The Pima County Board of Supervisors has appointed Betty Villegas as District 5 Supervisor.
After an emotional tribute to Supervisor Richard Elías, who died on March 28, the board voted 3-1 to allow Villegas to fill the remainder of his term, which expires in December. District 4 Supervisor Steve Christy was the only opposition.
Villegas is a Tucson native and a 23-year Pima County employee who retired in 2018 as the county’s affordable housing director. Villegas is not among those who filed to run in the 2020 election for the District 5 Supervisor seat.
In her letter of interest to the board, Villegas said she worked closely with Elías at the County Housing Center before he took his appointment in 2002.
“My experience working for Pima County as the Housing Program Manager for more than 17 years means that I am intimately familiar with how the county structure functions,” Villegas wrote to the board. “As well, I possess valuable crisis management experience, having served as a leader in affordable housing during the Great Recession and foreclosure crisis. I would seek to support the Board's efforts to help all of the county's residents and serve as a reminder of the concerns that kept Richard up at night, and as an advocate of the solutions he championed.”
The board also voted to appoint Supervisor Ramon Valadez as the new chair of the board, a position which Elías also held.
