There are 21,161 registered Independents living in LD 29 in Tucson. With the April 11, 2012 resignation of 2-term House Rep. Daniel Patterson,who was facing expulsion from the Full AZ House of Representatives, an Independent replacement is being immediately sought to fill this LD 29 House term until December 2012.

Patterson had been elected as a Democrat to LD 29 twice in 2008 and 2010 and earlier this year changed his voter registration to Independent on April 2, 2012. Upon his resignation that AZ Secretary of State informed the Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors Ramon Valadez that a replacement should be an Independent (No Party Preference) in LD 29, since Patterson was an Independent when he formally resigned.

Today the Pima County Board of Supervisors appointed a 5 member citizen’s committee to review applications and submit 3 names to them within a week. The deadline for applicants is 3 p.m. Wednesday April 18, to Pima County Clerk Robin Brigode.

The Supervisors, after some discussion this morning about publicity and transparency, appointed to the citizen’s committee:

–former LD 29 State Senator Victor Soltero (D)
–former LD 29 State House Rep. Tom Prezelski (D, who ironically lost to Patterson in Sept.2008 in the Democratic primary)
–former LD 9 State House Rep. Lou-Ann Preble (R)
–Kristin Almquist (I), former Director of Tucson office for Governor Janet Napolitano
–Julee Dawson (I), Development director at the Tucson Hebrew Academy

The Board’s motion to appoint these individuals was passed unanimously and gave the committee a deadline of 3 p.m. Friday to select 3 names for the appointment, in order to allow community input over the weekend. Then the Supervisors will select the appointee at a special board meeting at 10 a.m. on April 23.

Present at today’s meeting was Independent* James Kelley, a transportation specialist for Union Pacific Railroad personnel, a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst, formerly “The Cholla Jumps” blogger here at Tucsoncitizen.com before he created his own blogsite (no longer in operation). Kelley is the only applicant so far for this LD 29 House seat.

At today’s meeting District 4 Supervisor Ray Carroll inquired if Pima County Elections or the Recorder’s Office could attempt to send a “robo-call” to all Independents living in LD 29 to inform them of this vacancy and how to apply. The discussion seemed to indicate that this type of publicity would be cost-prohibitive, especially with the contested CD 8 House primary election tomorrow.

* Update: Kelley told me at the meeting today that he is an Independent, but according to Pima County Recorder’s Office, he is still registered as a Republican (and has been since June, 2003). I’ve called Kelley for clarification on this, as he has served as Chair of the LD 29 Republican Party in the past. I just spoke with Kelley and he did register as an Independent on April 11, 2012 (the same day Patterson resigned), and has written confirmation of this from the AZ Secretary of State.

Celebrate Tucson’s Birthday Concert with Gabriel Ayala, Rahe, Reveille Men’s Chorus, and Suerte
at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street

Saturday Aug 13, 2011
Time: 7 PM
Admission: FREE
Contact Name: Jonathan Holden
Phone: (520) 624-1515

This free, all-ages concert features Yaqui guitar maestro Gabriel Ayala jazz & flamenco Trio, acoustic World Pop from singer-songwriter Rahe & her six-piece band illumiNation, the internationally acclaimed Reveille Men’s Chorus, and Tejano 10-piece dance music from Suerte.

This concert coincides with the monthly 2nd Saturdays Downtown urban fest downtown on Congress St. (6 to 10:30 p.m.).

Visit the Happy Birthday Tucson website www.tucsonsbirthday.org for more information:

This is our second annual concert showcasing Tucson’s unique cultural diversity,” said organizer Richard Elias, Pima County Supervisor, District 5. “We hope this free event will attract families downtown to enjoy great music at the beautiful Fox Tucson Theatre.” The performance is presented by Celebrate Tucson! In collaboration with Tucson Meet Yourself, Community Investment Corporation and 2nd Saturdays Downtown. Made possible by grants from the Pima County Board of Supervisors, The office of the Honorable Richard Elias, Service Employees International Union of Arizona (SEIU Arizona), Community Partnership of Southern Arizona (CPSA), The Pasqua Yaqui Nation, Cox Communications, Providence Service Corporation, the Honorable Regina Romero of the City of Tucson, La Frontera and the Fox Tucson Theatre.

