Victor Soltero

Last updated

Victor Soltero
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 29th district
In office
2003–2008
Personal details
Born (1938-08-06) August 6, 1938 (age 86)
Globe, Arizona
Political party Democratic
SpouseMary
Residence Tucson, Arizona
Education Pima Community College (attended)

Victor E. Soltero (born August 6, 1938) is a Democratic politician. He served as Arizona State Senator for District 29 from 2003 to 2008, and earlier from 1991 through 2000. He was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2000 through 2003, and Mayor of the City of South Tucson from 1988 through 1999. [1]

Contents

Early life

Soltero was born on August 6, 1938 in Globe, Arizona, and moved to South Tucson, Arizona around the age of four. [1] [2] He graduated from Pueblo High School in Tucson, Arizona in 1957 and later attended Pima Community College. [1] Soltero worked as an aircraft electrician in the Arizona Air National Guard from 1956 to 1962 and a grounds maintenance field supervisor for the Tucson Unified School District from 1963 to 1991, [1] retiring from the latter following his appointment to the Arizona State Senate. [3]

Political career

On December 8, 1980, Soltero was appointed to the South Tucson city council on a 4–1 vote, with one abstention, to fill a two-month vacancy left by the resignation of Frank Lopez. [4] [5] He had previously served on several city committees and was on the Merit System Commission at the time. [4] [5] Soltero was twice reelected to his city council seat. [6]

On May 2, 1988, Soltero was unanimously appointed mayor of South Tucson by the city council, replacing Dan Eckstrom, the 15-year incumbent who resigned to become a Pima County Supervisor. [6] Later that year, he inaugurated the city's new municipal complex and named it after Eckstrom to honor his service to the "square-mile city". [7]

In March 1991, Soltero was one of 15 applicants who applied to represent the 10th district in the Arizona State Senate, a seat vacated by Jesus "Chuy" Higuera due to his resignation amid a corruption investigation. [8] From there, Soltero was one of three finalists recommended by a six-member citizens' committee. [9] He was appointed to fill the State Senate vacancy via a 4–1 vote by the Pima County Board of Supervisors on March 29 and sworn in on April 1 along with Armando Ruiz. [10] [11] In his first day in office, Soltero voted on 76 bills which had been backed up, including five campaign reform laws. [11] [12] "It's a little difficult, but it's like getting into any other [new] situation," he said about his eventful first day. "At first it, it seems quite a bit more difficult than it actually turns out to be." [12]

In 1992, Soltero sponsored a bill that would have appropriated $250,000 for a southside Tucson health center for victims of Trichloroethylene (TCE)-contaminated ground water. [13] [14] The TCE-contaminated area near the Tucson International Airport had previously been declared a federal Superfund site in 1983. [13]

In the 1992 election, Soltero ran unopposed in the Democratic primary [15] before defeating Libertarian challenger Arthur Kerschen in the general election.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Libertarian Party</span> State affiliate of the Libertarian Party

The Arizona Libertarian Party (AZLP) is the Arizona affiliate of the national Libertarian Party (LP) and has been active since its foundation on October 7, 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethel Maynard</span> American politician

Ethel Reed Maynard was an American politician, activist, and registered nurse who served in the Arizona House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. She was the first black woman to serve in the Arizona Legislature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John T. Hughes (politician)</span> American politician in Arizona

John T. Hughes was a politician from Arizona who served in the 1st Arizona State Legislature. He was also a newspaper man, editing and publishing his father's paper, the Arizona Daily Star, and an attorney, the first native-born Arizonan to be admitted to the Arizona bar. Additionally, he had several mining and real estate interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. A. Worsley</span> American politician in Arizona

Colonel A. A. Worsley was a politician from Arizona who served in the 1st Arizona State Legislature. Worsley was also an attorney, who practiced in Tucson, Arizona. He was married to Alice J. Worsley.

James A. Harrison was a politician from Arizona who served in the 1st Arizona State Legislature. He returned to the state senate in 1932 and served four more terms, three consecutively from 1932 through 1938. He operated the large Harrison ranch from the early 1900s through 1950, when he sold it to his son and grandson. He served on the Santa Cruz county board of supervisors from its inception through 1920. He was also on the city council of Nogales, Arizona, and served several terms as its mayor. Early in his life he was a stage coach driver for Wells Fargo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mose Drachman</span> American politician in Arizona

Mose Drachman was a pioneer business and civic leader, as well as politician, in Tucson, Arizona, during the early 1900s. He was involved in numerous interests, including mercantile, real estate, banking, mining, and cattle. He served as the Senior Clerk for the U.S. District Court in Arizona during the term of William H. Sawtelle, served two terms on the Tucson City Council, and five consecutive terms on the Tucson Board of Education, as well as being on both the Tucson and Phoenix chambers of commerce. He also served a single term in the Arizona state senate during the 2nd Arizona State Legislature. Two books were written about his life, Ridin' the Rainbow, and Chicken Every Sunday, the latter being made into a Broadway play, as well as a motion picture of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry A. Drachman</span> American politician from Arizona

Harry Arizona Drachman was an Arizona pioneer, businessman and politician. He was born on February 3, 1869, in Tucson, Arizona, the first white Anglo-American male child born in Tucson. Drachman was a 33rd degree mason, and served as a deputy on the Supreme Council of Arizona. He joined the Masons in 1900, and held numerous high positions at the local, state, and national levels. He was also very active in the Knights of Pythias, having also joined that organization in 1900. He eventually rose to hold the position of the Supreme Representative in the organization's Supreme Lodge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew P. Martin</span> American politician from Arizona

