Jonathan Rothschild, a Tucson attorney and former Treasurer of the Pima County Democratic Party who is exploring a run for Mayor, is having his first fundraiser on Tuesday, December 7.

Please join me (Jonathan) and host Terry Etherton at the Etherton Gallery downtown for the first fundraiser of our exploratory campaign, and enjoy the photography exhibit

“Con-struct: The New West”

Etherton Gallery
136 South 6th Avenue, Tucson

Tuesday, December 7
5:30 to 7:00 p.m.

Suggested donation: $50, $100 or $150

Jonathan Rothschild for Mayor
Exploratory Committee

RSVP to rsvp@jonathanformayor.com

Read my previous article about Rothschild’s exploratory committee for Mayor (click here). His early supporters on his campaign website are former Mayors George Miller and Tom Volgy, District 3 Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson (as well as her past challenger Donna Branch-Gilby), Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, former Councilmembers Janet Marcus and Chuck Ford, LD 27 Rep. Phil Lopes, LD 29 Rep. Matt Heinz, former LD 26 Rep. Lena Saradnik, LD 27 Rep.-elect Dr.Macario Saldate, former Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party Paul Eckerstrom, TUSD board member Dr. Mark Stegeman, lots of attorneys & doctors, political candidates (i.e. Vince Rabago, Tim Sultan, Clarence Boykins) & aides, etc. (click here for full list of early supporters).

Other possible contenders are of course Republican Mayor Bob Walkup (if he decides to seek a 4th term), and Democratic Councilmembers Karin Uhlich (Ward 3) and Shirley Scott (Ward 4). I have contacted the Mayor and Uhlich, but no word back yet as to their decisions to run. Scott told me she is “keeping her options open”. I wrote a previous article entitled “Will Mayor Walkup run again?” (click here).

Ron Asta, a real estate consultant, formerly a Democrat now a Republican, who is a former Pima County Supervisor told me he is considering a bid (click here).

U.S. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado, son of legendary Congressman Mo Udall spoke passionately tonight at the Pima County Democratic Party’s headquarters to elect Democrats in Arizona, his former home. Mark Udall, who graduated from Canyon del Oro High School in Tucson, spoke of his initial shyness in campaigning for U.S. House, but then spoke of a recent “historic moment” in the U.S. Senate when he got to vote to appoint Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina to the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. Senator Mark Udall

He also asked the hundreds of loyal Democrats in the room to “carry on for my dad Mo”. He spoke of how the previous Bush Administration had “driven the bus into the ditch” economically, and that it was not time to “give them back the keys” to the bus, but to get the bus out of the ditch & put the bus into “D” for drive (and Democrat), not “R” for reverse (and Republican).

Also speaking tonight were Rep. Chris Deschene, candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (CD 8 U.S. House), and finally Attorney General Terry Goddard, running for Governor. Goddard joked that something was “wrong with our immigration policy” to allow the Udalls (Mark and Tom) to leave the State of Arizona. Tom Udall is former U.S. Rep. Stewart Udall’s son and now U.S. Senator of New Mexico. Mark and Tom’s fathers Mo and Stewart Udall were brothers, and both represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Goddard said there was “no gap of enthusiasm in Southern Arizona”, and that there was “no bigger push than now” to take back the state and bring the “prosperity train” back to Arizona. (Incidentally, Goddard is a graduate of Rincon High School while Giffords is a graduate of University High School, which shares the same campus in Tucson.)

Also attending tonight ‘s rally were Rep. Daniel Patterson (LD 29 House candidate), Bruce Wheeler (candidate in LD 28 House), Dr. Macario Saldate (candidate in LD 27 House), Vince Rabago (former AG candidate), and Tim Sultan (former candidate in LD 28 House). Congressman Raul Grijalva (CD 7) was initially scheduled to attend tonight, but was unable to due to a scheduling conflict.

Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party Jeff Rogers also spoke of the tremendous activity in the four Democratic headquarters in Southern Arizona . He emphasized that this was a “pivotal time” in Democratic politics in Arizona, due to the necessity of electing Terry Goddard to Governor, in order for him to veto bills coming from the Republican Arizona legislature.

Pima County Democratic Party headquarters in Tucson is located at 4639 E. 1st. Street, phone 520-326-3716. Website is www.pimadems.org.

The final provisional ballots cast on Tuesday August 24 for the Arizona primary have been counted, and the Secretary of State website has posted the final unofficial results (click here). Tom Horne prevailed by 899 votes over Andrew Thomas for the Republican nomination for Attorney General (out of a total of 555,699 votes cast in that race). State law (ARS 16-1661) would mandate an automatic recount should the vote total be less than 200 votes between these 2 contenders.

Horne declared victory yesterday August 30 on various news media, and Thomas finally conceded this morning August 31. Horne is the current Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction and Thomas is the former Maricopa County Attorney, and was the 2002 Republican nominee for this AG position (losing to Terry Goddard). Horne’s website: www.electtomhorne.com.

During the primary campaign, Horne accused Thomas of using his Maricopa County Attorney’s office to launch politically motivated prosecutions against his alleged enemies, even Superior Court Judges who ruled against him. Thomas, in turn, accused Horne of supporting amnesty for illegal border crossers, and criticized him for a lifetime trading ban imposed in the 1970s by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while in law school.

Horne now faces Democratic nominee Felecia Rotellini, a former Assistant Attorney General and former Superintendent of the State Banking Department, now the Department of Financial Institutions (DFI). Rotellini is in private practice and her website is: www.feleciaforarizona.com.

Rotellini faced off in a tough primary with State House Minority Leader David Lujan and former Assistant Attorney General Vince Rabago (former Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party). Rep. Lujan was in a close race with Rotellini on election night and was only losing by 350 votes, but the gap widened by August 26 to 3203 votes, when Lujan conceded. The final unofficial tally showed Rotellini received 2427 votes more than Lujan.

The upcoming Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission debate between Horne and Rotellini is scheduled for

September 08, 2010 (UPDATE:Debate canceled on 9/3/10 as neither candidate is participating in “clean” elections, further UPDATE 9/8/10 debate may be back on as “non clean elections.”)
Candidate Debate
7:00:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Televised on KAET Horizon Channel 8 (Phoenix)

Tom Horne

Felecia Rotellini