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Who is Republican Rick Grinnell and why is he running for Mayor?

by on Sep. 09, 2011, under Life, Politics

If you don’t know much about Republican Rick Grinnell, who qualified for a spot on the General Election Mayoral ballot by getting 7,770 write-in votes in the August 30 Primary election, view this KUAT Channel 6 interview (click here). Christopher Conover and Andrea Kelly, KUAT reporters interviewed Grinnell tonight.

Grinnell only entered the race in July of this year (click here for announcement blog), after the Pima County Republican Party failed to qualify a candidate from the petition nominations which had been due on June 1st. (Both potential Republican candidates Ron Asta and Shaun McClusky were disqualified in Superior court actions due to lack of the requisite # of valid signatures).

Grinnell’s website: http://www.grinnell4mayor.com/. His website lists his career highlights:

–Founder and president of Smart United Business Strategies (SUBS), a for-profit venture that fosters political interaction between State and Local government and the entrepreneurial community.
–Marketing executive (Metro Restaurants), business development consultant in retail, service, transportation, construction and hospitality industries.
–Employment specialist providing vocational training and placement for individuals with disabilities and working with business owners to help injured workers return to work.
–Small business owner

Grinnell attended Salpointe Catholic High School and has a degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Since last year he has been a Board Member of the new Rio Nuevo Multi Purpose Facilities District. And reports are that his lobbying firm represents Augusta Resource Corporation, the Canadian firm that is proposing the controversial Rosemont Mine in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson.

Grinnell ran twice before for the Ward 2 Council seat in 1995 and 1999 and lost to Democratic Councilmember Janet Marcus and then Marcus’ aide Carol West (a Democrat who later became an Independent). Years ago he also served on the now-defunct Domestic Violence Commission (along with me and lots of other community members like Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall and Dr. Richard Carmona).

Contact info: email: info@grinnell4mayor.com or phone: 520-370-0529.

He faces Democrat Jonathan Rothschild and Green Mary DeCamp for the job of Mayor of Tucson, in the General Election on November 8, 2011.

More in Tucson Life and Heritage:

Live CD 8 debate on May 23

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  • http://tucsoncitizen.com/tucson-tails karyn

    I watched this segment and Grinnell appeared arrogant. I’m paraphrasing here but he acted like he didn’t have to explain himself because everyone knows who he is. What about newcomers? First time voters? People who never heard of him? I wasn’t impressed.

  • Fraser007

    Look at what you wrote Carolyn! “Failed to qualify a candidate”! Holy cow they cant even get someone on the ballot!… Ron Asta….And another liberal democrat who will win.

    We  are in a heap of trouble. This is going to be fun to watch…………..circle and go down the drain. Oh and today the City Parks had the olenander plants cut away from the Zoo perimeter, and a landscaping company donated the work. …You mean the City Parks crew dont have the tools and trucks to do this, weeks and weeks after the death of that innocent anmal. They had to get a company donate the work. We are in sad shape. Carolyn you wil have mountains of things to write about! Good hunting!

  • RH

    Must be sad to be a right wing tea partier in the southern arizona sea of democrats, if one is so lonely for right wing politicians one could move north to Phoenix and enjoy all the fruits of right wing rule, Arpaio and his pink underwear empire, multi-million dollar civil suit empire paid for by the tax payers! One thing for sure, the right wing is never short on drama and crying and whining, and their love for wearing them cute out of season colonial holloween outfits is always entertaining if nothing else!

  • Don

    Send a message, Tucson—elect a Republican mayor. 
    Tucson has a chance to grab the attention of California entrepreneurs who are sick of their state’s socialism, government mismanagement and overall anti-business attitude.  California’s best and brightest are looking for new homes—let’s encourage them to come here. 
    Democrats per se are now seen as incompetent in economics and hostile to business.  (See, for example, RH’s comments above).  By electing a mayor from the party most closely associated with business, entrepeneurship and common-sense economics—the GOP—Tucson can send a message that it’s open for business…a message that people driving U-Hauls out of California are aching to see.

    • Fraser007

      See what you did..you got RH going.  But thanks for rattling his cage. LOL

      • Don

        You’re welcome, but RH’s cage perpetually rattles. 

  • RH

    Folks who have failed in life, business are seen in them U-Hauls traveling from all over, California, Texas, the tags tell the stories, folks who lost jobs, the funniest thing is the Tucson right wingers who are a minority just cannot fathom the fact nationally GOP only accounts for 22% of the electorate! In Arizona about 35%, neither does this make a majority or massive movement especially on the naitonal level!:-) The U-Hauls I see on highway tickle me, remind me of the old classic movie “Grapes of Wrath”, where all them folks who lost their jobs, homes, farms ended up migrating to various places, setting up them infamous “republican Herbert Hoover….Hoverville shanty towns”, yes the GOP has successes, driving the middle class to poverty in 1928…..Deja Vu 2008 another GOP genius helped collapse the economy, over saw massive spending, tax cuts to the only folks who have done well in this economic time, them 2% richest, they don’t drive vehicles towing U-Hauls, they ride in limo’s, private planes, yachts and have multiple mansions, one can bet our local yokel here on this site is one of them “paper rich republicans” who sits on so much debt he really thinks he is rich, doesn’t matter whether his home is upside down/right side up mortgage, the lender will foreclose on him just as quck if he fails to pay them mortgage payments! And the repo man will tow that pretty vehicle if he don’t keep them payments made!:-) I so love the paper rich right wingers they truly are suffering from delusions of grandeur that they cannot loose a job, home, auto and end up just like the rest of folks who they are a member of, whether they wish to admit it or not, 98% of Americans are two pay/dividend/annuity/pensions checks away from homelessness and poverty!:-) I guess the old saying “ignorance is bliss applies for the right wing paper rich!:-)

    • O-dog

      RH laughed so hard during The Grapes of Wrath that popcorn came out of his nose.

    • Don

      You can bet, RH, but you’d be wrong.  My family’s cars are paid for, and have been for years.  It’s Democrats like yourself who can’t handle money.

  • RH

    Arizona had a democrat governor, attorney general proving this state is not eternally red or blue, but divided by thirds, about 1/3rd GOP, 1/3rd Democrat & balance 1/3rd independents and minority parties, which means neither Democrats nor Republicans own this state, they have to convince the 1/3rd who don’t register with them to vote with them, the problem with the GOP is they have the old plantation mentality, they think they own the 1/3rd who don’t register as Republicans if the 2/3rds of this state who do not register as republicans caucus against them they loose, at best its like a school yard merry go around, this cycle its GOP next who knows!:-)

  • RH

    http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2011/09/09/20110909maricopa-sheriffs-employees-plea-deals.html Now this is prime example of how right wingers are oblivious to reality, some of poor ole Arpaio’s finest caught in some not so funny scandals, if this is how the GOP dominated northern part of Arizona is run, thank god they are there and not here in the south!;-)

    • Don

      You’re right, O-dog…I did punch RH’s buttons.  He is cute, isn’t he?

  • Carolyn Classen
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