Can Tucson experience a Trayvon Martin tragedy? That is the question to be addressed at Monday night’s forum at the Dunbar Culture Center. Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old Black American teenager who was shot & killed in Florida on Feb 26, 2012. Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman (Hispanic/White 28 year old) has been charged with 2nd degree murder in Trayvon’s shooting.

Correct address for this “Project Hoodie” forum is 325 W. 2nd St. (not what is listed on the poster), just east of Main Avenue, south of Speedway.

Invited speakers:
Tucson Police Department Chief Robert Villasenor
Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall
Pima County Public Defender Isabel Garcia
Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance Pastor Elwood McDowell
Black Women Task Force Annie Sykes
Tucson Urban League Jonathan Peck
Ward 5 City Councilmember Richard Fimbres
NAACP Dr. Patricia Harris Monroe
Attorney Krisian Salter
Mount Calvary Church pastor LaBryant Friend

When people of color/racial minorities are stopped by the police or security officers, they don’t know if it is prompted by their race (black hair, features, skin color) or because of any wrongdoing.

Ask any minority person if they feel they have been racially profiled by the police and you will be surprised by the answer. At a recent UA Law School forum on political discourse & civility I asked that very question of a Black-American male Yale Law School professor (one of the presenters) who lives in Connecticut, and he answered in the affirmative.

This forum is sponsored by the Tucson branch of the NAACP and the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance (IMA).

http://azpm.org/news/story/2012/4/6/1633-tucson-elections-ok/

Political reporter Christopher Conover at AZ Public Media had a good report (see above link) about the recent AZ Supreme Court ruling in favor of the City of Tucson’s city-wide, partisan elections (the only city left in the state with this system). In 2009 then – LD 30 State Senator Jonathan Paton (R) pushed through legislation which the Governor signed, to stop this practice, which has been in place via Tucson’s City Charter (and duly voted upon by the City voters). The City of Tucson appealed that legislation. It was a matter of local control by a City vs. whether the State Legislature could overrule the choice by City voters.

Consequently, with this ruling that 2009 law will not go into effect after all, and the next City election in Nov. 2013 will remain partisan (Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, etc.) and the Councilmembers will run city-wide, though they have to live in their respective wards.

One argument against city-wide elections is the case of when a Councilmember can be elected by a majority of the voters of the City of Tucson, but lose in his/her own respective ward. But the argument for city-wide elections is that the 6 Councilmembers vote on issues affecting the entire City of Tucson.

Who’s up for election in 2013: Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich (D), Ward 5 Councilmember Richard Fimbres (D), and Ward 6 Councilmember Steve Kozachik (R).
Karin was first elected in 2005, and both Richard and Steve were elected in 2009.

In two weeks on December 5, Mayor-elect Jonathan Rothschild, Ward 1 Councilmember Regina Romero, Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham and Ward 4 Councilmember Shirley Scott — all Democrats– will be sworn in to their respective City of Tucson offices. This is Rothschild’s first political office, Romero’s 2nd four-year term, Paul’s first elected term (he was appointed to this seat in May, 2010), Scott’s fifth term on the Council.

The other City Councilmembers currently serving are Ward 3 Karin Uhlich (D), Ward 5 Richard Fimbres (D), and Ward 6 Steve Kozachik (R). They are up for re-election in two years.

The inauguration ceremony is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Tucson Convention Center (TCC) in the North meeting rooms. Thereafter the Pima County Democratic Party is hosting an inauguration luncheon at the TCC Ballroom, also at 260 S. Church Ave. Details for tickets below to this “Moving Tucson Forward” luncheon.

Additional invited guests: former Mayors Tom Volgy and George Miller.

Master of Ceremonies: Elliot Glicksman

Special Live Performance by Calexico and friends!

Congratulations again to the winners of the City’s 2011 General Election.