UPDATE: He waited until the end of the regular meeting to announce he is resigning from the council. Heard from the City Clerk’s office on how the replacement appointment will work. Info below.
Scuttlebutt at the City Council study session this morning is that Councilman Rodney Glassman will resign today to run for U.S. Senate.
Ward 2 Councilman Rodney Glassman
I’m not sure if he’s going to do it at the study session, which should last all day. Or if he’ll do it tonight at the regular session. Or if he’ll wait to do it later this week at a larger “announcement” event and press conference.
You can watch both meetings live at Tucson 12 to see if he pulls the trigger today.
The Great Explorer has been exploring a Senate run since October but most local political pundits were convinced he would run. He said he wouldn’t make his decision until the city’s budget for next year was finalized. The council is expected to make the last decisions on how to balance next year’s budget today. The budget is $44 million out of balance and the council is passing numerous measures to balance it, including more cost cutting, tax and fee increases and a slew of budget tricks, like selling leases to city buildings and refinancing debt.
Nan Walden announced yesterday she’s not going to run. The Democrats definitely want to field a viable candidate with deep pockets against either Sen. John McCain or if he loses in the primary, J.D. Hayworth. With Walden out, that leaves only Glassman.
If he resigns, the council will have to appoint a replacement from Ward 2, but I’m endeavoring to find out if it must be from the same party. The same party law applies to the state, but the city is a charter city, so it depends on what the charter says. The assumption is that it must be the same party. From City Clerk Roger Randolph: “If there is a vacancy in the office of Council Member, the Mayor and Council shall meet within a reasonable time to select a City elector to fill the vacancy. The individual appointed must be qualified to hold the office: City resident for 3 years and resident of the Ward for 1 year preceding the appointment. There is no requirement regarding political party.”
Glassman is in the third year of a four-year term.