Tucson City Councilman Richard Fimbres faces two write-in challengers who hope to claim his seat in the Nov. 2 general election.
Fimbres represents Ward 5, which houses Tucson International Airport at its center and spans a massive piece of the city. The Democratic incumbent has held the position since 2009 and had been running unopposed until recently.
Republican write-in candidate Shelley Cross threw her hat into the ring last month, and Libertarian write-in Adalberto Diaz is also vying for the council seat.
Fimbres, a veteran of the U.S. Army, has worked at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and as the Director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.
His time in the City Council has centered around issues like economic development. Fimbres said changes he’s introduced — like adjustments to land use codes — have brought hundreds of businesses to the area, generated millions in tax revenue and created more than 14,000 jobs.
The council member has also created programs to address poverty such as the Tucson Homeless Work Program, which has provided jobs like street cleaning for hundreds of people.
“There’s a lot of challenges, still. We’re still going through the pandemic issues, the challenges there,” Fimbres said. “It’s very important that we continue the road that we started, the path in ‘09 and keep moving forward.”
Economic development will remain one of Fimbres’ top issues over the next four years if he retains his office. He said he will also continue to focus on COVID-19 mitigation efforts, which may include free services for those who have been impacted financially by the pandemic.
Cross said she decided to run because of her opposition to COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates, which Fimbres has supported in the past. She describes herself as a “constitutionalist” who wants to be a voice of dissent on the City Council.
The Republican write-in is a former nurse and political newcomer who said her qualifying experience includes leadership classes she’s taken in the past, as well as her master’s degree with an emphasis in health-care leadership.
The key issues Cross hopes to address include repairing damaged roads and fixing the police staffing shortage, a long-standing issue both in Tucson and across the country.
Cross claimed that the City Council was in favor of defunding the police in a blog post last month, despite the council’s vote earlier this year to increase salaries for law enforcement.
The candidate said she didn’t know about the pay raise but would continue to fund additional positions by pulling money from “unnecessary” programs like the Department of Labor Standards, which will be formed to enforce the new $15 minimum wage if it’s approved by voters in November.
“I think that if someone knows that the minimum wage is $15 an hour and goes to apply for a job and they’re not going to get $15 an hour they’ll self-report,” Cross said. “I think they will say, ‘they are not paying $15 an hour, I’m going to go down the street and get $15 an hour (from) the guy who’s going to do it.’”
Cross said road repair is one of the most important issues she hopes to address. She has accused the city of misappropriating lottery revenue that “was supposed to fund all road work needed,” though she admits she doesn’t know how much cash the lottery actually generates for transportation projects in Tucson.
Up to $23 million of Arizona lottery revenue is dedicated to funding public transportation programs across the state annually. Tucson currently spends about three times that amount each year just for road repair.
Sitting council members have recently downscaled some roadway projects that aren’t needed in order to free up funding for others. Cross wants to take a similar approach by reallocating money to cover costs while avoiding taxes increases.
Tens of millions of dollars in extra funding will still have to be consistently sourced each year to make reasonable progress on Move Tucson, the city’s 20-yearlong “transportation master plan” that lists and prioritizes all of the roadway projects needed in Tucson during that timeframe.
Cross was unfamiliar with both Move Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority, potentially one of the largest funding sources for future roadwork in the city.
“I have a lot of reading to do,” Cross said. “I’m really, at this moment, pretty much a novice regarding political things, but I know how to read so I will be reading everything I can get my hands on if I’m elected.”
Libertarian write-in candidate Adalberto Diaz did not respond to the Star’s request for an interview.
