Article in The Daily Star, February 4, 2008

Dem activist to challenge Bronson
County elections, enviro issues spur Branch-Gilby
by Erica Meltzer

Democratic Party activist Donna Branch-Gilby will challenge incumbent Democrat Sharon Bronson for the Pima County District 3 supervisor seat.
Bronson is seeking her fourth term on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Branch-Gilby, a former chairwoman of the county Democratic Party, was a frequent and outspoken critic of the county's elections policies. She opposed the decision to purchase touch-screen voting machines, which Bronson voted for, and wants the county to release vote count databases after elections so the political parties can ensure the integrity of the process.

Branch-Gilby also said she will be a strong voice on environmental and growth issues.

But she said she probably would not be running if she and other activists did not perceive Bronson as opposed to their efforts to open up the vote-counting process.

"After sitting in various hearings for a period of two years, and seeing that she was a leader in keeping the process secret, that motivated me to look at this possibility," Branch-Gilby said.

Bronson said she always wanted transparency but needed to balance that desire with conflicting advice from experts about how to maintain security.

"Now, with allowing the ballots to be scanned, we probably have the most transparent and secure elections in the state and maybe the nation," Bronson said, referring to a recent decision to scan images of ballots and make them available on-line. "We needed to make sure we had security, and it took us a while to get there, but now we're there."

Bronson did vote against a Democratic Party request to release elections databases for review after votes have been tallied, an additional step that Branch-Gilby said she believes is necessary to ensure the tally is accurate.
Branch-Gilby, 66, has lived in Tucson since the mid-1960s and is a resident of Milagro Cohousing, a planned community with a focus on sustainable living and communal decision-making located in the Tucson Mountain foothills.

Branch-Gilby has a master's in public administration from the University of Arizona and worked for the Department of Economic Security for 20 years, mostly doing management training.

Branch-Gilby said she would push for greater cooperation between the city and the county on regional environmental issues, especially water.

"I would provide even stronger leadership in resource conservation for the Tucson valley and the county," she said.

"(Bronson) has been great on the conservation plan, but there is a lot more that could be done in the water arena."

Bronson said she has been a leader both in conservation and in making development pay for itself through impact fees. The county recently adopted an infrastructure plan that will result in higher impact fees on the fast-growing Southwest Side.

"I think I've demonstrated in office my commitment to conservation," she said.

"We've seen a tremendous amount of progress in the last 10 years. I'm looking forward to a spirited debate."

All five supervisor seats are up this year, and all five incumbents have filed paperwork to run for re-election.

Branch-Gilby is the first challenger to file paperwork.

The primary election is in September, with the general election in November.