Carol West

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Counselor

City Councilwoman Carol West won't seek a third term to represent the East Side.

West said Wednesday her eight-year representation of Ward 2, covering the northeast portion of the city, will come to an end when her current term is up in December 2007.

With the dust still settling on this week's election, the jockeying has already started for the next local political cycle. Republicans will soon begin searching for a candidate who can take back the city's most conservative ward after not holdingthe office in more than 25 years.

West sent a letter of thanks to supporters this week that also outlined some of the things she has done while in office. That included establishing new parks, improving existing parks, assisting more than 45 seniors with home repairs so they could stay in their homes and sponsoring town halls and special meetings to keep voters informed.

West said she had decided as far back as 2003 that she wasn't going to run for another term, and said she wanted to make the announcement before the 2007 city election campaign cycle began in earnest.

"I think eight years is enough," said West. "It seems time to me to get a new face and new ideas — that strengthens the city."

West's announcement was not greeted by surprise by Pima County Republican Party Chairwoman Judi White, who said she had heard rumblings about West's not running again. White said Republicans have already been thinking some about candidates to run in Tucson's most Republican-leaning district. White declined to name any of them, but said the ward will be a Republican priority in 2007.

"We have several good possibilities," White said of candidates.

Vince Rabago, the vice chairman of the Pima County Demo-cratic Party, called West's announcement an "interesting development." He said the name that popped into his head first was Clarence Boykins, who just ran unsuccessfully for the District 30 seat in the state House of Representatives. Boykins, a Vietnam veteran and current executive director of the Southern Arizona Black Chamber of Commerce, could not be reached Wednesday for comment.

The Republicans haven't held the Ward 2 seat since at least 1979, when Brent Davis was councilman. Janet Marcus, a Democrat, won the seat after Davis. West, who was a council aide for Marcus, followed her in 1999.

West was a Democrat when she was first elected to the council as well as when she won a second term in 2003. She quit the Democratic Party and registered as an independent in 2005, saying city government should be about issues, not partisan politics.

Democrats said at the time that West had been a party-poseur, citing her votes with Republicans Kathleen Dunbar and Fred Ronstadt and Mayor Bob Walkup on 4-3 votes to cut after-school programs, raise park fees, impose a $14-a-month garbage fee and merge the water and garbage-collection operations.

Walkup praised West as a councilwoman, saying she has served the city well. Walkup said West's legacy will be on developing a water policy for the city, and he added that West helped keep Ward 2 residents informed by holding many town halls and special meetings.

"She is as straight a shooter as I've ever seen," Walkup said, responding to a question about West's style. "She is direct, but she is a very compassionate person for her constituents."

Democratic Councilwoman Karin Uhlich also had nice things to say about West. She said though they sometimes disagreed, she found it to be a good experience working with her.

"She really studies the issues," Uhlich said. "I've always enjoyed working with her."