Charterheads Introducing Baja Arizona's Constitutional Conventioneers. By Dave Devine WHAT DO CAREER politicians, small business owners, neighborhood activists and a guy who shoes horses for a living have in common? They, along with many others, are running for the 15 seats on the Pima County Charter Committee, which will be on the November 5 general election ballot. The group, if approved by the voters, will be overwhelmingly male and mostly Anglo. Voters are being asked to fill three seats in each supervisorial district: District 1 Includes some of the central section of the city as well as much of the foothills. • Tres English, property manager and longtime local activist; • Mark Lewis, homeowner association management; company owner; • David Wagner, Hughes engineer; • Irving Kempner, who is retired from the Air Force. Wagner said his discouragement with the relationship between the city and county governments led him to seek a seat on the committee. Lewis is concerned that existing municipalities and urbanized areas in the county retain their autonomy and independence under a Charter. Kempner is running because he thinks the structure of county government needs to be changed completely. English says he wants to see more local control over local issues along with a provision for strong campaign finance regulations. District 2 Includes much of the south side of town. • Dan Eckstrom, Pima County supervisor; • Victor Soltero, a state senator; • Bruce Burke, an attorney; • Brian Czech, wildlife biologist and current Ph.D. student; • Felipe Lundin, a former justice of the peace; • Carol Zimmerman, once chief aide to Mayor Tom Volgy and now the director of development for St. Gregory College Preparatory School; • Katherine Kent, a service manager; • Brad Toland, an investment manager. Eckstrom said he's running to bring a sense of understanding of what county government actually does to the committee. Czech wants to see the conservation of natural resources and to promote environmental concerns in the drafting of the Charter. Burke would like to have four positions which are currently elected, including the Recorder and Treasurer, become appointed posts. Zimmerman said she cares deeply about the issues faced by city residents and believes some of her opponents have vested interests. District 3 Stretches from Catalina to Ajo and includes parts of both the northwest and southwest sides of town. • Evan Adelstein is the territorial manager for the National Federation of Independent Businesses; • Gerald Anderson works for the City of Tucson's annexation program; • Spencer Block, vice-president of Buffalo Exchange clothing stores; • Eric Greeson operates a horse-shoeing business; • Charles Sweet, town manager of Oro Valley. Adelstein said he wants a see the Charter contain provisions to expand the number of seats on the Board of Supervisors from 5 to 9 in order to provide better representation. Block believes the drafting of a Charter is a great opportunity to counter the influence big money interests now have on the county governmental process. Anderson is running to promote more responsiveness to people by county government and to discuss metro government in the long term. Sweet said he has "no idea" why he's running for the committee. District Four Includes the city's southeast side as well as Green Valley. • Thomas Grogan, Green Valley resident; • Henry Meyer, Green Valley resident; • Michael Heisler, computer company owner; • Jan Gingold, director of environmental education for the Rincon Institute, a developers' front group; • Ted Prezelski, Young Democrats of America regional director; • Paul Lindsey, commercial real estate broker; Lindsey is running because he believes his long-time involvement in the community provides him with a handle on the issues and that he can bring a sensible attitude to the project. Prezelski said that for 120 years the county has had the same governing principles and it is time to change that and open up the process. Gingold would like to serve on the committee because she believes it is critical for the future of Tucson and she can provide some balance to the process. Heisler said as a business owner who has an environmental and planning background, he understands the requirement to balance needs in the community. Meyer was encouraged to run by the Green Valley Coordinating Committee, he said, and supports expanding the membership of the Board of Supervisors. District Five Includes much of urban Tucson from the University to the Tucson Mountains. • Dan Cavanaugh, longtime official of the Chamber of Commerce and now southern Arizona director for the Arizona Builders Alliance; • Luis Gonzales, former state senator who is now a self-employed consultant and a perennial candidate for office; • John Kromko, another perennial candidate; • Peter Goudinoff, retiring state senator and University instructor; • Ethan Orr, University of Arizona student; • Matthew Somers, document analyst and neighborhood activist. Kromko said he's running to encourage both campaign and election reform. Cavanaugh said his experience in lobbying the state legislature had him burning up the interstate to ask for authority for Pima County for the most minor of issues and he would like to see that changed. Goudinoff is running because if change is to occur in Pima County, he said, the Charter is the first step in achieving it. Gonzales believes the committee will dictate how county government will function in the future and that's why he is seeking a seat. Orr wants to be on the committee because he sees the Charter affecting the future of the county for the next several generations and would like a role in shaping that future. Somers said he believes in the goal of bringing better government to the county and thinks home rule and promoting government efficiencies through the Charter is one way of doing that. All the candidates are invited to an informal discussion of the Charter process to be held at the Main Library from 2 to 4 p.m. on September 22. The public is encouraged to attend and observe the proceedings. It will be the beginning of an intriguing election process, during which the voters of Pima County will decide if they want more local control for their county government.

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