Related articles:

Opinion by Ernesto Portillo Jr.

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist

Good morning, Ward 1 residents.

An opportunity has landed on your doorstep.

Councilman Jose Ibarra says he's going away — at least from the City Council — creating a vacancy in the ward for the first time in 12 years.

How many people who have dealt with Ibarra during his three terms on the council don't squarely identify with either the Love Jose or Hate Jose camp? Not many, I bet.

Ibarra irritates and alienates people, including supporters. He relishes the in-your-face and I'll-get-you style of politics. Still, there are people who will miss Ibarra's tenacious tactics and public support for Ward 1.

The ward is culturally and economically diverse. It stretches from Flowing Wells to the city's West Side, portions of Downtown and down to the South Side,

Ward 1 residents, like fellow residents across Tucson, are grappling with increasing traffic, aging underground pipes and car-worn streets. A good chunk of Ward 1 is inside Downtown's Rio Nuevo Redevelopment District, which offers residents challenges — and opportunities.

What kind of council member would Ward 1 residents like to represent them?

"Someone who is responsive to the community," said Mac Hudson of Menlo Park, west of Downtown and Interstate 10.

Ibarra, who is known to be confrontational with his detractors, will probably read Hudson's comments as critical. But they're not, said Hudson, who is president of the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association.

Hudson made it clear when he listed several attributes that he was speaking for himself, not the association.

Among the personal qualities Hudson seeks in a council member: one who works effectively with fellow council members and regional elected officials; who listens and is proactive; who is responsive to residents' concerns; and someone who is a visionary and anticipates tomorrow's challenges while paying attention to current concerns.

Hudson said these traits should also extend to the future council member's staff. The staff, after all, serves as the first line of contact to residents, provides constituent services and often represents the council member at neighborhood events.

In the Dunbar-Spring neighborhood, immediately north of Downtown, resident Jim Cook also used the "vision" word.

The next council member must have a vision for Downtown "on a grand scale" that will excite people, he said.

"We can all agree that we can do better with our Downtown," said Cook, president of the Dunbar-Spring Neighborhood Association. Like Hudson, Cook said he was speaking for himself.

Ward 1's new council member should show leadership in getting things done while balancing the various needs and interests of the ward. And that person should build on existing assets in the neighborhood, Downtown and around town, and not take them away.

While at least these two neighborhood presidents were careful to qualify their statements, not wanting to come off as critical of Ibarra, a third neighborhood president wasn't as circumspect.

"I would like someone who gets to know the whole community," said Yolanda Herrera of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association.

Ibarra neglected the three South Side neighborhoods that make up the association while he showered Downtown and West Side neighborhoods with attention — and city dollars, Herrera said.

"Ward 1 doesn't stop at Irvington Road," Herrera said.

Herrera said she wants the next council member to show up at events in her neighborhood, as well as those in the adjoining Elvira and Midvale Park neighborhoods. And to do that long after election night.

Herrera's point of view is opposite to that of Anna Andrade, a lifelong Menlo Park resident. She wants the next council member for Ward 1 to be "a clone of Ibarra."

"Jose cares about the little people. We need someone who really cares about the community," Andrade said.

The caring about the community part rings true.

But Ward 1 doesn't need an Ibarra clone.

Ward 1 does need — it deserves — a council member who cares about issues that affect the lives of all its residents.