The Daily Agenda: Newcomers dominate in small town elections
Incumbents prevailed in most Pima County races ... But rookies are shaking things up in South Tucson, Oro Valley and Marana ... Embattled dog rescue confirms closure.
Most of last week’s election coverage focused on big-ticket races at the state and local level, some of which were decided in the primary election.
But council races in Marana, Oro Valley and South Tucson were also decided last week, and the newcomers weren’t messing around.
In all three jurisdictions, newcomers dominated the ballot, replacing several incumbents, some of whom were long-tenured.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s office reported Sunday that a handful of ballots remain to be counted in Pima County and as of Friday, a few of the races remained too close to call.
Here’s what we know so far:
South Tucson
South Tucson welcomed three new faces to the council, including married couple Dulce Jimenez and Pablo Robles, and local gallery owner Melissa Brown-Dominguez.
Voters also decided to keep Mayor Paul Diaz on for another term, but Vice Mayor Herman Lopez wasn’t able to secure enough votes to keep his seats.
Jimenez and Robles led the vote count Friday with 22% and 21% respectively. The couple ran a joint campaign and canvassed regularly.
Robles campaigned on a platform of public safety, affordable housing and rebranding South Tucson to portray the beauty and culture the 1.2 square mile city has to offer.
He remembers being a student at Northern Arizona University with Jimenez, relying on food stamps, working twelve-hour shifts and struggling.
“I refuse to expect the next generation of kids from the barrio to struggle like we did,” Robles said in a statement to the Agenda. “I see this as a way to show those outside this city what we are capable of. A way to show that, after everything this city and its people have struggled with, and in spite of current struggles, here we stand. And we will endure.”
Jimenez campaigned on the promise to reinvest in fire, police and public works to make the community safer. She also looks to grow the economy by supporting local and small businesses, telling the Agenda that she looks forward to continuing the conversations she started with community members and working towards positive change and a greater sense of community.
Brown-Dominguez came in third, earning 18% of the votes, and Diaz, who has been on the council since 2014, received 13%.
Brown-Dominguez said during her campaign that she would work to address economic disparities in South Tucson and give residents the opportunity to thrive through accessible essential services, sustainable urban planning and advocating for social justice.
New council members will be sworn in after November’s General Election, when South Tucson voters will decide on a bond to fund the fire department. After the members are sworn in, the group will choose a mayor and appoint officials into other positions.
Oro Valley
In Oro Valley, newcomer Elizabeth Robb led the pack with 28% of the vote, as of Friday. Robb, a veteran of the Army and National Guard, campaigned on a platform of responsible growth and land use, protecting water resources, keeping the community safe and preserving recreational open space.
Fellow challenger Mary Murphy took the second open council spot with 27% of the vote, posting a statement to her Facebook page Thursday, thanking voters for their support and reiterating her campaign pillars.
“Now it's time to roll up our sleeves, and get down to the hard work of ensuring the quality of our community, the fiscal stability of our Town, and the prosperity of all our residents,” she wrote in the statement.
Murphy said during her campaign that she was focused on maintaining transparency and improving the availability of council members, as well as advocating to make sure that Oro Valley remains property tax-free.
With less than 557 votes separating the third and fourth-place finishers, the race for the final seat was too close to call Friday.
Incumbent council member Harry “Mo” Greene was in third place with 22% of the vote and fellow incumbent Tim Bohen trailed with 21% of the vote.
Greene didn’t respond to our questions, but said in an interview with an Oro Valley blog that he was focused on water, transportation and increasing housing availability for seniors.
Bohen, who also didn’t respond to our questions, made headlines earlier this year when he was censured by the mayor and council for bad behavior in the community on several different occasions.
Marana
Rookie Patrick Cavanaugh secured a spot on the Marana Town Council, earning 34% of the vote. But in another race that was too close to call Friday, only a handful of votes separated the second and third place finishers, which will determine who gets the remaining seat.
Newcomer Melissa Zupi, who garnered numerous endorsements, was trailing five-term council member Roxanne Ziegler by just 17 votes.
Cavanaugh attributed his success to his extensive conversations with residents, saying he talked to hundreds of community members.
He said infrastructure problems, particularly on Cortaro, Tangerine, and Marana roads, are Marana’s most pressing issues, emphasizing the complications tied to Interstate 10 and the Union Pacific Railroad, which can cause significant delays and even obstruct emergency services.
Ziegler said transportation was the town’s biggest challenge, due to Marana’s rapid growth. She said that as part of the recently adopted 2040 General Plan, the town is creating an updated 20-year transportation plan that reflects the community’s evolving needs.
Mayor Ed Honea ran unopposed and will continue his extensive career in public service, adding to his record of 37 years across three separate terms on the council.
The mayor and council oversees an annual budget of $400 million, with the town planning to invest more than $500 million in various capital projects in the coming years.
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Making it official: Embattled local dog rescue Lucy’s Hope Sanctuary and Rescue officially announced its closure yesterday, a little more than a week after Caitlin reported that the group was ceasing operations, despite bringing in nearly $2 million over the past few years. Lucy’s Hope said in a message on Facebook that they would not be “conducting mass euthanasia” of any of the remaining resident dogs, who will be evaluated by shelters in Pinal and Pima County “to receive the best possible assistance.” The post said the closure was the result of “the immense challenges of behavior rescue compounded by unforeseen circumstances.”
Power play: Tucson Electric Power Co. officials discussed their long-term power plans last week, as TEP and other utility companies shift away from coal-fired power plants, the Arizona Daily Star’s David Wichner writes. But TEP couldn’t say how much of that power will be replaced by natural gas and how much will be renewable energy, saying the matter was still up for debate. The transition away from coal is well underway and will continue over the next decade, officials said.
Take it to court: Santa Cruz County is suing its former treasurer, Liz Gutfahr, alleging that she embezzled nearly $40 million in public funds during her 11 years in office, the Nogales International’s Angela Gervasi writes. The board of supervisors announced the lawsuit Friday, saying in a statement that they’d do everything in their power to avoid impact to the county’s day-to-day operations and will continue to provide updates on the situation. The money was taken mostly from area school districts, with officials telling the NI that they weren’t informed about the missing money until a closed-door meeting was accidentally broadcast on YouTube.
Big bust: Federal officials seized a record-breaking half-ton of fentanyl at the Lukeville border crossing into Southern Arizona last month, the Tucson Sentinel’s Paul Ingram writes. About 4 million pills weighing more than 1,000 pounds were discovered stashed in a trailer driven by a 20-year-old Arizona man. The bust is the single largest fentanyl seizure in U.S. Customs and Border Protection history, officials said Thursday.
Slow rolling: The U.S. Air Force and Arizona National Guard are dragging their feet in submitting plans for cleanup of the Tucson International Airport Superfund Site to the EPA, Arizona Public Media’s Katya Mendoza reports. The EPA issued an order in May, demanding the groups address the threat of PFAS in groundwater, and issued a 30-day extension last month. But the department of defense is continuing to contest the original order. citing a lack of urgency and threat to human health.
Weighing in: Laura Conover might have secured a second term as Pima County Attorney, but the community is the real winner here, due to Conover’s pivot from punitive, punishment-based justice to rehabilitation, according to a Star editorial. The move and reduction in crime it’s caused is worth celebrating, the editorial says, but there are still areas where the office can better meet the community’s needs, including better supporting domestic abuse survivors.
765: The estimated number of Pima County ballots that remained uncounted as of yesterday, according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
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