Joel D. Valdez, former Tucson city manager, dies at 87

Joel D. Valdez, who dedicated his life to public service in Tucson, died at the age of 87 Wednesday afternoon.

He died from unknown causes in his Tucson home, said his son, David Valdez.

“He was so important to Tucson. Unselfishly, he did a lot of things behind the scenes that he never really cared about receiving credit for, usually giving credit to other individuals,” David said. “The contributions that he made to the city and the university will live on forever.”

Valdez served 16 years as Tucson’s city manager and 20 years in business administration at the University of Arizona.

“I want to offer my condolences to the Valdez family on behalf of my family and the city of Tucson family,” Mayor Regina Romero said in a written statement. “In addition to Joel’s distinguished service to the city of Tucson and the University of Arizona, he was a hardworking man, devoted to his family and to public service. His contributions to our community and the many people he mentored will be felt for a long time.”

A public servant

Valdez was born in Tucson on July 2, 1934. His first job was delivering newspapers at age 9, where he used his earnings to help his parents pay bills and to save up to attend the UA after graduating from Tucson High School.

After graduating from the UA in 1957, Valdez worked as a probation officer at Pima County Juvenile Court and was later named superintendent of detention services. He went on to become an administrative assistant to the library director.

The main public library downtown was named in his honor in 2002.

Valdez was appointed to city manager in 1974. He renewed the city’s budgeting process and oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars worth of capital improvement projects.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Richard Miranda, former Tucson police chief who served as city manager from 2011 to 2014, said Valdez “was a true visionary.”

“We went out for a drive one day, and he said, ‘Whatever decision you make as city manager, the community always has to come first.’ That always stayed with me,” Miranda said. “Tucson was first in his heart and every decision he made was for the best interest of our community.”

Valdez was the first Hispanic manager of a large city, according to the Local Government Hispanic Network, and the group established the Joel D. Valdez Legacy Award in his name to honor local government managers.

After he was set to retire from the city in 1990, Valdez was tapped by UA administration to become a top business administrator. He served as the university’s senior vice president for business affairs until retiring in 2010.

At the UA, Valdez introduced new budget and internal audit processes and was instrumental in several buildings and renovation projects, including the Student Union and the Manuel Pacheco Integrated Learning Center. A bust of Valdez was unveiled on campus in 2014.

Joel Valdez is survived by his two children, David Valdez and Lisa Maish, and five grandchildren: Ryan Maish, Kevin Maish, Joel A. Valdez, Katrina Valdez and Andrew Maish.

“There are five of us that have had the honor of being able to call Joel Valdez, ‘Tata.’ My proudest moments in my life are being asked if I am his granddaughter. I’m so incredibly blessed to be one of those five. He was truly loved by everyone,” said Valdez’s granddaughter, Katrina. “One of the kindest, most selfless human beings this world will ever know. How lucky are we to have had his incredible influence in all of our lives? I find peace knowing he is with my Nana. They are now both watching over all of us.”