work full-time is a bold undertaking and also a whole lot of work, but it’s also incredibly energizing to connect with people like you who care so deeply about Tucson’s neighborhoods and communities. I can’t do this on my own, but I can do it with just a little help from you and your friends here in the city.”
Those words recorded and stated in an April 29, 2021, social media post by Tucson City Council Ward Six Candidate Miranda Schubert captures what she wants to do if she is elected to serve on the council this summer.
She wants to work for working people and advance their interests.
Schubert, endorsed by Pima Community College Board Member Catherine “Cat” Ripley, CWA Locals 7000 Union Representative Linda Hartfield, and Cero Co-Founders Val Timin, and Nelene Deguzman, is an on-air DJ at KXCI (currently on hiatus), and also the creator and host of Ladytowne, a live show that champions women’s issues.
She is also an academic advisor at the University of Arizona.
Ms. Schubert and her partner Amanda are active participants in the Tucson Community.
She graciously took the time to discuss her candidacy to serve in Ward Six on the Tucson City Council.
The questions and her responses are below.
1) Please tell the readers two reasons you would like to serve on the Tucson City Council.
- “To fight for working people and families: I’m running because it shouldn’t be so difficult to get by as a regular working-class person in this city, but it’s getting harder every year. It’s time to take bold and decisive action to address the challenges we face. Tucson needs more folks in leadership who clearly and decisively value people over property and profit.
- We need all hands on deck: We are facing the public health crisis of racism, a climate emergency, and a growing eviction tsunami, all of which are the result of not addressing root causes on a systemic level. It will take all of us working together to find solutions, and that starts with leadership that understands how intimidating and inaccessible it can be for some people – often those we need to hear from the most – to engage in our civic processes.”
2) Please tell the readers two qualifications you have for serving on the Tucson City Council.
- “Fifteen years (and still going strong) of serving as an academic advisor in higher ed— What I’ve learned in my time as an academic advisor is that bureaucracies are intimidating. It’s hard to depend on a system that intimidates you and, in many cases, wasn’t designed with your needs in mind. I help people navigate a massive bureaucracy to get the resources they need every day. I’m someone you can trust to answer the phone and respond with empathy and understanding.
- A strong background in grassroots, community, and labor organizing: I have been Operations Head on the Board of Directors of the non-profit, volunteer-driven Tucson Roller Derby for the past five years. I also started actively organizing with the Coalition for Academic Justice at the UA (CAJUA) throughout last summer and then helped to launch UCW AZ Local 7065, the union at the UA, this past fall. I am also the creator, producer, and host of local feminist talk/ variety show, Ladytowne, which started as a radio show in 2015 and evolved into a live show in 2017.”
3) What are at least three issues you would like to work on if elected to the Tucson City Council?
- “Racial justice
- Housing affordability/ homelessness
- Gentrification/ displacement”
4) Is there anything not covered in the first three questions that you would like the readers to know? Please explain.
“Many of us share the feeling that we are an inflection point: uphold the status quo or rebuild our systems to be more equitable and just. As a community organizer, union sister, educator, and an ambitious, queer, Asian American woman, I have been disrupting the status quo my whole life. The Clean Elections public matching funds program is the only way a working-class candidate like me has a fighting chance. Our grassroots, people-powered campaign is currently working to collect enough donations of $10 or more from city residents to qualify!”
Please click on the below social media sites for more information on Miranda Schubert and her campaign to serve in Ward Six in the Tucson City Council.
Facebook: https://www.
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