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.

The 3rd annual Pima County Regional Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony (to honor fallen officers) will be held tomorrow May 6th, at the Tucson Convention Center’s grand ballroom at 9 a.m. (260 S. Church). U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis Burke will be the keynote speaker. The Master Of Ceremonies will be Tucson resident and 17th Surgeon General of the United States, Dr. Richard Carmona.

Photos and bios of fallen officers (since 1878) will be displayed around the room, and on large screens with their “end of watch” date listed. 42 regional officers have fallen in the line of duty since then, but fortunately none in 2009. This is a very moving ceremony to give law enforcement officers, families of the fallen officers, and the public the “opportunity to remember and recognize the sacrifices made by these heroes.” The saddest moment of this ceremony is when “taps” is played.

One can only admire these law enforcement men/women who serve to protect our society, and have to give the ultimate sacrifice of their life in the line of duty. My uncle Harold Sugiyama back home in Hawaii was the Captain of his police department, but he lived to 90, unlike these fallen officers, many of whom died in their thirties.

All regional law enforcement agencies are represented at this memorial service in uniform:
Tucson Police Dept., Pima County Sheriff’s Dept. (PCSD), U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Border Patrol, National Park Service, Arizona Dept. of Public Safety, Tohono O’odham Police, South Tucson Police, U of A Police, U.S. Immigration & Customs Service, Drug Enforcement Administration.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact PCSD Public Information Officer Deputy Jason Ogan at 520-351-3121.

KUAT Channel 6 video (58 minutes) of this event is online at: http://ondemand.azpm.org/ondemand-home/video-segment/2010/5/10/949-law-enforcement-memorial/