The 5 member citizens committee appointed by the Pima County Bd. of Supervisors met today at the County Administration Building, and selected 3 of 11 applicants as nominees for the vacant LD 29 House Seat. Rep. Daniel Patterson resigned on April 11, setting into motion this process to select his replacement.

The 5 member committee were composed of 3 former legislators (State Senator Victor Soltero, State House Rep. Lou-Ann Preble, and Rep. Tom Prezelski), plus two community members– Kristin Almquist (former director of Governor Napolitano’s Tucson office) and Julee Dawson, development director at Tucson Hebrew Academy. Soltero & Prezelski are registered Democrats, Preble is a Republican, and Dawson & Almquist are registered Independent voters. The committee elected Almquist as committee Chair this morning.

Since Patterson resigned as an Independent, though elected as a Democrat twice (2008 and 2010), the successor needs to be an Independent living in District 29. 10 men and one woman had applied to the Pima County Clerk, and the 3 selected for nomination are:

- Nicholas Fontana, J.D. practicing attorney, Judge Pro Tem at Tohono O’odham Tribal Court
- Albert Jordan, aerospace engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems, current Independent candidate for LD 2 House
- Leon Sierra, business representative at the International Union of Operating Engineers, former Marine

Information from Pima County Recorder’s Office provided to the committee in writing this morning: Fontana has been an Independent only since 4/14/12, prior to that a Democrat. Jordan has been registered as an Independent since May, 2002 when he first registered to vote. Sierra was a Democrat and changed to Independent in June, 2011.

For the full list/bios of the 11 who applied, here’s the AZ Daily Star article:http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/apply-to-represent-tucson-in-legislature/article_0adcbdca-4786-5c3c-bf01-a63b05ce29ae.html. Stephania O’Neill withdrew her application before the committee met to deliberate today. Dr. Joseph Scott, husband of Ward 4 Councilmember Shirley Scott was also one of the applicants.

I attended the first hour and half of today’s meeting. The committee stated their criteria of selection would be political engagement/experience, knowledge of legislative process, availability of the candidate to move to Phoenix till the Legislature adjoined, how long been an Independent, and grasp of the issues facing the Legislature.

On Monday at 9 a.m. the Pima County Board of Supervisors will select and appoint one of these for the job. Public input is encouraged through the Pima County website (click here) or by calling/writing to your respective District 1 to 5 Supervisors. You can send comments to COB_mail@pima.gov. If you have anything to say about any of these 3 nominees, now is the time to speak up. Their cover letters and resumes are online by clicking on their respective names.

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.