This week the daily newspaper the Arizona Daily Star endorsed 3 Democrats and 1 Republican for the upcoming Mayoral & Council seats:

For Mayor– “Leadership”, Jonathan Rothschild (D):

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_79d20be9-a4d0-5c51-b80b-27faad1d3b71.html

for Ward 2 Council — “Let Cunningham keep his Ward 2 Seat”, incumbent Paul Cunningham (D):

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_11553c9c-378e-5e74-ac5d-5ebc9aa9f93a.html

for Ward 1 Council — “Dem Romero is best candidate for Ward 1 seat”, incumbent Regina Romero (D):

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/article_70d08f75-1021-51c3-94df-e6f8efbb5f09.html. (Green candidate Beryl Baker declined to be interviewed by the Star editorial board as they wanted to interview her and Romero separately, unlike the candidates in the Ward 2 or 4 races.)

for Ward 4 Council — “Tyler Vogt’s cooperative approach needed” – Tyler Vogt (R)

http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_661f44d0-2f0b-5b17-9d17-65065e8ae80a.html (Republican candidate Tyler Vogt declined to be interviewed by the Star editorial board stating “I have very little confidence that our meeting will result in an unbiased presentation of my platform, qualifications and opinions.”)

Vote-by-mail starts this week, with ballots being mailed out on October 19 (today). Vote wisely on/before the General Election on November 8.

And stay tuned for endorsements from the Thursday alternative newspaper, the Tucson Weekly.
Update 11/3/11: No endorsements have come out from the Weekly this election cycle.

If you want to meet & greet all Mayoral & Council candidates (Wards 1, 2, 4) plan on attending this candidate forum at Temple Emanu-El on 10/17, starting at 6 p.m. LWVGT stands for the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson and PCTWC stands for Pima County/Tucson Women’s Commission. KVOA Channel 4 reporter Lupita Murillo will be the moderator.

For Mayor of Tucson:
Mary DeCamp G)
Rick Grinnell (R)
Jonathan Rothschild (D)

Ward 1:
Beryl Baker (G)
Regina Romero (D) – incumbent

Ward 2:
Paul Cunningham (D) – incumbent
Jennifer Rawson (R)

Ward 4:
Shirley Scott (D) – incumbent
Tyler Vogt (R)

Temple Emanu-El is north of Broadway Blvd., west side of the street.

My previous blog on campaign websites for these 9 candidates (click here).

Since only 16.65% of the registered voters (266,448) in the City of Tucson cast ballots in the Primary election on August 30, there is hope that more will vote in the General election on November 8. Vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out on October 19, so you can vote as early as the next day by mailing it back in. Or you can wait to take the ballot to one of the seven polling locations on November 8. Last day to register to vote for the General is on October 11.

Running for election this year:
For Mayor of Tucson (no incumbent, as Republican Mayor Bob Walkup is stepping down after 3 terms- 12 years- in office):

Mary DeCamp (G), www.decampformayor.org
Rick Grinnell (R), www.grinnell4mayor.com
Jonathan Rothschild (D), www.jonathanformayor.com

For Ward 1:
Beryl Baker (G), www.berylbaker.comli.com
Regina Romero (D) – www.votereginaromero.com, incumbent (elected 4 years ago)

For Ward 2:
Paul Cunningham (D) – www.votepaulcunningham.com, incumbent (appointed May, 2010)
Jennifer Rawson (R), www.rawsonforcouncil.com

For Ward 4:
Shirley Scott (D) – www.shirley2011.com, incumbent (elected 16 years ago)
Tyler Vogt (R), www.vogt4tucson.com

Familiarize yourself with these candidates, the issues facing the City of Tucson, and attend upcoming forums to learn more about your choices this fall.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson is hosting a candidate forum on Monday October 17 at Temple Emanu-El, and all 9 candidates have confirmed their attendance. KVOA Channel 4 reporter Lupita Murillo will be moderating this forum, which starts at 6 p.m. This event is co-sponsored by the Pima County/Tucson Women’s Commission.