Of the three wards up for grabs this November, only Ward 6 has no General Election. Sitting council member Steve Kozachik, a born again Democrat who switched parties when he was originally elected as the sole Republican nearly four years ago, has no opposition. Shockingly, neither Republican nor Democrat has challenged his seat. The seat, from an outsider’s perspective, would seem the most vulnerable as he is a party switcher.
Between the other two wards, there is Karin Uhlich of Ward 3 who has been a member of the City Council since 2005. Uhlich will be up against Ben Buelher-Garcia in the November General Election. Then there is first term council member Richard Fimbres of Ward 5 who will be facing off against Mike Polak.
It is difficult to think of a more irresponsible or perilous way for the City of Tucson to make decisions than by trusting these choices to people who pay no price for being wrong. Tucson’s economy is stagnating. How the shortfall for the streetcar will be paid for is anyone’s guess, and our roads are in disarray. While all of the candidates have sterling resumes, we need more options.
Tucson is a diverse city with multitudes of ideas and opinions. This current crop of candidates, while qualified, is not satisfactory.
To have even known that elections were held yesterday, one had to practically be a political insider or junkie. The sad state of affairs when a city with so much to gain doesn’t even give itself the option to change. With all respect to the current members of the council and candidates, is anyone Democrat or Republican actually satisfied with the direction the city is headed?
There is no doubt this city needs new leadership and direction, but with the citizens of this city not holding our elected officials responsible, there is little hope for a brighter Tucson.