Yesterday, despite prodigious get-out-the-vote efforts on the part of our cadre of indescribably dedicated volunteers, only 14% of eligible Ward 6 voters cast a ballot. 35% of those who did, voted for me, and I am humbled by their support. Their votes were truly votes coming from a place of hope, and we will build on that hope in our future public endeavors to make this city a better place for all of us.

From the conversations that many of our volunteers have had with Trasoff voters before the election, it is also clear that a vote for Nina was not a vote against me, but rather a vote against Fred Ronstadt.

So our work is only beginning. The issues we articulated in the campaign are the issues that will face Tucson in upcoming years, and the well-being of all the people of Tucson depends on our continued commitment to increase alternatives to the car, reduce sprawl, fight crime and the causes of crime, revitalize our downtown and central city neighborhoods, support working families and seniors, protect our Sonoran Desert environment, educate and nurture our children, conserve our water, rebuild our sense of community, and create enlightened government that is worthy of the incredible people it serves.

Fred Ronstadt and Kathleen Dunbar epitomize special-interest politics and backroom dealing to benefit people who don’t even live in the City of Tucson. They have shown themselves not qualified to serve the people’s interests as we confront the issues facing us. Independent progressives like us need to unite to take back our city council, and you can help.

We can act in the next two months to help Karin Uhlich and Nina Trasoff defeat Kathleen Dunbar and Fred Ronstadt. I urge you to join me in working on their campaigns, and on the efforts of the Democratic Party to elect a progressive majority to the City Council. Here’s a simple step you can take today:

Take down your Farley sign and replace it with a Karin Uhlich sign and a Nina Trasoff sign. Email me your name and address today, and I will forward them to the Uhlich and Trasoff campaigns; they will have a volunteer get those signs up in your yard ASAP.

We need to let Fred, Kathleen, and our neighbors know that we progressives are united around our nominees, and we believe that their election to the City Council in November will signal a new beginning in Tucson politics where independent progressives are invited to the table.

I will keep blogging to this website about issues facing Tucson as they come up, so keep it bookmarked. I won’t go away; don’t you do that either. Stay here. Stay involved. Stay in touch with me. Keep fighting for what you know to be right, and keep showing up when the work needs to be done. THANK YOU!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 14th, 2005 at 11:46 am and is filed under Downtown, Economic Development, Events, Neighborhoods, Protecting the Environment, Public Health, Respecting Citizens, Sensible Development, Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.