2 applicants for vacant Tucson council seat have been there before (2024)

Among the 11 people hoping to fill the Tucson City Council post left vacant when Steve Kozachik resigned is the person he initially beat for the seat and a former three-term council member.

Nina Trasoff, the one-term Democrat who lost her reelection bid 2009 to Kozachik — then a Tea Party-supported candidate — and Karin Uhlich, who has previously represented Ward 3, are among those vying for the position.

A forum, organized by the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson, will be held from 5:30 p.m. to about 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, at Our Saviors Lutheran Church, 1200 N. Campbell Ave. A replacement for Kozachik could be picked by the council by the end of the month. Whomever is chosen to represent the ward that stretches across midtown Tucson will be in the seat through 2025.

Kozachik announced his resignation in March and finished his tenure at the end of the month, explaining in a weekly newsletter that he would become Pima County’s point man in managing the Mosaic Quarter sports complex.

Ten Democrats and one Republican have applied for the vacancy. While the city council originally agreed that they would prefer the seat to be filled by a Democrat, as is Kozachik, they did not limit the process to one party.

After first winning the seat in 2009, Kozachik won re-election three times as a Democrat.

Proposition 413 raised the pay for city council members from $24,000 per year to $76,500.

The applicants are:

Avi Erbst, the sole Republican, is a real estate broker who founded Cordova Realty in 2020. “My experiences working as a real estate broker have provided me with valuable insights into the needs and aspirations of our residents,” he said in his cover letter for the post. Erbst did not say whether he planned to run for the seat in 2025.

Christopher Leighton, who worked for the city more than 30 years and established ParkWise, the city’s parking management agency. Leighton worked a parking program coordinator for the city. He was terminated but rehired in 2012 after appearing before the city’s Civil Service Commission. He left the city in 2016. Leighton expressed interest in running for the office in 2025.

Pamela Lampman Powers, who is a former Arizona House member from 2017 through 2022. In that time, she served on the state’s banking and insurance, commerce, and regulatory affairs committees. Powers is currently a freelance writer, as well as the social media and technology editor for the American Journal of Medicine. She is “undecided” about running for the seat in 2025.

Ted Prezelski, has been an aide for Ward 2 councilman Paul Cunningham for 11 years. From 2001-2011, Prezelski worked as an educational assistant for Las Artes. He told the city that he is offering himself “as an interim councilmember,” indicating he would not be seeking the seat in 2025.

Theresa Riel, currently sits on the Pima Community College governing board. She was elected in 2022 and her term is set to end in 2028. She was a math teacher for over-three decades throughout southern Arizona and has been a faculty member for the College for the last 23 years, according to PCC. Additionally, Riel is president of the Rosemont West Neighborhood Association. Riel will not seek the seat in 2025, she told the city.

Miranda Schubert, ran for the Ward 6 office in 2021, losing in a Democratic primary to Kozachik. She is currently an administrative coordinator at KXCI Community Radio and has worked at the station since 2017. Schubert said she is “committed to running” for the seat in 2025.

Dr. Ravi Shah, a practicing family physician, is currently on the Tucson Unified School District governing board, becoming board president in 2023. He is the medical director for NaphCare, Inc., the medical provider for the Pima County jail and juvenile detention. Shah told the city he would run for the seat in 2025 if appointed.

Alex Terrazas has a doctorate in cognitive and neural systems from the University of Arizona. He is currently the president and chief scientist for Santa Cruz Robotics, a “garage-based startup for plant harvesting robotics.” From 2011-2017, Terrazas was the senior vice president of advanced research and development for The Nielson Company. Terrazas said that he would run for the seat in 2025 if he was appointed.

Nina Trasoff, was formerly a news anchor for KGUN 9 before representing Ward 6 for one term, defeating Republican Fred Ronstadt in 2005. She lost her reelection bid to Kozachik in 2009. Since then Trasoff worked as a consultant for Sonoran Institute and as a liaison for Arizona Connected Care. She would not seek the seat in 2025 if appointed, Trasoff told the city.

Karin Uhlich has both been elected to the council and has filled in for a departing council member. Uhlich represented Ward 3 for three terms, having first been elected in 2005. In 2017, Paul Durham won the Ward 3 race after Uhlich did not seek reelection. In 2021 Durham resigned, and Uhlich was appointed to complete the remaining 10 months of his term. Uhlich told city officials she would not run for the seat in 2025.

Charlie Verdin ran in 2022 for a seat in the Arizona House. He was also a challenger for a U.S. congressional seat in the 2017 Democratic primary. He is the owner of Fangamer, a local video game merchandising company. Verdin said he would run for the office in 2025 if appointed.