Supervisors Vow to Expedite M & C

Supervisors Vow to Expedite M & C

Political Relationships Vital to Success

The last time the Pima County Board of Supervisors ran for office, there was no Pima Chapter of SEIU Arizona.

This year, all five incumbents and one challenger attended our Candidates Forum at the county’s Public Works building Feb. 28 to speak with – and answer questions from – more than 60 chapter members who, like the supervisors, work for Pima County.

The forum was an opportunity for our members to hear from incumbents Ann Day (District 1), Ramón Valadez (District 2), Sharon Bronson (District 3), Ray Carroll (District 4), Richard Elías (District 5) as well as Donna Branch-Gilby who is also running in District 3. And it was an opportunity for the candidates to make their case for an SEIU Arizona endorsement.

Pima Supervisors Forum

Each candidate was asked a number of questions by our members … why are you running for office? Will you join us in pursuing health care reform locally and nationally? What can you do to support our efforts to give State employees a voice? Why should SEIU members support your candidacy?

But more than a year after the Board of Supervisors passed the Meet & Confer ordinance, the big question of the evening was this: How will you ensure that County management will, in fact, meet and confer with SEIU members?

All candidates re-affirmed their support for the historic a Meet & Confer ordinance unanimously approved by the board in January, 2007. “You came in as a different type of union and that’s why I voted for you to hold the [union] election,” said Supervisor Ann Day. “Yes, you’re concerned about benefits and wages but you also said you were here to make Pima County run better.”

The candidates all agreed that it has taken too long to start discussions on the proposals we submitted to the county earlier this year and they all vowed to expedite the process. And as it happens, we plan to meet with county officials March 14 to discuss the format for Meet & Confer, including a schedule of Meet & Confer sessions.

UPDATE: Meet and Confer meetings set.

2008 is an important election year for SEIU members throughout Arizona and the nation. Political relationships are a vital part of our effort to build real power for working people in Arizona.

Round Two of the Pima Chapter’s candidate forums will include candidates for county Attorney, Recorder, Assessor, etc. and is scheduled for Thursday, May 1.

In the meantime, Pima Chapter members appreciate the fact that all the candidates for county supervisor seats made time to attend our forum. We’ll advise them of our endorsement decisions soon.