Mary DeCamp

Mary DeCamp, who ran against Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich in 2009 has also entered the race for Mayor of Tucson. She has taken out the papers at the Tucson City Clerk’s office an has gathered 23 signatures (between 17 and 32 signatures were needed for a Green candidate) before the June 1st deadline.

Mary got 4429 votes (6.16 % of the vote) in the Ward 3 race in 2009, next to Democratic Councilmember Uhlich’s 46.98% of the votes and Republican Ben Bueller-Garcia’s 46.74% of the votes. She is a community activist and Code Pink member, received her B.A. in Interdisciplinary Sciences and Master of Arts in Communication from the U of A, and has been a college instructor. Mary is currently employed as a Connector with Pro-Neighborhoods, “organizing neighborhood communities to adopt healthier diet and exercise choices”.

Her entry into the race could lead to a Green Party primary on August 30, as fellow Green Party candidate Dave Croteau entered the race a few weeks ago. He ran for Mayor before in 2007 against Mayor Bob Walkup and got 28.08% of the vote compared to Mayor Walkup’s 71.20 %. There are 636 registered Greens in the City of Tucson. (Another Green candidate Jon McLean entered this race for a few months but withdrew in May due to problems with his voter registration, and endorsed Republican Shaun McClusky.)

Mary will be announcing her candidacy on June 7 in front of the Tucson City Hall at 1 p.m. Stay tuned for further announcements from her campaign. She can be reached at mdecamp@q.com or at 520-408-4974, and her campaign manager is Mike Cease at 520-327-4705.

Sat. Feb. 26, from 7 p.m. ’til we drop @ Preloved Chica Clothing, 102 E. 31st street, next door to Fortin de las Flores, which fellow blogger 3 Sonorans wrote about back in December (click here).

The “Girls Night Out!” event will feature shopping, sipping margaritas, enjoying scrumptious desserts, fabulous door prizes, and “por supesto” (for sure) dancing, plus stand up comedy by Stephanie Howard. Adults only please, with a suggested donation of $5.00.

I dropped by yesterday for a preview of the gently used resale shop and the new advocacy for women “action center” Fortin de las Flores in the same building. The goal of Fortin de las Flores is “supporting families and creating leaders for social justice today.”

The open house/luncheon was attended by Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich, former Ward 5 Councilmember Steve Leal (now a talk show host on KJLL 1330 AM radio), and representatives from the City of Tucson Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, House of Neighborly Services, Center for Economic Security, CODAC Behavioral Health Services Inc., Sky Island Alliance, and Tucsoncitizen.com.

Mission statement:

Fortín de las Flores is a grassroots membership-based organization dedicated to promoting civil, economic and human rights of women throughout Southern Arizona. As an action center we work to create alternatives to confront the poverty and violence that plagues our families as well as maintaining a commitment to celebrating the positive and healthy accomplishments found within our community

The four program coordinators of this new organization are women activists with diverse backgrounds in student counseling, domestic violence, organizing, politics, and immigrant rights. These four are Lea Tanya Koppa, Lorena Howard, Maritza Broce, and Rosalva Fuentes, who can all be reached at 520-795-3460, or info@fortindelasflores.org. Website: www.fortindelasflores.org (under construction), mailing address is P.O. Box 77096, Tucson 85703. Bilingual services in Spanish/English will be available.

The location of this action center/soon-to-open resale shop is on the SE corner of E. 31st and S. 6th Avenue in South Tucson, five blocks south of the Sam Lena-South Tucson branch library. Lots of free parking in the back parking lot (towards the south).

Donations of new & gently-used items are needed right now – especially working women’s clothing, boys’ clothes, and books for all ages. Memberships are also available starting at $30, plus monetary donations to “directly help women build a better future for themselves and their families.” Please help these women get this agency/resale shop started, to help other sisters in need.

Who filed to run for the 2 seats on this board this year? Each term is for four years. With 2 openings, these are the names below of candidates who gathered about 400 signatures to be on the Nov. 2nd ballot, by the deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday August 4th, per the office of Linda Arzoumanian, School Superintendent.

1. Dr. Cassandra Bolden, Program Facilitator (educational programs) of Tucson Urban League
2. Adelita Grijalva, incumbent board member (has served 2 terms since 2003)
3. Michael Hicks, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Manager for City of Tucson, Dept. of Transportation
4. Miguel Ortega, Council Administrative Assistant to Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich (formerly Chief of Staff)
5. Armand Salese, J.D., attorney in private practice, ran for this office before in November, 2004

Current board members:
–President : Judy Burns (term expires 12/31/2012)
–Clerk: Miguel Cuervas (term expries 12/31/2012)
–Bruce Burke, J.D. (not seeking re-election this year)
–Adelita Grijalva, seeking re-election this year, daughter of Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7), who is also up for re-election
–Dr. Mark Stegeman (term expires 12/31/2012)

Good luck to these non-partisan candidates, as governing T.U.S.D. is not an easy job, with upcoming school closures and a struggling budget due to the economy. Interim Superintendent is Dr. John Carroll.

Questions about these T.U.S.D. candidates and other school district Governing Board candidates can be directed to 520-740-8451 (Pima County School Superintendent’s Office).

Photo of Dr. Cassandra Bolden not available at press time

Board member Adelita Grijalva

Michael Hicks

Miguel Ortega

Armand Salese, J.D.

