A Tucson Unified School (TUSD) Governing Board Candidate Forum will be held from 6:30
p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 4, at Catalina High School Auditorium, 3645 E.
Pima Street in Tucson.

Presented by the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson and
Tucsonans United for a Sound District, the forum will feature candidates incumbent Adelita Grijalva, Michael Hicks, Miguel Ortega, and Armand Salese.

The forum is sponsored by Old Pueblo Rotary Club, Ferrell Insurance Group,
O’Shaughnessy’s Steakhouse &Piano Bar, Paytran Merchant Services, and Davidson Business Technologies.

Contact: Rich Kronberg: 520 256-0127,
questions@tucsonansunited4asounddistrict.com or lwvgt@aol.com.

I blogged about this race (for 2 seats on the November General Election ballot) earlier, click here (with photos of the 4 candidates). These candidates were also interviewed separately on KUAT Channel 6 (click here.)

“Tucsonans United for a Sound District is a nonpartisan group dedicated to the preservation of public education and the improvement of TUSD.”

You can vote online at their website as to these 3 questions: “Which candidate’s posted priority most reflect yours? (please take the time to review the candidates’ pages first)?, What is the most important characteristic in a school board member? and What should be the first priority of the School Board?”

UPDATE: audio tape of this debate online now:
http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/contents/events_boardforum.html

The four candidates running for Tucson United School District (T.U.S.D.) Governing Board were interviewed by Kimberly Craft for KUAT AZ Illustrated, to air at 6:30 p.m tonight on Channel 6. The four are: Adelija Grijalva (incumbent), Michael Hicks, Miguel Ortega, and Armand Salese.

I reported on these candidates on August 5 (click here), before the fifth candidate Dr. Cassandra Bolden was later found ineligible (click here) due to less than the required signatures (400) on her petition.

The KUAT interview online consisted of 4 questions to all four candidates:

1. What are your objectives in seeking this position?
2. How do you intend to improve the quality of students’ education?
3. What qualities are you looking for in a new Superintendent?
4. How do you aim to improve the district’s image and improve the relationship with the community?

To view this interview on KUAT, click here or view it below. This election for 2 seats will be on November 2nd ballot (General Election).

Judge Richard E. Gordon of the Arizona Superior Court issued a ruling on Friday invalidating the candidacy of Dr. Cassandra Bolden for T.U.S.D. governing board, due to less than the required number of valid signatures (400).

Three petitions were filed in Arizona Superior Court on August 17 and 18 challenging the validity of some of the signatures submitted by candidates Dr. Bolden (who works at the Tucson Urban League) and also by Michael Hicks (who works for the City of Tucson’s Transportation Dept.)

Since Bolden only submitted 398 signatures (less than the minimum required),when 29 of the signatures were found invalid, her candidacy was no longer viable, and her name will not be on the November ballot.

Hicks’ petition challenge was ruled valid by Judge Gordon. Hicks issued a press release about the petition challenge on August 26 (click here.) Although 65 signatures on his petition were found invalid, he had 420 valid ones, over the minimum required.

Two separate petitions were filed against Dr. Bolden by Ralph Lim, and Jan Allard. The petition against Michael Hicks was filed by Ruben Carlos Romero. Bolden submitted 398 signatures and Hicks submitted 485 signatures by the deadline of August 4, in order to qualify to run for one of 2 seats open on the the T.U.S.D. Governing Board.

According to the Pima County School Superintendent’s Office August 18 was the deadline to file petition challenges to these governing board candidates’ signatures. The filing fee for such petitions in Superior Court is $236. The Judge assigned to these petitions has 10 days from the filing date to schedule a hearing and to determine the validity of the challenges. Hearings on these petitions were held on August 25 and 26. Bolden did concede that she did not have enough valid signatures in court.

See my earlier blog (with photos) announcing the 5 candidates seeking two seats up for election this November. (click here)

The other candidates are Ward 3 Council aide Miguel Ortega, attorney Armand Salese, and incumbent Governing Board member Adelita Grijalva, who has served since 2003. There were no petition challenges filed against these 3 candidates.

Questions about these petition challenges can be directed to Ricky Hernandez (Chief Financial Officer) at 520-740-8451, Pima County School Superintendent’s Office.