The Pima County Board of Supervisors selected political newcomer attorney Nick Fontana this morning to fill the vacant LD 29 House seat. Last Thursday a 5 member citizens committee (appointed on 4/16/12 and comprised of 2 Democrats, one Republican, and 2 Independents) selected 3 names for appointment by the Board. Click here for my report of that selection meeting.

Nick Fontana, J.D., courtesy of David Snyder Photography

The citizens committee reviewed cover letters and resumes, and a report from the Pima County Recorder’s Office before making their 3 selections of the 11 applicants (one withdrew prior to any review). The replacement had to be an Independent (No party preference) living in LD 29. The 3 nominees were Nicholas Fontana, Albert Jordan and Leon Sierra.

Fontana is a local Tucsonan, born & raised here, graduate of Cholla HS, University of AZ General Studies and UA Law School, and is a sitting Judge Pro Tem at the Tohono O’odham Tribal Court. He does mostly criminal defense work and can be reached at fontanalaw@cox.net. He is a life long Democrat (since March 1984) and only became an Independent on April 14, 2012.

District 2 Supervisor/Chair Ramon Valadez made the first motion to appoint Leon Sierra, 2nd by Richard Elias, but the vote failed 2-3. Then Supervisor Sharon Bronson made a motion to appoint Nick Fontana, 2nd by Ann Day, motion passed 3-2, with Elias & Valadez against.

Fontana will be sworn in shortly and will serve the remainder of former Rep. Daniel Patterson’s term through the end of December, 2012. Patterson resigned on April 11, 2012 facing expulsion by the full AZ House of Representatives, following recommendation of expulsion by the House Ethics Committee. Patterson had been facing allegations of disorderly conduct and domestic violence against both his former campaign manager/girlfriend, and ex-wife.

For Fontana’s resume/cover letter go to www.pima.gov. Neither Fontana nor Jordan were present today at the Board’s vote, but Sierra was in attendance.

Fontana will be the sole Independent in the AZ State House of Representatives.

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.

Democrat Ron Barber & Republican Jesse Kelly have prevailed in the Special Election for the vacant CD 8 House seat. Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords resigned from this seat on January 25, 2012 setting into motion this special primary election and the June 12 special general election. Giffords was shot in the head on January 8, 2011 and is still recovering in Houston, Texas.

352 precincts have reported completely. See Secretary of State’s website: http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/AZ/37929/78541/en/summary.html

Ron Barber

Jesse Kelly

Barber, Giffords’s former Tucson District Director for 5 years, ran unopposed and got 42,801 votes. Barber was also shot twice on January 8, 2011 in front of that Safeway at Ina/Oracle, and now walks with a limp.

Charlie Manolakis of Tucson, a Green Party candidate prevailed with 113 votes in their primary, easily defeating write-in candidate Richard Grayson of Apache Junction. According to the Pima County Recorder’s Office, Manolakis has been registered as a Democrat since September 1979, and only became a Green on March 12, 2012.

In the heated Republican primary where four candidates ran, here’s the latest results from the Arizona Secretary of State:

LD 30 State Senator Frank Antenori 15,732 (21.88%)
Jesse Kelly 25,679 (35.71%)
Martha McSally 17,943 (24.95%)
Dave Sitton 12,261 (17.05%)

There are 414,694 registered voters in CD 8 (Cochise, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz Counties), voter turnout was at 27.92%. Stay tuned for any updates.

Charlie Manolakis