Who will lead Tucson?
Last chance to vote ... Mayes isn’t in a hurry … And dinosaur election fraud.
We know some of you have ballots on your kitchen table or on the passenger seat of your car, waiting to be returned before today’s election deadline.
But many of you don’t realize how much power you wield with your vote, specifically in an off-cycle municipal election. Just a few hundred votes could sway who sits in a Tucson City Council seat for the next four years, or decide whether your local school district gets the funding it wants for the next decade. And your vote can help decide whether Tucson’s long-range plans are a step in the right direction.
Don’t think your vote matters? Tucson City Councilman Kevin Dahl won his primary election a few months ago by 19 votes.
The reality is the Tucson City Council election is likely the most interesting, even though the weird way the charter allows everyone in Tucson to weigh in on individual ward elections gives an advantage to Democrats. The GOP still has a fighting chance in two ward elections. (Ward 5 Democrat Selina Barajas is running unopposed.)
Republicans have won seats before, as we’ve mentioned here previously.
We’ve already covered all the candidates in the contested races here at the Tucson Agenda and written about all of the ballot propositions.
So today, we’ve got a recap guide of our candidate profiles and latest election stories for you late voters.
Ward 3, North Tucson
Ward 6, Central Tucson
Ballot Propositions
Haven’t turned in your ballot? Drop-off locations for your mail-in ballot are already open and close at 7 p.m.
Find your nearest polling place here.
Joe is also here if you have any issues voting on election day.
There is an interesting wrinkle in the lawsuit that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed against the U.S. House of Representatives to force them to swear in Congresswoman-elect Adelita Grijalva.
It has been 12 days since Mayes sued House Speaker Mike Johnson, telling him to “do his job” and criticizing him for setting a record for longest delay in a swearing-in of a member of Congress.
However, Mayes isn’t asking for a judgment through an expedited “speedy hearing,” also known as a Rule 57 filing.
At least not yet.
Mayes’ spokesman, Richie Taylor, said they are keeping that tool in the toolbox for the time being, but the office could ask the federal court for an expedited hearing at any time.
“We have not yet (filed a Rule 57 motion) but that is not to say that we won’t. And while we expect this case to move quickly, we are also being deliberate given the unusual nature of suing the House of Representatives,” Taylor told the Tucson Agenda.
He added that Johnson could just end this political fight any time he wanted.
“Speaker Johnson should do his job and swear in Representative-Elect Grijalva immediately, which would put an end to all of this,” Taylor said.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors is expected to vote to join the lawsuit at today’s meeting.
Send lawyers, snacks and money: The Pima County supervisors will have a heavy executive session when they meet today. We’re using our “In Other News” section to give you the rundown on what your elected officials are going to discuss behind closed doors. In no particular order, the supervisors have asked for an executive session to discuss “legal options related to Project Blue,” hiring an outside attorney related to “external” investigations into the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, as well as an item mysteriously labeled as “legal advice and direction regarding update on federal actions.”
Still feeling Blue: The Project Blue item on the supervisors’ agenda represents the third meeting in a row held behind closed doors about the controversial project, although this suggests the board is considering some kind of legal action against the developer of the planned data centers. This item comes two weeks after a massive push by locals to reject the sale of 290 acres of county-owned land to a proxy for Amazon Web Services.
Investigating the investigators: It’s a little murkier when it comes to an agenda item about the sheriff’s department. There are at least two possible investigations into the department: The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is likely reviewing the sheriff’s investigation into the sexual assault of a deputy at a holiday party in December 2022 (supervisors requested an AG investigation months ago), or it could be about the underlying issue that led to Sheriff Chris Nanos publicly stating that Bureau Chief Harold “Buddy” Janes’ October resignation was not because of the “buddy-punching” / leave-time probe and an audit and criminal review found no violations of law or policy.
Lending a hand: As food banks prepare for a surge due to federal SNAP cuts, the supervisors will also consider giving $600,000 to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona and another $200,000 to the Sahuarita Food Bank & Community Resource Center. While it’s probably still not enough to meet demand if the federal shutdown drags on, it’s still just less than half of the $1.8 million that the state of Arizona set aside for food banks last week.
Supervisors did not scrounge up any money for local independent news outlets, so we unfortunately still need you to subscribe.
Live from Tucson: Catch Joe on Friday when he does double-duty appearing on Arizona Public Media’s Press Room (airing on Friday morning) and live on the radio on the Bill Buckmaster Show.
Open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act started on Nov. 1, and Arizonans’ 2026 monthly premiums could increase anywhere from 2.5% to 55%, per the state insurance agency.
That’s a pretty wide range. One reader told us yesterday his premiums are set to go up by $7,000 to $27,000 a year.
If you’re also enrolled through the marketplace, we’d love to hear how your rates are changing. Your experience could help us track what’s really happening behind those percentages.
Send an email to Joe@tucsonagenda.com or drop a line in the comments section. We’ll keep anything you say in the email private.
Thanks to Pima County Recorder Gabriella Cazares-Kelly for giving us a good laugh for Election Day.
If anyone drops off their ballot in an inflatable costume today, send us the video and we will send you a Tucson Agenda sticker in the mail.
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A hidden issue about government-subsidized healthcare insurance? My young-adult daughter didn't experience a rate hike because her plan was eliminated. Instead of a PPO option, BCBS said she has to sign up for an HMO. As someone on Medicare, I learned this year that Pima County had the only United Healthcare PPO in the state, and that could be dropped for 2027. Healthcare insurance is not only getting more expensive, but also more restrictive, apparently.
Honestly, when is this country going to do something about quality, affordable healthcare. We have good doctors, nurses and hospitals but when so many people can’t afford care, what do we think is going to happen? We have a plan for retirees, why not the rest of the population. Unless you work for the government or a major corporation you’re out of luck. Think of future demographics. Bernie Sanders is not sounding so crazy.