City of Tucson's council chambers in downtown.
At a special meeting Tuesday, the Tucson City Council appointed Rocque Perez to temporarily fill the Ward 5 seat vacated earlier this year by former council member Richard Fimbres.
Perez is currently the Executive Director of the Metro Education Commission, a partnership between the city and Pima County to “identify issues of economic, political, and social importance to education and coordinate the work of the many agencies that support education,” according to the City of Tucson’s website.
As well as his background in education, Perez made the case that he will be valuable to the council as a young professional.
“I'm also a gay man and a Latino whose family has known service in many forms. And I also, like them, understand the deep [dis]illusionment around politics,” he said.
As the council considers how to deal with a city budget deficit and other state and federal revenue losses, council members asked that applicants have a background in developing and managing large budgets.
Perez detailed his experience overseeing the MEC’s annual budget in his letter of interest.
“Drafting and managing the operating budget, ensuring compliance with city and county fiscal frameworks, reporting on allocations, and directing funds toward high-impact programming,” he wrote.
Perez told the council he also recently dealt with funding cuts.
“MEC lost a $2.5 million grant we were very excited about. But you know, I understand pivoting,” he said.
Prior to the MEC, he held senior communications positions at both Arizona State University and the University of Arizona, according to his resume.
Only three candidates out of the total five applicants spoke in front of the council. Project manager John Alan Adkisson withdrew his candidacy before the meeting.
Robert Jaramillo attended the meeting but also withdrew after legal advice from City Attorney Mike Rankin that Jaramillo’s current position on the Sunnyside School District Governing Board would likely raise problems if he were to be on the council at the same time.
“It’s a hard pill to swallow, but my priority is with the district and it has been for many years,” Jaramillo said.
The other two candidates who presented to the council were David Garcia, the owner of Barrio Restoration LLC, and Gabriel Holguin, a current Ward 5 Council Aide.
Councilmembers thanked each applicant, but shared similar enthusiasm for Perez’s prior experience preceding a unanimous appointment.
“I think that your most recent experience navigating budgets and the public sector is just what we need right now,” said Ward 6 council member Karin Uhlich.
The Metro Education Commission receives funding from the City of Tucson, and Perez told members he plans to go on unpaid leave from his director position for his time on the council.
Perez was sworn in immediately following the vote and participated in the evening meeting the same day. He will continue representing the southside ward for the rest of Fimbres’ term through Dec. 1.
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