Seven (yes, SEVEN) Democratic candidates are running for two state house seats in LD 27. Your first chance to meet & greet all of them is coming up on Tuesday May 11, at a League of Women Voters moderated forum at the Joel D. Valdez Main library lower level meeting room, from 6 to 8 p.m. Here’s the list of who’s running (click on their campaign websites in blue to see their photos and positions on issues.)

–John Martin Bernal, Math and Economics teacher at Calli Ollin High school, (nephew of Pima County Public Works director John Bernal, his namesake),www.people4bernal.com

–Eric Carbajal Bustamante – Behavioral Health Associate for the Arizona Children’s Association, former Americorps volunteer, candidate in LD 29 state house in 2008, www.ericcarbajalbustamante.com

–Dustin Cox, former Executive Director of Anytown, Arizona Inc., 2009 Arizona Daily Star’s “Top 40 Under 40″ finalist & awardee, www.dustincox2010.com

–Bob Gilby, Math teacher at Marana High School and PCC, (husband of Donna Branch-Gilby who was a candidate for Ward 3 Pima County Supervisor in 2008), www.bobgilby.com

–Sally Ann Gonzales, President of Guadalupe Community Development Corp., former 2 term District 10 House Rep.(1997 to 2000), former Tribal Council member & Secretary of Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona (1992 – 1996), www.votesallygonzales.com- under construction

–Sami Hamed, district aide to CD7 Congressman Raul Grijalva, Hearing Officer (inactive) in Pima County Consolidated Justice Courts, Small Claims, www.samihamed.com

–Dr. Macario Saldate IV, Director of Guadalajara Summer School, retired UA Educational Foundations & Administration professor, www.votemacariosaldate2010.info

Also running for LD27 house: Republican Robert Compton, a service technician at Hamstra heating/cooling company (www.thatcomptonguy.com – under construction), and Green Party candidate Kent Solberg. Solberg ran before for this seat in 2008, and is the owner of Kent’s Tools (a small business). Chaplain Gene Chewning (www.votechewning.com) also ran for this same seat in 2006 as a Republican, and is now an Independent seeking one of the these two House seats as well.

So that’s a total of TEN candidates for two House seats in LD 27. Quite a crowded race.

Voters will have to choose two of these candidates to represent them in LD 27 House. The current House Reps. Phil Lopes and Olivia Cajero Bedford are termed out, and Ms. Bedford is running for the LD 27 State Senate seat.

Contact: Jim Hannley, LD 27 Chair, at jhannley2@msn.com, (520) 792-1229, or for more information on LD 27, click here for the Pima County Democratic Party website.

Have you found your face yet on those black/white portrait tiles under the 4th Avenue Underpass?

My husband located his on the Northeast panel and I found mine last night on Southwest panel 1, as all 4 panels are now up on the walls. We were excited to finally locate our portraits amongst the thousands of other tile portraits.

Check it out at www.tucsonportraitproject.com. The photographer was Darren Clark and the concept was created by Gary Patch.

I blogged about this project on August 21, after Tucson’s Birthday Celebration in 2009, but only one panel (the Northwest one) was up at that time. Click here to read my original blog, with details on how to locate your face.

What a great sense of community we felt by being amongst 7,000 other Tucsonans.

Note: Here’s a partial list of some faces I recognized:
NE panel – Randy Accetta, Michael Carson, Al Classen,Tim Keene, Phil Lopes, CT Revere, Ruben Reyes, Regina Romero, Ken Scoville, Chris Tanz;

NW panel – Donna Branch-Gilby, Michael Patrick Brewer, Michael Bryan, Gail Cordy, Albert Elias, Gene Einfrank, Julia Fonseca, Bud Foster, Joyce Gee, Jim Glock, Nancy Janetta, Roslyn Miller, Ron Spark, Karin Uhlich;

SW 1 panel – Laura Burge, Roger Carrillo, Pat de Vito, Carmen Dolny, Rodney Glassman, Maurice Grossman, Jim Hannley, Gary Low, Pancho Medina, Monique Martin, Jim Nintzel, Tom Prezelski;

and SW 2 panel – Katie Bolger, Raul Grijalva, Sat Bir Khalsa, Erika O’Dowd, Alan Leibensperger, Diana Rhodes, Shirley Scott, Nina Trasoff, Robert Walkup.