With all this talk about Democrat Fred Duval filing to explore running for governor in 2014, it's easy to forget that this year, Tucson has three City Council offices up for reelection: Ward 3's Karin Uhlich, Ward 5's Richard Fimbres and Ward 6's Steve Kozachik, the newly minted Democrat.

Today, Uhlich made a minor bit of fundraising history by signing her contract to participate in the city's publicly funded campaign program (which provides a dollar-for-dollar public match for qualifying candidates) and turning in more than 200 qualifying contributions. If all checks out, Uhlich will receive one dollar from the city for every private dollar she raises. We'll bore you with the details of how the system works at another time, but it's a sign of competent organization.

No Republicans have signed up to run for City Council this year.

Uhlich's press release below the jump:

Karin Uhlich Turns in Over 200 Contributions, Qualifies for Clean Elections Matching Funds

Tucson, AZ - Council Member Karin Uhlich signed her public matching funds contract this morning and submitted over 200 qualifying contributions, making her eligible for the city’s public matching funds program.

The City of Tucson’s clean elections program, implemented in 1987 has proven to be a model of transparency that has reduced the role of special interest money in Tucson’s elections. Uhlich participated in the program during her successful 2005 and 2009 campaigns.

Uhlich credits her supporters with her strong start. “We have been very fortunate to have the support of small business owners, neighborhood leaders, working families and community activists all helping out during these critical early days of the campaign. With the help of our volunteers, we were able to collect over 200 qualifying contributions in just one week”

Uhlich has led the way on several popular policy initiatives including background checks for firearms sold on city property, the moratorium on new mini-dorm developments and the successful resolution of the city’s lawsuit with the Rio Nuevo board. With a growing base of supporters, Uhlich is looking forward to running a positive campaign based on her record.