Citizen Staff Writer
CARLI BROSSEAU
brosseau@tucsoncitizen.com
Richard Fimbres, director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, hopes to be the next South Side representative on the City Council.
His campaign launch is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday in front of the senior center at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, 101 W. Irvington Road.
If elected in November, Fimbres would replace Ward 5 Councilman Steve Leal, a Democrat who has held the post since 1989.
Fimbres is also a Democrat and “an old friend” of Leal’s, the two men said.
In an interview Wednesday, Leal, who announced he would not run again because he wants to spend more time with his family and on certain, focused projects, said he was a supporter of Fimbres.
Fimbres said in an interview Thursday that he decided to run for the council seat because “I basically wanted to ensure that the projects that Councilman Leal began to improve the quality of life in Ward 5 are continued.”
Fimbres declined to make any specific policy statements, saying: “I want to make sure I listen to constituents. I want to study it all. I don’t want to speak out of turn.”
However, he said he was excited to take on the economic challenges facing the city.
“One thing I love about Tucson is that when crises come up, we turn them into opportunities,” he said, citing how the city treats diversity as an example.
Fimbres emphasized his history as a team player, with the state Legislature on traffic safety issues and with his colleagues on the Pima Community College Governing Board, on which he has served since 1997.
He is a 20-year veteran of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and an Army veteran of the Vietnam War.
State highway safety director to run for City Council