The Daily Agenda: Election upset on Tucson’s south side
Incumbents won big in Pima County’s primary … With the exception of a south side justice of the peace ... Tucson park is getting a new name.
Pima County’s primary election went down pretty much the way everyone expected, with incumbents sweeping the ballot in most of the races.
The notable exception was the Precinct 9 Justice of the Peace race, where challenger Renee Ann Garza beat Judge Kendrick Wilson by a wide margin, with 66% of the vote.
We’ve reported in the past that incumbents almost always win and especially in the primaries, but what makes this victory even more surprising is that Wilson had three times the money to spend on his campaign as his opponent.
Campaign finance reports show Wilson’s campaign brought in $35,809, a steep contrast to Garza’s $11,382. Nearly $10,000 of that money came from personal loans Garza made to her own campaign. She received five donations totalling $1,600, with one of those donations piquing our interest (we’ll get to that later.)
Wilson seemed to have the upper hand, not only as a well-funded incumbent, but also with his campaign strategy.
Unlike Garza, he had a campaign website that touted endorsements from notable figures like County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva, former Pima County public defender Joel Feinman and former Arizona House minority leader Andrés Cano.
There were campaign signs sprinkled throughout the city and Wilson supporters penned letters of support for local news outlets like the Arizona Daily Star and Arizona Bilingual News.
Some promoted Wilson as the obvious choice, with his extensive years of legal experience and work in the community. Before he was appointed in 2019, he worked as a prosecutor handling domestic violence and animal abuse cases. He also worked for the Pascua Yaqui tribe and the Pima County Attorney’s Office before that, according to his campaign website. He ran unopposed and was reelected in 2020.
“Judge Kendrick Wilson stands as the unequivocal choice for re-election, embodying the principles of judicial integrity, experience, and dedication to justice,” Raymond Valenzuela wrote in a special to the Arizona Daily Star. “His opponent, Renee Ann Garza, simply does not measure up to the high standards set by Judge Wilson.”
Valenzuela said Garza lacked the “depth of judicial experience” and does not have a proven track record, “falling short of the rigorous standards demanded of our judiciary.”
It’s important to note that it’s not required to be a lawyer or to have any legal experience for the job. And in fact, many of Pima County’s justices of the peace aren’t lawyers.
We reached out to Wilson several times, seeking comment, but he didn’t respond to any of our requests.
While Garza doesn’t have the legal experience, she says that she understands the criminal justice system and the community she’ll represent. Precinct 9 includes the University of Arizona, South Tucson, some parts of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and stretches west to parts of the Tohono O’Odham Nation.
During her campaign, she pointed to her Mexican and Yaqui ancestry, noting that her family has been here for generations and that she grew up in a house built by her grandfather. She said that the position should be held by someone who lives and was born in the community.
Garza was unavailable for an interview, but she was able to provide some insight into what she believes led to her sweeping victory.
“My campaign was based on a combination of having owned a business for twenty years within my precinct,” Garza said in an email to the Agenda. “During those years I had the pleasure of meeting many people and connecting with other business owners. I am also a graduate of Pueblo High School.”
Garza is the longtime owner of Velvet Hair Studio, located on South 12th Avenue.
It’s unclear what inspired her to run for justice of the peace, but Garza has ties to Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace and former state Sen. Charlene Pesquiera.
In 2016, during her first run for justice of the peace, Pesquiera posted a photo to Facebook showing her campaign sign in the window of Garza’s salon.
“I am so happy and proud to be supported by Velvet Hair Studio. Renee Garza, a successful Latina business owner of 16 years, supports my candidacy for Justice of the Peace,” she wrote. “Thank you Renee for your support, and for making everything beautiful.”
Pesquiera went on to win the race and has been reelected twice since, beating out Pima County Sheriff Detective Michael Buglewicz in this year’s primary.
And that notable contribution to Garza’s campaign we previously mentioned? It came from Paul Eckerstrom, an assistant legal defender and Pesquiera’s fiancé.
“Having strong community roots is relevant and certainly contributed to my campaign,” Garza told the Agenda. “I also understand the needs of the community because I have lived in the precinct all my life. I am humbled and proud to serve.”
Her message clearly resonated with voters and starting in January, the south side will be represented by one of its own, since Garza is running unopposed in the General Election.
Susan's work with the Tucson Agenda is supported by the Local News Initiative of Southern Arizona, a fund of the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona.
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A more positive presence: Residents of the Sugar Hill area of Tucson want to change the name of Mansfield Park to Doris J. Thompson Park, the Arizona Daily Star’s Sierra Blaser reports. Back in the 1960s, Monte Mansfield included provisions in deeds that prevented anyone with African heritage from owning property. Thompson, on the other hand, mentored many neighborhood children, often helping them out in the park after school. The neighborhood association hopes to get the park’s name changed by Thanksgiving.
Bad news, good news: The Tucson Unified School District Governing Board is meeting today to figure out what to do about a state Supreme Court ruling that could cost the district more than $8 million in desegregation funds, Tucson Sentinel columnist Blake Morlock writes in his roundup of this week’s local government meetings. On the bright side, the district is going to get $23 million more from the state than they expected.
More options: A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on how cities can deal with homelessness could open up possibilities for Tucson, and not all of them have to be draconian, Star columnist Tim Steller writes. Cities like Tucson aren’t required to throw unhoused people in jail, but they could do more to protect the interests of people who deserve to use public spaces, like Santa Rita Park.
Back up and running: Rural and tribal communities are going to start getting an infusion of infrastructure funding from the Greater Arizona Development Authority, Arizona Public Media’s Paola Rodriguez reports. Gov. Katie Hobbs announced she is reactivating the organization for the first time in 10 years, which includes an expected $50 million to $100 million over the next year from the Arizona Finance Authority. During the 17 years it operated, the development authority issued $574 million in bonds to support 84 projects throughout the state.
Covering lots of ground: Tucson City Manager Tim Thomure chatted with Curt and Bill Buckmaster on Friday about large companies pumping water in Southern Arizona, city officials debating whether to create a publicly owned electric utility, what the city is doing about homelessness, and more.
Pros and cons: Environmental advocates and a business coalition are urging people to attend a community meeting tomorrow to discuss an air quality permit for the Copper World mining project, the Sentinel’s Paul Ingram reports. On one side, the Save the Scenic Santa Ritas Association wants to highlight the environmental damage the mine could cause, while the Southern Arizona Business Coalition wants people to talk about the economic benefits of the mine.
5,233: The number of votes Renee Ann Garza received in the race for Precinct 9 Justice of the Peace. That’s 2,479 more votes and almost twice as many as incumbent Kendrick Wilson’s 2,754 votes.
We have to stop electing JPs and constables. Sometimes we get lucky and a qualified candidate wins, but mostly what we get is incompetence, like a JP who shoots at a man dumping trash in his yard, or a constable who is the subject of a protective order.