An online public forum will be held with the eight people who have applied for an open seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.
No date has been set for the virtual forum to be organized by the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson. But it will be held prior to Dec. 19, the date the board expects to name a replacement for Democrat Sharon Bronson.
Bronson has cited injuries suffered in a recent fall in a resignation letter last month explaining her decision to leave the position she has held since first being elected in 1996. Bronson won a seventh four-year term to represent District 3 in 2020.
District 3 is Pima County’s largest. It covers about 7,400 square miles in the western part of the county and shares about 130 miles of international border with Mexico.
Melissa Manriquez, the clerk of the board, said Tuesday that the eight candidates have submitted the required paperwork and that background checks are still to be completed.
Supervisor Steve Christy did not say Tuesday whether he’ll vote on any of the applicants for Bronson’s former seat. Christy, the sole Republican supervisor, has historically abstained from voting on Democratic county appointments.
The Jan. 19 meeting is set to be the first for the new supervisor.
Here are the applicants:
Christopher Wilson of the Woodrow Wilson Center, left, addresses a question concerning the root causes of immigration from the members of the Congressional Border Caucus during an Ad Hoc hearing on immigration held at the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 2150 N Congress Dr. in Nogales, AZ. Others in the photo are Jennifer Allen of the League of Conservation Voters, center, and Allison Moore, director of legislative and regulatory affairs with the Fresh Produce Association. Photo taken Friday, September 13, 2013.
Jennifer Allen is the former executive director for Arizona ACLU. She was the founding executive director for the Border Action Network and in 2011 she founded, and held the position of interim director, for the Arizona-Sonora Border Coalition. Allen held numerous positions within the League of Conservation Voters for over eight years, according to her LinkedIn biography.
In addition to running for the appointed position, Allen filed to run for the District 3 seat in 2024 . Of the eight running for the appointed position, so far Allen is the only one to file a statement of interest for District 3 seat in the 2024 general election.
April Ignacio, the founder of the Rez Girls Book Club, is one of four Democratic candidates running in the July 30 primary election for the District 3 Board of Supervisors seat. Ignacio has worked the Tohono O’odham Ki:Ki Association, the Nation’s tribal housing organization, since 2011.
April Hiosik Ignacio is the founding member of Indivisible Tohono, a “grassroots group concerned with current federal and Arizona legislation primarily impacting the Tohono O’odham Nation,” according to the group’s site. If appointed, Ignacio would be the first indigenous person to serve on the board.
Brian Johnson is a former 14-year Pima County employee. Prior to his retirement he spent five years in risk management and nine in the Pima County Assessor’s Office. He ran to lead the office in 2020, but lost in the Democratic primary.
Matt Kopec
Matthew Kopec is on the Amphitheater Public Schools governing board. He was a council aide from 2017 to 2022 for late-councilmember Paul Durham, then Karin Uhlich, according to his LinkedIn biography. He is a former member of the Arizona House of Representatives, having been first appointed in January 2016 to replace Victoria Steele. Kopec was defeated in the 2016 Democratic primary by Pamela Powers Hannley, who went on to win the seat.
Kopec also serves on the board of directors for the Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center, is a board member of La Paloma Family Services, as well as a member of the board for local nonprofit organization, Literacy Connects.
Lee
Sylvia Lee is a former member of the Pima Community College governing board. She was elected to the post in 2012. Lee has over 30 years of experience in higher education and has served as head of PCC’s Northwest and Community campuses.
Lee earned her associate degree from Pima Community College and bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling from the University of Arizona. She later earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy studies at Arizona State University.
Machado is one of eight to throw their hat in the ring for be District 3 supervisor appointment for Pima County, following the resignation of Sharon Bronson in November.
Joe L. Machado, or Jose Luis Machado, is the city attorney for Nogales after having been appointed to the position in 2022. Machado ran for the same position in Sahuarita that year but lost.
In this file photo, former Pima County Constable Kristen Randall speaks to a rental resident about his eviction notice, explaining his options. Randall resigned from her elected position in February 2022.
Kristen Randall is an administrator for the Green Valley Justice Court. She was previously a constable in Justice Precinct 8 before resigning in February 2022. At the time she cited her frustration with a lack of options to keep people in their homes in a job that required her to evict them.
Edgar Soto is vice president of Pima Community College’s Desert Vista campus. He is one of four Democratic candidates running in the July 30 primary election for the District 3 Board of Supervisors seat.
Edgar Soto is vice president for Pima Community College’s Desert Vista campus. A U.S. Marine veteran, he was previously the college’s dean of athletics. Soto also was a TUSD teacher for almost six years, according to his LinkedIn biography.
Soto also is a board member for Victory Sports Foundation, a local group with a mission to “create free sporting events for kids” in the community, according to the group’s site.
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