The City Council plans to have a replacement in place for Richard Fimbres within days of his resignation.
Fimbres, 72, a Democrat, earlier this month announced his May 1 resignation, citing personal health issues.
The council on Tuesday set an appointment process that will fill the seat by May 6, its next scheduled meeting.
Fimbres
The person appointed will serve the remainder of Fimbresβ term, through this year.
Applicants must be a registered Tucson voter for at least three years and living in Ward 5 for at least one year. A letter of interest, a resumé, and a financial disclosure statement are due by 9 a.m. May 1. Documents can be emailed to the city’s clerk’s office, at cityclerk@tucsonaz.gov.
Councilmembers said Tuesday they would prefer that candidates who are running for the office in the November election to not apply for the May 6 appointment.
Applicants not seeking to run for election to the post are preferred for the appointment, the council said.
Four Democrats have filed to run for the seat: Selina Barajas, Fabian Danobeytia, Christopher Elsner and Jesse Lugo. However, the Tucson Sentinel reported earlier this week that Danobeytia would is dropping out of the race.
Whomever is picked by the council could be voting on city issues the same night of the appointment, the council said.
Fimbres has been a lifelong resident of Ward 5 and was first elected in 2009 to represent the cityβs south side. He has been attending City Council meetings remotely since the start of the pandemic.
At the beginning of this year, Fimbres announced he would not run for re-election in November. And in late January, he said that health problems and his age made him want to retire.
βServing as the Ward 5 Councilman and representing the Ward 5 constituents since 2009 has been an honor and privilege,β Fimbres said in his resignation letter. βI had hoped to complete my current term of office, but I need to turn my full attention to my family and my health.β