The Gabriel Ayala Trio features Yaqui guitar master Gabriel Ayala, percussionist Greg Curtiss and bassist Gilbert Nagore. Based on a foundation of classical guitar compositions, the trio embraces the passion of Spanish flamenco with jazz improvisation and polyrhythmic world rhythms. Gabriel Ayala’s original repertoire is complemented by material from such diverse musicians as Chick Corea, Paco de Lucia, Vicente Amigo, Erik Satie, and The Eagles. Gabriel Ayala was recognized for musical achievement by former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and nominated by the Native American Music Awards for Best Independent Recording. He has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. and at La Festival Internacional de la Guitarra Academica in Venezuela.

Rahe & illumiNation– Award-winning multilingual vocalist/composer/guitarist Rahe was raised in Spain, Japan and the United States. Her music can best be described as Acoustic World Pop, blending influences from Spain, Brazil, Africa, American Soul and Jazz. Her fresh, original sound includes Rahe on vocals and nylon string acoustic guitar, a saxophone quartet (alto, tenor and 2 baritones) and drums. In February she released her debut CD of all original multilingual material, Out of the Box, which reflects the diversity of her multicultural upbringing and passion for creating music that crosses boundaries, genres, and world cultures.

Reveille Men’s Chorus– Tucson’s internationally recognized men’s chorus is now in its 17th year of changing lives through music. What began in 1995 as a gay men’s community chorus with an array of singers has grown into a community institution of seasoned performers with an added public health focus on HIV/AIDS awareness, education and prevention. Under the leadership of artistic director, Shawn Cullen, Reveille continues to change lives through music via its community outreach, volunteer work and musical productions filled with humor and heart. Reveille Men’s Chorus is dedicated to musical excellence and performs worldwide to promote human rights, diversity and a world free of AIDS.

Suerte formed in 2009 to play old school Tejano music with a big band sound. This 10-piece orquesta features vocals with two trumpets, saxophone, piano, guitars, bass, percussion and drums. Tejano music originated in 19th century Texas when German, Czech and Polish immigrants introduced waltzes and polkas which blended with the corridas sung by Mexican musicians with guitars, flutes and drums. Suerte is comprised of veteran musicians who have played with groups in our city dating back to the 80′s and 90′s. Today, Tejano music incorporates elements of pop, rock and R&B as Suerte continues the evolution of this infectious border dance music.

To hear District 5 Pima County Supervisor Richard Elias talk about this upcoming birthday event on the Buckmaster radio show, click here. Supervisor Elias’ ancestor was here in the Tucson area since 1775, when the Presidio was first established.

The AP news article reprinted in the Arizona Daily Star today (“Even untainted by scandal, women lag noticeably in electoral sphere”) discusses why less women run for political office. (click here):

The number of women in Congress has plateaued since 2007, with just 17 women in the 100-member Senate and 72 in the 435-member House. In state legislatures nationwide, 1,738 lawmakers are women, compared with 1,809 last year, and the percentage of women holding statewide office has fallen from 27.6 percent in 2001 to 21.9 percent today. Just six states have female governors.

We are one of those states with a woman Governor, Jan Brewer, who just won her own term in November, 2010 after taking over in January 2009 when then-Governor Janet Napolitano left to become head of federal Homeland Security. Brewer is a Republican and Napolitano is a Democrat.

I wrote about women candidates in last year’s Arizona elections (click here) and many women ran for almost all races in the legislature and state-wide offices.

In the current 2011 election for the City of Tucson, only one woman (Mary DeCamp, a Green Party member) is running for Mayor. Councilmembers Karin Uhlich (Ward 3) and Shirley Scott (Ward 4) were considering bids for Mayor as well, but opted to stay in their Council seats. In Wards 1, 2 and 4, women are running: Democratic Councilmember Regina Romero for re-election, Republican challenger Jennifer Rawson, and Democratic Councilmember Shirley Scott for re-election.

On the Southern Arizona legislative front there are several women politicians: LD 25 Senator Gail Griffin (R), LD 25 House Rep. Peggy Judd (R), LD 26 House Rep. Terri Proud (R), LD 27 Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford (D), LD 27 House Rep. Sally Ann Gonzales (D), LD 28 Senator Paula Aboud (D), LD 29 Senator Linda Lopez (D). And CD 8 is represented in U.S. Congress by Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from that tragic shooting on January 8, 2011.

I think women don’t run because politics is still perceived as a “dirty game”, with long hours and often disagreeable constituents and issues. Plus women may still have to multi-task with children, meal preparation/housework, etc.

What do you think readers? The AP article goes on to say that perhaps more women should run for office, due to the number of recent sex scandals involving male politicians (i.e. former VP candidate/U.S. Senator John Edwards, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Congressman Anthony Weiner). The assumption there is that perhaps women politicians wouldn’t fall prey to sexual temptations or scandals.