Three Tucson City Councilmembers are up for re-election this year, in Ward 3, 5, and 6. Two are scheduled to speak at Democrats of Greater Tucson (DGT) this month, with the third in March.

February 18: Steve Kozachik, Councilmember, Ward 6 – Tucson City Council -Tucson’s newest Democratic Councilmember will discuss, “Tucson’s Gun Buy-Back — The Plan, The Event, What’s Next?”

February 25: Richard Fimbres, Councilmember, Ward 5 – Tucson City Council – “Oh the Changes I’ve Seen In the Tucson City Council”

March 25: Karin Uhlich, Councilmember, Ward 3 – Tucson City Council – “Tucson’s Future”

Democrats of Greater Tucson hosts weekly speakers at their Monday luncheon meetings at Dragon’s View restaurant, 400 N. Bonita Avenue, west of I-10, south of St. Mary’s Road, at high noon. Website: http://tucsondemocrats.org/

Both Kozachik and Fimbres were elected in 2009, winning over their challengers. Then-Republican Kozachik defeated Democratic incumbent Ward 6 Councilmember Nina Trasoff, who had served one term. Democrat Fimbres faced off with Republican political newcomer Shaun McClusky, who later tried to run for Mayor of Tucson in 2011. Fimbres’ wife Mary is a Council aide for Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham and she also worked for former five term Ward 5 Councilmember Steve Leal, who retired in 2009.

Kozachik changed his registration to a Democrat on January 14, 2013, and prior to that was the sole Republican on the Tucson City Council. This is his first appearance at DGT. I reported the breaking news when he announced his change in political parties (click here).

Uhlich is a two term Councilmember, as she first defeated Republican incumbent Ward 3 Councilmember Kathleen Dunbar for that seat in 2005, then in 2009 defeated two political newcomer challengers Republican Ben Buehler-Garcia, and Green Mary DeCamp. (DeCamp ran for Mayor two years later and defeated fellow Green activist Dave Croteau in their Mayoral primary, but lost in the General to Democrat Jonathan Rothschild.)

I heard on the John C. Scott radio talk show that Buehler-Garcia may be considering a rematch with Uhlich. No other contenders have been mentioned to date, but stay tuned.

2/25/13 UPDATES: Republican Ben Buehler-Garcia has filed papers to run in the Ward 3 Council race. Click here for post about Buehler-Garcia’s candidacy.

Councilman Fimbres’ campaign kick off is on March 9, 11 a.m. at El Pueblo Senior Center, 101 W. Irvington Rd.

Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich

Ward 5 Councilmember Richard Fimbres

Ward 6 Councilmember Steve Kozachik

Has it only been a year since UA Associate Director of Athletics for Facilities and Project Management Steve Kozachik was sworn in as the City of Tucson’s Ward 6 Councilmember? He and his staff should be congratulated on their hard work, especially on Rio Nuevo issues.

And Steve had never held public office before, so he had a lot to learn about the City of Tucson’s financial situation. He is a Republican and defeated Democratic incumbent Councilmember Nina Trasoff in November, 2009.

Councilmember Steve Kozachik

Council Office: Ward Six staff
Ann Charles, Council Adminstrative Assistant
Barbara Jacob, Administrative Assistant
Donovan Durband, Council Administrative Assistant
Teresa Olson, Council Administrative Assistant
Christal Ferree, Executive Assistant

Donovan used to write for us at Tucsoncitizen.com (“Urban Durband”) until he was hired by Steve.

Join them for a non-partisan holiday party for all.

Happy Holidays!

Ward 3 Council office is having their holiday event today (no fancy flyer received, just an email notice):

Holiday Event and State of the Ward with Council Member Karin Uhlich -
December 15 – 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Hors d’oeuvres from Pastiche. Ward 3
Council Office, 1510 E. Grant Road. A presentation from the Ward 3
Neighbors’ Alliance will start the evening off with their agenda for
the first quarter of 2011.

Councilmember Karin Uhlich

Council Office: Ward Three Staff
Tamara Prime, Chief of Staff
George Pettit, Council Administrative Assistant
Linda Mehall, Office Supervisor
Lisa Ross, Administrative Assistant

This is Democratic Councilmember Uhlich’s 2nd term in office. She defeated Republican incumbent Ward 3 Councilmember Kathleen Dunbar in 2005, and Republican challenger Ben Buehler-Garcia and Green Party challenger Mary DeCamp in 2009. She is the Executive Director for the Center for Economic Integrity.

Season’s greetings to all.

Attend either or both of these Council offices’ holiday events, and get to know your Councilmembers.

Many people don’t seem to realize there’s a City Council election going on.

The Council of Senior Citizen Organizations (COSCO), a program of Pima Council on Aging, is hosting a forum for all official City Council candidates for Wards 3, 5, and 6 in the upcoming November 3rd general election. This forum will be on Thursday, October 15, 10 a.m. to 12 noon at the Armory Park Senior Center, 220 S. 5th Avenue, downtown between E. 12th and E. 13th Streets, south of Broadway Blvd.

Here’s who’s running:

Ward 3:

Ben Buehler-Garcia (Republican), www.buehler-garcia.com

Mary DeCamp (Green), www.decampcampaign.org

Karin Uhlich (Democrat incumbent), www.karin2009.com

Ward 5:

Richard Fimbres (Democrat), www.fimbresforcouncil.com

Shaun McClusky (Republican), www.voteshaun.com

Ward 6:

Steve Kozachik (Republican), www.votestevek.com

Nina Trasoff (Democrat incumbent), www.trasofffortucson.com

The Council of Senior Citizen Organizations is “committed to providing accurate, timely information about services, legislation and social and human service issues relevant to older adults and their caregivers.” You don’t have to be a senior citizen to show up and find out about these candidates and incumbent Councilmembers at this forum. Check out the candidates’ websites to find out more about them and why they want to represent the residents of Wards 3, 5, and 6.

I hope all the candidates show up to discuss aging issues with voters in our community, as there haven’t been many “meet the candidates” forums this fall. Since this forum is downtown, an obvious question to ask is also about progress on Rio Nuevo!

And remember to vote on November 3rd. The choice is yours.