Tucson Sammy

Ward Only Elections

Jim Sinex, schoolteacher and Democrat activist, is leading the charge for a change in the City Charter that would change the way councilmen are elected. Currently, a candidate – who must reside in the ward – is nominated in the ward, and elected citywide. Now, intuitively, it seems obvious that the councilman ought to be accountable to the people he represents; and accountability, in this situation, can be defined in terms of re-election. So, why not “Ward Only” elections.

Well, yeah, but what do Councilmen really do? Do their votes, responsibilities, and policies concern only their wards; or do much, perhaps most, of their activity concern the municipality as a whole? Should they therefore be accountable to the municipality as a whole? Are the residency requirement and the ward only nomination sufficient to ensure representation of the ward? Does the citywide election provide appropriate citywide accountability?

Unfortunately, these questions are not being asked. Each side points at the other and accuses it of partisan motivations. One can infer from his website, that Sinex views Kathleen Dunbar, who supports the current system, as a cynical pragmatist; yet, when she voted on the plan to remove the reversible lane from Grant Road, she voted with the people in her ward and against the Eastsiders who presumably are more likely to vote for her than her constituents in deepest, darkest, Kerry Kountry. Honorable people seldom need sticks or carrots.

There will be more press on this as the election draws near. Expect some partisan wrangling. So what is the answer? Sometimes things are just way too simple. People should directly elect their representative – that means ward only, not citywide.

I ran into Vernon Walker today at the Himmel Park Library. He was there to attend a Citizen’s Advisory Committee that was meeting in the conference room – he wasn’t speaking, he was just watching and learning. I spoke with him briefly. He’s running against Councilman-for-Life Steve Leal. I had to ask him his party affiliation three times. I’m not sure if he was hesitant because Ward 5 is predominantly Democrat, or if he’s his own man first and a Republican second…..or third. Anyway, I was glad to hear that he would not repeat Jesse Lugo’s performance last time around. Jesse Lugo, you may recall, challenged Steve Leal in the Democrat primary and was soundly defeated even after riding his bicycle door to door throughout the Ward. Jesse Lugo is a self-made business man who owned a gas station, and held other positions in the industry (this was probably suffient to alienate him from middle class, white lefties). Leal had a free ride after getting rid of Lugo – there was no Republican candidate then. I asked Vernon Walker for his website. He grimaced as if I asked him if he liked little boys. He said that he did not have one, and claimed to be ignorant of “that stuff.” Once I realized that he was not kidding, I, in my gentle way, explained that this was the twenty first century, and that there was probably some geek out there who would set him up, if not, there were many an online site that would walk him through it, etc. Other than the computer illiteracy, he appeared a good man. Unfortunately, his qual;ites of humility, genuine congeniality, lack of cynicism, and simple directness – while qualities of a good man, do not always make for a good candidate. I wish him luck……..hmmm…….maybe I could be a candidate!