The 2024 Pima County Board of Supervisors election comes at a time of political turmoil.

Four years ago, 18-year veteran Superintendent Ramon Valadez lost the Democratic primary to Matt Heinz in the 2nd District, and Adelita Grijalva replaced the late Richard Elias in the 5th District and won the 1st District. Democrat Rex Scott won the vacant seat. Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson resigned from her District 3 seat after tripping over his cat and breaking several of his ribs.

The longest-serving Pima County supervisor is currently Republican Steve Christie, who was first elected in 2016.

The 2024 election cycle will bring even more changes, as the 3rd District will certainly have a new face. The 1st Congressional District is a battleground district that is narrowly divided between Democrats, Republicans, and independents. The 2nd District leans Democratic, but Republican candidates are eager to take on Mr. Heinz. And an independent candidate is hoping for a chance to challenge District 4 Supervisor Adelita Grijalva.

The Board of Supervisors oversees a wide range of departments, including public health, land use, transportation in unincorporated Pima County, parks and recreation, wastewater treatment, flood control, libraries, animal protection, and more.

Candidates have until April 1 to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

This year, the state legislature moved up the primary election by one week, so the primary election will be held on July 30th and the general election will be held on November 5th.

2024 Pima County Board of Supervisors Election

Rematch erupts in District 1 Pima County supervisor race

Heinz faces challenge seeking second term on Pima County Board of Supervisors

Four Democrats vie for open District 3 seat on Pima County Board of Supervisors

Here's how the race for five seats on the Board of Supervisors will look in 2024.

District 1: Democratic incumbent Rex Scott faces primary and general election challengers

Superintendent Rex Scott, who previously worked as a teacher and principal in local schools, said he hopes his work over the past four years will win over voters and win him a second term.

Scott faces both a primary challenge from political newcomer Jake Martin and a possible general election rematch against Republican Steve Spain, whom he lost in 2020 by just 730 votes.

Robert Royce, who has closed his Mexican import gallery and shop on Fourth Avenue and is semi-retired, has filed to run as an independent in the November general election.

Pendleton Spicer, a Libertarian who ran for the Tucson City Council District 2 seat in 2023 and received 3 percent of the vote, has announced his interest in the race.

District 1, which includes Oro Valley, parts of Marana, the Casas Adobes area, and the Catalina Foothills, has 35 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 33 percent as registered Republicans, and 32 percent registered with either party. It is not a typical turbulent area. .

District 1 race details.

2nd District: Republicans aim to oust Democrat Matt Heinz

Director Matt Heinz, an emergency room physician and former state lawmaker, wants a second term to serve as a “strong progressive voice advocating for people who have historically not had a seat at the table.” He said there was.

So far, three Republicans have filed statements of interest to run against Heinz: John D. Bakker, Beatrice Cory Stevens and Rafael Delarosa Jr.

Bakker previously ran unsuccessfully in the 2016 and 2020 Republican primaries for the Board of Supervisors against incumbent Steve Christie in District 4, but due to redistricting, he will now serve in District 2. Now the Air Force veteran wants to challenge Heinz.

This will be Stevens' first time running for office other than the 2022 election for district commissioner. The impetus for her to get involved in politics was after the coronavirus outbreak. On her website, she says she is unhappy with her efforts to close businesses and schools and limit hospital visits in response to the spread of the disease.

Mr. de la Rosa, who has not set up a campaign website or established a social media presence, did not respond to Facebook messages regarding the status of his campaign.

The 2nd District, which includes Tucson's Midtown to Sahuarita, is a tough district for Republicans as 41% of voters are registered Democrats, 22% are registered Republicans, and 37% are not registered with either major party. It becomes.

District 2 race details.

District 3: Rare open seating

Following the resignation of Sharon Bronson, who served on the Board of Supervisors for 27 years, the board appointed former Pima Community College Trustee Sylvia Lee, a Democrat, to a term that runs through the end of 2024.

However, Lee has said he is not interested in running for the full term, so a Democratic primary is being prepared. Four candidates are actively collecting signatures for their campaigns: Jennifer Allen, April Hiocic Ignacio, Miguel Cuevas, and Edgar Soto.

Allen, who has worked for the immigrant rights nonprofit Border Action Network, the League of Conservation Voters and the ACLU of Arizona, said her experience prepared her to tackle many of the county's issues.

Ignacio works for the O'odham Ki:ki Association, a tribal housing agency, and co-founded Indivisible Tohono, a grassroots organization that encourages citizen participation. She is vice chair of the Arizona Democratic Party and serves on the Arizona Missing and Murdered Indians Task Force. She said she would like to include a Tohono O'odham representative on the board of supervisors.

Mr. Cuevas served on the Tucson Unified School District Board from 2009 to 2012 and is currently working on customer service initiatives in the technology field.

Soto is vice president of Pima Community College's Desert Vista campus and serves on several boards around Tucson, including the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Marana School Board member Kathryn Mikronis, who filed to run for election last year, dropped her support for Allen and instead filed to run for District 10 Magistrate.

The only Republican to submit a statement of interest was 2023 Republican Tucson mayoral candidate Janet Wittenbraker, who received 32% of the vote in her political debut.

Independent candidate Iman Utopia Raiju Bar has expressed interest in the race.

This rural area, larger than the state of Connecticut, includes central Tucson, Marana, Three Points, Tohoho O'odham Nation, Ajo, Lukeville, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, and Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge. It will be. Evacuation. It borders Mexico.

A total of 36 percent of voters are registered Democrats, 28 percent are registered Republicans, and 36 percent are not registered with any major political party.

Learn more about District 3 races here.

District 4: Director Steve Christie has not yet drawn a challenger.

Incumbent District 4 Supervisor Steve Christie is completing his second term, but has not yet decided on a candidate to run against him in the primary or general election. District 4 includes the east side of Tucson, Mount Lemmon, Vail, Saguaro National Park East, and La Cienega National Reserve. Thirty-six percent of voters are registered Republicans, 31% are registered Democrats, and 33% are not registered with either party, leaning Republican.

District 5: Independent candidates aim to challenge coach Adelita Grijalva

Pima County Supervisor Adelita Grijalva is seeking a second term, but faces a potential challenge from Tucson Unified School District Trustee Val Romero. Val Romero is an independent whose first term on the TUSD board coincided with Grijalva's final term.

About half of voters in the 5th District, which includes central Tucson, downtown, and neighborhoods to the west and south, are registered Democrats, while 15% are registered Republicans and 34% are registered with neither party. do not have.