Monday, October 29, 2007

Tucson City Council Elections and Going Green

I want to start this blog off with an encounter I had with Ward 2 candidate Rodney Glassman. I was serving Tuesday night at Outback Steakhouse and he came in with a friend of his to eat. It was such a weird coincidence because on Monday I chose the Tucson City Council elections as my Special Project topic for the Cat Scan. He ordered a side salad but went on to tell me that he wanted it in a big bowl. I told him I could do it for him, but he wanted me to make sure it wasn't just the same amount of salad you would get in a small bowl just put into a bigger bowl. I brought out the salad, in the big bowl, and he wanted to test to see if there was indeed more salad. I then brought out a small ball and he proceeded to pour the salad from the big bowl into the small bowl to measure just how much more he was getting (I didn't charge him any extra for it anyway). He was happy because it filled the small bowl much more than normal. Anyway, he talked to me a little about his career, he has received four degrees from the UA, and I explained to him the project I am working on and inquired his ideas about a greener Tucson. He said he was endorsed by the Sierra Club, a green organization that I was embarrassed I had not heard of, and talked about Prop 200. He seemed like a nice guy and one I would consider voting for.

My partner and I decided that we are going to focus our special project around the Green Party candidates Dave Croteau and Ward 1 candidate Beryl Baker. If all goes according to plan, we will each be with the candidates on election night taking video and interviews as the votes come rolling in. Croteau is running for mayor against incumbent Bob Walkup. He is running under the 10 key values of the Green Party, is strongly in favor of sustainability and mentions more than once on his website the harsh realities of global warming and centralization. He, and all Green Party candidates are for Prop 200, which is a tricky propostion to sift through in order to understand exactly what would happen if it passes. Passing the proposition would repeal the $14-a-month garbage fee, but it would limit the use of reclaimed water. The Daily Star breaks down all the parts of the proposition here.

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