The Tussle To Replace The Late John Even On The Board Of Supervisors Reveals Just How Dysfunctional County Government Is. By Emil Franzi PIMA COUNTY WAGS figured they could tell if legendary land speculator Don Diamond had given GOP Supervisor Mike Boyd more than two possible replacements for the late John Even, the Republican supervisor who died of cancer recently. They said Boyd, not known for his brain power, would wear a long-sleeve shirt--because he'd need to write their names on his cuff. Last Tuesday, he wore just that. But the appointment to replace Even was delayed until tomorrow, Friday, May 30, because supervisors Chairman Raul Grijalva, Deputy County Attorney Pete Pearman, and Boyd were outnumbered by Supervisor Dan Eckstrom, whose procedural moves to delay the decision--supported by Supervisor Sharon Bronson--baffled the opposition until Grijalva conceded the point. What it all really meant was that none of the 21 people applying for Even's post had three votes among the four supervisors. (Originally there were 22 candidates, but former state senator Bill DeLong was smart enough to drop out--he had no votes, and besides, he discovered, somewhat belatedly, that being appointed to an elected position wouldn't increase his state pension.) The candidates were on display Thursday evening, May 22, in a bizarre forum run by the League of Women Voters at the Board of Supervisors request. Seated alphabetically in a giant two-tiered circle in the county's downtown hearing room, each candidate gave a two-minute introduction and a two-minute close--which left little time for questions. The League, as usual, was into form over substance. Questions from the public were submitted in writing, but most were ignored in favor of the League's questions. Bronson sent two questions, one of which was ignored; the other was watered down. No other questioning, either by the public or the media, was allowed. That the League has become an impediment to the acquisition of meaningful information about candidates grows more obvious with every forum they preside over. Some of their moderators know even less than the candidates. The process has all the cogency of a contest for 8th-grade class secretary. Sure, 21 candidates are tough to handle. But in their passion for egalitarianism, the League chose to ask the same question of several candidates, just to make sure they all got to participate. This approach didn't work well, so we found out where some candidates stood on ASARCO, what others thought qualified them to handle budgets, and where others went to high school. And the blather from most candidates was irrelevant--messages like, "I've lived here for 30 years and really care about my community," or "I am very good at working with others." Former Pima County Assessor Arnold Jeffers had a unique approach. He pledged not to run again in the 1998 September GOP primary, thereby giving everybody else an even chance, something Jeffers didn't seem to have himself. His only hope was for a total deadlock over the other candidates. Many questions were directed at Even's widow, Brenda. The choice of the Growth Lobby, she's been shamelessly pimped by the Tucson Citizen and other biased media. Even, depicted in the daily press and TV news as the front-runner, clearly didn't have the votes. But then, nobody did. Only a handful of the candidates had a position--or a clue--on the growth issue. Scraping off those who would have said anything to get the job--which pays $50,000 a year and comes with a free car--and further subtracting the obvious Growth Lobby types, and finally eliminating those who had no support and were going nowhere, only about three candidates looked promising to environmentally conscious Republicans. They were: real estate broker Ray Carroll, restaurant owner Tom DiMaggio, and corporate controller Ken Marcus. Some Growth Lobby types, like Sundt Construction employee John Carlson--who kept nodding off, reflecting either boredom or good judgment--and real estate appraiser David Garber, appeared highly competent and would probably make above-average supes--not hard considering the impact of Boyd and former Supervisor Paul Marsh on the average. (Why Marsh chose to humiliate himself again by applying for a job to which he had no chance of being appointed may have something to do with why he was known as "Dim Bulb" during his prior tenure.) In the time between the forum and the vote, Grijalva categorically stated there were three candidates he couldn't support--Even, Even's aide Barbara Huffstetler, and manufactured-housing lobbyist Ted Poelstra. Grijalva said he leaned toward Carroll, finding him more liberal on social issues, and was wary of Marcus' expressed conservatism. Bronson liked Marcus best, and expressed a dislike for Carroll. Environmentalists and neighborhood types who interviewed Marcus and Carroll found both acceptable. Some of the opposition Grijalva and Bronson have toward each other's choices may be substantive, but some of it also seems to reflect the personal sour grapes they have toward each other. The level of hostility between them is becoming obvious--and it's beginning to grate on their supporters, many of whom they share. The Supes are scheduled to make their decision on Friday at 10 a.m. Unless Grijalva and Bronson manage to iron out their differences, they may miss a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set conservation-minded land-use policies in the years to come.

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