Tucson Voters Reject Sanctuary City, Elect First Latina Mayor

TUCSON, AZ — Voters in Tucson soundly rejected a measure that would have made it Arizona's first sanctuary city, rejected pay raises for elected city officials and elected Regina Romero as mayor, according to unofficial election results. Romero, a three-term councilwoman, will become the first Latina and only the second Hispanic to be elected mayor of Tucson.

She will replace current Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, who did not seek re-election.

Democrat Lane Santa Cruz was elected as Romero's replacement in the Ward 1 council race, prevailing in a field of three candidates. Democrat Paul Cunningham retained his seat in Ward 2, and Democrat Nikki Lee won her first term in Ward 4.

Proposition 205, known as “Keeping Tucson Families Free and Together,” would have restricted when police can inquire about immigration status and cooperate with federal law enforcement in immigration raids and other activities. It failed by a 71 percent margin.

Here are the unofficial results, with all 135 precincts counted:

Backed by progressives in Tucson, which has a sizable Latino community, Proposition 205 was designed to send a clear message to the Trump administration that its policies are anti-family. The measure explicitly aimed to neuter a 2010 Arizona immigration law known as SB1070, which drew mass protests and a boycott of the state.

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Courts gutted much of the law, but upheld the requirement that law enforcement officers check immigration papers of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally.

"It will put into law that we will not, as we move forward, collaborate in the federal effort to terrorize, detain, separate and deport our community members," said Zaira Livier, executive director of the People's Defense Initiative, which organized the effort that became Proposition 205.

Tucson’s mayor and city council members, all of them Democrats, opposed Prop 205 because they're concerned about unintended consequences and the potential for losing millions of dollars in state and federal funding. They say Tucson police have already adopted rules that go as far as legally possible to restrict officers from enforcing federal immigration laws.

“The city of Tucson, in all respects except being labeled as such, operates as a sanctuary city,” Rothschild, the current mayor, said.

The Trump administration has fought sanctuary cities and tried to restrict their access to federal grants. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in June that the Trump administration could consider cities' willingness to cooperate in immigration enforcement when doling out law enforcement money.

A second question on the Tucson ballot, Proposition 409, would have raised the salary for the Tucson mayor from $42,000 to $63,128 per year, and the salaries of city council members from $24,000 to $42,081 per year. That measure failed by a margin of 60 percent.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.