Michael Hicks

TUSD Governing Bd. candidate forum on Sept. 29

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Organizers have informed me that eight of the nine candidates seeking the two Tucson Unified School District governing board seats will be present at this forum. Only candidate Francis Saitta declined, as he has done the others. Incumbents for these seats are President Adelita Grijalva (3 terms) and Michael Hicks (1 term), who are both … Read more

5 of 7 Democratic TUSD board candidates to speak at DGT

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Democrats of Greater Tucson – DGT (www.tucsondemocrats.org) is hosting a forum for Democrats running for the TUSD Governing Board in the General Election of Nov. 2014.  9 candidates are seeking two seats on the board, currently held by incumbents President Adelita Grijalva and Michael Hicks.

Speaking on Monday September 15, at 12 noon at Dragon’s View restaurant, 400 N. Bonita Ave. are registered Democrats:   Rene Bernal, Don Cotton, Jen Darland, Adelita Grijalva, and Betts Putnam-Hidalgo.  Also invited but not attending: Miguel Cuevas (former TUSD school board member) and Francis Saitta.

Although this is a non-partisan race, the 9 candidates’ political party registration is known in the community.  Candidates Michael Hicks and Debe Campos-Fleenor have been speaking at the Pima County Republican Club, and are listed on the candidate page of the Pima County Republican Party, www.pimagop.org.

Bd. member and President Adelita Grijalva has been endorsed by the Tucson Education Assn. and the Tucson Metro Chamber.  Political newcomer  Jen Darland was also endorsed by the latter group. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) is also supporting Grijalva and Darland.

Current TUSD Board member Mark Stegeman (now registered as an Independent, formerly a Democrat) is supporting fellow board member Michael Hicks and candidate Debe Campos-Fleenor, an insurance agent.

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First TUSD Governing Board candidates’ forum

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9 candidates are seeking the 2 positions open on this voluntary board for Tucson Unified School District, currently held by President Adelita Grijalva and Michael Hicks. Read more in my previous post on these 9 candidates, running in a nonpartisan race. https://blogforarizona.net/whos-running-for-tusd-governing-bd-in-2014/ Another forum coming up on Monday September 15 at Democrats of Greater Tucson … Read more

Who’s running for TUSD Governing Bd. in 2014

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Today was the filing deadline for those interested in serving on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board.  Nine  people filed by the 5 p.m. deadline, so here’s the cast of candidates to choose from in the November 4th general  election.  This is a nonpartisan race for 2 school board members (unpaid volunteers). The two incumbents are Adelita Grijalva and Michael Hicks, both running for re-election. In alphabetical order from last name:

Rene Bernal , applied software engineer at Honeywell, political newcomer, www.tusdsbernal.com

Debe Campos-Fleenor, owner of financial/ insurance agency, ran before in 2012. www.debefortusd.com

Don Cotton, self-employed businessman, ran before in 2012, father of 2 TuSD students, www.cottontusd.com

Miguel Cuevas, former TUSD board member, elected in  2008, lost in 2012 (came in 4th for 3 seats, out of a pool of 12 candidates), project coach at AFNI, www.votemiguelcuevas.com, https://www.facebook.com/Miguelcuevasfortusd

Jenifer Darland, policical newcomer, community activist, mother of 2 TUSD children, www. darlandfortusd.com, https://www.facebook.com/DarlandforTUSD

Adelita Grijalva, current board member and President, has served since 2004, http://www.adelitafortusd.com/, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Adelita-Grijalva-for-TUSD-School-Board/130007817047419, daughter of CD 3 Congressman Raul Grijalva, mother of 2 TUSD students

Michael Hicks, current board member, elected in 2010, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michael-Hicks-for-2014-TUSD-School-Board-Member/112861325429566, father of 2 TUSD students

Betts Putnam-Hidalgo,  community activist & part time teacher, ran before in 2012, mother of son at TUSD school, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Stand-with-betts-for-TUSD/204287006336384

Francis Saitta,  Pima Community College adjunct math/ science teacher, ran unsuccessfully for PCC Governing Bd. in 2012 (District 5)

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MAS: Use critical thinking skills when reading the news

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Truthmeter-3 ar-nolayers-sm

by Pamela Powers Hannley

The state of news in Southern Arizona is fractured. Tucson's former flagship newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, was loping along like a dinosaur trying to outrun an asteroid– until the owners fired dozens of writers and other staff last summer. Now a collection of wire stories and full-page ads, this dinosaur of the print era is barely viable.

Pesky blog sites like this one report the news while the newspaper is in typesetting. Still, a handful of beat reporters file regular stories, and the editorial page occasionally includes an opinion piece not written by an out-of-town pundit.  

One of those beat reporters, the Star's Alexis Huicochea covers education– including the story too tough to die– the ongoing tug of war known as the Mexican American Studies Program (MAS). Along side, Huicochea's many articles in the Star are hundreds of blog posts by the Three Sonorans (pro-MAS), the Arizona Daily Independent (anti-MAS), and many others, including two Blog for Arizona bloggers– Dave Safier and me.  

There are so many voices shouting and writing their opinions on MAS that to be truly informed, one must read multiple versions of the same story– with a critical eye– to understand the whole picture.

The saga continues after the jump.