Andrew P. Martin was an Arizona politician who served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 2nd Arizona State Legislature. He was known as the father of the Arizona National Guard, having organized and led the first company in the territory in 1910. With no formal education in pharmacology, he became a registered pharmacist, and grew his father's single drugstore to become the largest drugstore chain in Tucson, before selling it in 1954. He was also called the father of the University of Arizona College of Pharmacology, having led the drive to establish the school. In addition, he saw combat as an artillery soldier during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. W. Buchanan</span> American politician from Arizona

John W. Buchanan (1871–1941) was an American politician from Arizona who served in the states first three legislatures, the first two in the House of Representatives, and the third in the State Senate. During his political career he also served as Pima County Treasurer and as Tucson's City Treasurer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Goodell</span> American politician from Arizona

Fred Ormal Goodell (1876-1961) was an Arizona politician who served three consecutive terms in the Arizona State Senate from 1917 through 1922. Very active in the Masons, he served in all of their major posts in Arizona, including being the Grand Master of Masons in Arizona, the Grand Commander of Knights Templar in Arizona, the Grand Master of A. & S. M. of Arizona, and the High Priest of R. A. M. of Arizona. He served as the county comptroller for Pima County for 21 years, from 1935 to 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. H. Rutherford</span> American politician from Arizona

Charles Hays Rutherford was an American lawyer and politician from Arizona who served in the Arizona State Senate from 1917 through 1918, during the 3rd Arizona State Legislature. He also served during the 6th Arizona State Legislature. He served in the Army Reserve, first in the JAG corps, then in the Specialist Reserve Corps, eventually attaining the rank of Colonel. From 1930 until his death in 1950 he served as a civilian aide to the Secretary of War. He practiced law, first in Indiana early in his career, and then in Arizona, until he was disbarred by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert R. Buehman</span> American politician and photographer

Albert Rex Buehman was an American photographer and politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona House of Representatives during the 3rd Arizona State Legislature, followed by a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 4th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Pima County. He was unsuccessful in bids for the U. S. House of Representatives in 1948 and for the Mayor of Tucson in 1955. The photography business his father began in 1873 in Tucson was the oldest photography studio in Arizona when it closed in 1956. His daily column in the Arizona Daily Star ran from 1950 through 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elias Hedrick</span> American politician from Arizona

Elias Hedrick (1862-1949) was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding the seat from Pima County. Prior to his senate term, Hedrick served a single term in the Arizona House of Representatives during the 4th Arizona State Legislature. He was known as a philanthropist, particularly to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Tucson, Arizona. Outside of politics he was a highly successful real-estate man.

David Morgan was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 5th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Yavapai County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Hayhurst</span> American politician from Arizona

Pat Hayhurst was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 6th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Pima County.

Claude Smith was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 7th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Pima County. He was a veteran of World War I, and served as county attorney in Pima County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William C. Joyner</span> American politician from Arizona

William C. Joyner was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 8th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Pima County. He also served as the state game warden, and was responsible for the construction of the Hunt Bass Hatchery House.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merton Martensen</span> American politician from Arizona

Merton Martensen was an American politician from Arizona. He served a single term in the Arizona State Senate during the 9th Arizona State Legislature, holding one of the two seats from Pima County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Collins (Arizona politician)</span> American politician from Arizona

Thomas Collins was an American politician from Arizona. He served several terms in the Arizona State Senate, his first stint lasting from the 10th through 12th Arizona State Legislatures, holding one of the two seats from Pima County. He also served from Pima County during the 20th and 22nd Arizona State Legislatures. He also served several terms on the Pima County Board of Supervisors.

Rose Marie Augustine is an American environmental justice activist from Tucson, Arizona. In 1985, she helped found the group Tucsonians for a Clean Environment to raise awareness about groundwater pollution in the South Side of Tucson, which disproportionately affected low-income and Hispanic neighborhoods.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Victor Soltero's Biography". Vote Smart . Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  2. ↑ Watt, Joe (April 10, 1983). "5 seek 4 S. Tucson council seats Tuesday (II)". Arizona Daily Star . p. 44. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com. He was born in Globe, but has lived in South Tucson for 40 of his 44 years.
  3. ↑ Bustamante, Mary (March 29, 1991). "Mayor Soltero will replace Higuera (II)". Tucson Citizen . p. 20. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 "S. Tucson enacts cable TV code; to ask bids soon". Tucson Citizen . December 9, 1980. p. 32. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Victor Soltero appointed to South Tucson council". Arizona Daily Star . December 9, 1980. p. 34. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Fedunak, Steffannie (May 3, 1988). "Soltero chosen as South Tucson mayor". Arizona Daily Star . p. 4. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Peña, Stella (November 29, 1988). "S. Tucson city complex, named after ex-mayor, opens". Tucson Citizen . p. 11. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Burchell, Joe (March 23, 1991). "15 applicants seeking to fill Higuera's seat". Arizona Daily Star . p. 7. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Burchell, Joe (March 28, 1991). "Panel suggests 3 finalists to replace Higuera". Arizona Daily Star . p. 1. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Bustamante, Mary (March 29, 1991). "Mayor Soltero will replace Higuera (I)". Tucson Citizen . p. 13. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Reinhart, Mary K. (April 2, 1991). "Senate debut is busy one for Soltero (I)". Arizona Daily Star . p. 9. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 Reinhart, Mary K. (April 2, 1991). "Senate debut is busy one for Soltero (II)". Arizona Daily Star . p. 10. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 Reinhart, Mary K. (February 29, 1992). "Senate panel OKs $250,000 for southside center for TCE victims". Arizona Daily Star . p. 3, 4 . Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Kelliher, Kim (June 28, 1992). "Senate votes to fund TCE health center in Tucson". Arizona Daily Star . p. 18. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Kelliher, Kim (September 9, 1992). "Early legislative results show incumbents winning (II)". Arizona Daily Star . p. 5. Retrieved October 15, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.