The event will be held at 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Reid Park (S. Country Club and E. 22nd St.), ramada #28, with registration & packet pick up starting from 8 to 9 a.m., then neighborhood walks to collect the needed signatures, then a free barbeque from 12 to 2 p.m.

The ad also touts that this effort is truly bi-partisan and inclusive (“Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Independents and Libertarians, Rich and Poor, Young and Old, Drops outs and Drop ins”).

The website does list the 3 politicians that the group has targeted. Facing recall are Republican Mayor Bob Walkup (in office since 1999), Ward 3 Councilmember Democrat Karin Uhlich (in office since 2005), and Ward 1 Councilmember Democrat Regina Romero (in office since 2007). The Mayor is serving his 3rd term, Uhlich was just re-elected in November, 2009 to a second four-year term, and Romero is half way through her first four year term. For info (and photos) on the current Mayor and Council click here.

The ad expresses dissatisfaction with $70-90 million spent on Rio Nuevo, $14 million over budget for the 4th Avenue Underpass, selective free rent for “chosen” business friends and an anti-business attitude, loss of Spring Training, millions spent on pet projects, and the $32 million deficit facing the City. Whew, no wonder there is such general unhappiness with City politicians.

Website for further info: www.TakeBackTucson.com, no phone # is listed. The website homepage and goals end with this statement “We believe that Tucson deserves better”. If this bi-partisan recall effort is successful, this Take Back Tucson group (led by businessman Humberto Lopez) needs to propose viable candidates to replace the Mayor and these 2 Councilmembers, as no names have surfaced so far.

I happened to heard Mr. Lopez on Friday, January 15 on Raj Koli’s real estate radio talk show on 1330 AM KJLL, speak about his frustrations with the City and passion in instigating this recall. Mr. Lopez (HSL Properties) owns a number of properties in town, most notably the Hotel Arizona downtown at 181 W. Broadway Blvd.

Stay tuned to see if this recall effort can gather enough valid signatures to force a recall and a special election. These Take Back Tucson organizers must get between 14,000 and 18,000 valid signatures, depending on the recall target.

If you haven’t been to the beautiful, renovated, historic Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street in downtown between Stone and Church, here’s your chance. Their website provides info on their upcoming holiday events and there are many. Opening night for this gem was April 11, 1930.

About the Fox: “The Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation was incorporated in July of 1999 and was formed for the express purpose of returning the theatre to the community. The Foundation is an Arizona 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed out of the citizen’s group known as the Fox Theatre Revival Committee, which began looking at ways to save the theatre in 1997. This group was composed of people who wanted to see the theatre restored, and re-opened. The stated mission of the Foundation is the purchase, restoration, renovation, and operation of the historic Fox Tucson Theatre, located at 17 West Congress, in downtown Tucson, Arizona. The Foundation is guided by a professional staff and is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors. For further information on the theatre, contact the Foundation office at 520-624-1515.”

And if you’re wondering where to park downtown, I recommend you instead take the Sun Tran bus as many routes go through the Ronstadt Transit Center (NE corner of Congress and 6th Avenue), just down the street from the Fox. Call 792-9222 for route information.

Sponsored by the Southwest Center for Economic Integrity, this faire (fair?) offers “affordable, friendly financial services and products” for all. You can also learn about foreclosure timelines and options, and credit reports and repair.

This Center for Economic Integrity (whose Executive Director is Councilmember Karin Uhlich) lead the fight against pay day loan companies in Arizona. Their mission is to “engage in research, education and advocacy to strengthen local economies by mobilizing and protecting marginalized people, holding corporations and industries accountable to communities and cultivating support for good business practices.”

Last year I attended this annual event and I witnessed someone win $100 in the free cash giveaway. How lucky!

For more info: Deputy Director Kelly Griffith, whose email is kelly@economicintegrity.org or 520-882-2165.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going”…hopefully to the Tucson Money Faire.

7 tables of about 10 residents dialogued with each other and a facilitator in answering these initial questions, followed by brief welcomes from Councilmember Karin Uhlich and City Manager Mike Letcher. A budget analysis disclosed that the discussion tonight was to concentrate on the 32% of discretionary funds of the City’s budget.

Then the same tables were asked these questions: 1) What City services do you use? 2) What City services would you maintain or cut, and why? 3) What new resources, revenues or efficiencies should be pursued by the City? 4) What services should the City invest in for our community’s future?

I recognized several activists present at the meeting: John Kromko, Tres English, Dick Bayse, Judith Anderson (Pro Neighborhoods), Jim Murphy (PCOA), and Ben Buehler-Garcia, candidate for Ward 3 Council seat. About 15 City staffers (including TPD officers) were available as resource persons.

No consensus was reached or vote was taken in answering these questions, but records of each table’s discussion with lots of creative, varied responses will be collated and put onto the City website at: www.tucsonaz.gov/dialogues. I question whether these comments won’t just be a compilation of anecdotal responses from all 8 dialogues/ meetings, without any clear mandate from the participants. Let’s wait and see since the website says that the goal of this process is “working together to set city budget priorities”.

The calendar for the upcoming meetings are listed in my previous blog and by clicking on the link above. The next meeting will be on Sat. 10/3 at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 9 to 11 a.m. Questions/comments can be directed by email to dialogues@tucsonaz.gov, or by calling 520-791-4204.