Over these past weeks, Tucson Weekly senior writer Jim Nintzel, host of Zona Politics (TV show on Sunday mornings at 8 a.m.) interviewed all the candidates running for election in the Tucson City Council races. Here’s a recap of the debates, in case you don’t know whom to vote for:
Ward 1 on Sunday Sept. 13: incumbent, 2 term Democrat Regina Romero vs.
Republican challenger Bill Hunt:
Ward 2 on Sunday Sept. 20: incumbent 1 term Democrat Paul Cunningham vs. Republican challenger Kelly Lawton:
Tucson Weekly writer Jim Nintzel got the scoop on these endorsements from the Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce for the upcoming Tucson City Council races: http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2015/09/25/tucson-metro-chamber-endorses-cunningham-scott-and-burkholder-in-council-races
They did NOT endorse either candidate in Ward 1: Democratic Councilmember Regina Romero seeking her 3rd term, or Republican challenger Bill Hunt (political newcomer)
Ward 2: the Metro endorsed current 1 term Democratic Councilmember Paul Cunningham, over his Republican challenger Kelly Lawton (political newcomer)
From the Star editorial about Jen:
Jen Darland is running for the first time after years of involvement at her children’s school and co-founding the advocacy group Arizona Education Network.
She participated in two state efforts to increase education funding, including the successful Proposition 100 in 2010, which provided a temporary 1-cent sales tax for public education and other services.
The Star says this about Betts:
Putnam-Hidalgo ran for the board two years ago, as did three other 2014 candidates. Despite her loss, she still kept up her regular attendance at board meetings. She’s also been actively involved in school site councils, served as a community representative and taught English as a second language to parents.
She speaks with enthusiasm of participating in parent leadership training through Voices for Education as a starting point for her advocacy. She describes herself as a “bulldog” when it comes the education.
Betts is a community activist and P/T teacher (“parent, volunteer and advocate for public schools”), and Darland calls herself a “volunteer parent education advocate” at TUSD. Both candidates have children attending TUSD schools.
The Tucson Weekly has been sponsoring its Best of Tucson contest since 1987. This year–for the first time ever– the contest not only gives you six ways to vote for the best pizza in town, but it also allows you to vote for the Best Blog in Tucson. With the Arizona Daily Star’s dramatic reduction in staff a few years ago and consequent reduction in original content, the final death of the Tucson Citizen, and the recent sale of the Tucson Weekly and Inside Tucson Business, news from blogs is increasingly important in the Tucson media market.
We here at Blog for Arizona hope you will vote for us as the Best Blog– before the April 30, 2014 deadline. Why vote for us?
Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Blog for Arizona as Best Blog
10. Blog for Arizona is a statewide political blog that is not afraid to step on the toes of the rich and powerful.
9. Blog for Arizona has a searchable calendar, with political and community events from around the state.
8. Blog for Arizona is not the mouthpiece for any political party or candidate. Yes, we grouse about Republicans and Tea Partiers more than Democrats or Progressives, but just ask the Blue Dogs, and they’ll tell you that we’re not easy on them either. We care about integrity, and we’re not beyond holding anyone’s feet to the fire.
7. Blog for Arizona has 11 seasoned bloggers and several contributors– including three women. This blog has more than one voice. Yes, Blog for Arizona has a decidedly progressive tone, but we don’t always agree with each other– which is a good thing because that gives you– the reader– more information upon which to make wise decisions.
6. Blog for Arizona has new content throughout the day– every day. With so many authors, BfAZ publishes as many as 10 new stories per day.
Business friendly? Tucson’s been there, done that, … and got the t-shirt at Goodwill. As former City Councilwoman Molly McKasson said, we put all of our eggs in the development basket and look where it got us.
Twenty percent of Tucsonans are living in poverty.
Thirty percent of Tucson children are living in poverty.
Fifty-two percent of Tucson children live in a one-parent household.
Seventy-one percent of Tucson Unified School District students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. (Statistics from the Arizona Daily Star.)
How did we get here?
The Back Story on Tucson’s Poverty Rate
In a November 2011 “What If?” article published just a few days before the last mayoral election, former Arizona Daily Star reporter Josh Brodesky interviewed activist, writer, and artist McKasson and mused about how Tucson would be different today if she had beaten former Mayor Bob Walkup back in their 1999 match-up.
I remember that election well. Walkup– a former Hughes Aircraft executive and former head of the Greater Tucson Economic Council– was the quintessential business candidate. Bankrolled by Tucson’s business community, Walkup’s campaign successfully painted McKasson as a flighty hippie artist whose no-growth, tree-hugging, water-conserving policies would be bad for Tucson (ie, bad for business and bad for growth). Meanwhile, Walkup was championed as a business savvy savior who successfully ran a business, and, therefore, (of course!) could successfully run a city.
As mayor, the glad-handing, ribbon-cutting Walkup promoted business development, Rio Nuevo, and ill-conceived, taxpayer-funded private projects like the downtown hotel (which went down in flames, thank goodness). Except for his pro-business, pro-growth cheerleading, Walkup was a do-nothing mayor who depended upon defense funding, the occasional TREO call center moving to Tucson, and housing boom construction jobs to bolster Tucson’s chronically low-wage tourist economy. The Tucson Weekly’s endorsement of McKasson (here) eerily predicts what happened to Tucson under three terms of Walkup. Read it and more background and new ideas after the jump.