Tucson Elects Socialist Council Member Backed By Powerful Progressive Organizations

Tucson Elects Socialist Council Member Backed By Powerful Progressive Organizations

by | Nov 6, 2025 | News

By Staff Reporter |

The newest member of the Tucson City Council is further left than the rest of the council’s Democrats.

That’s because newly elected Tucson Councilwoman Miranda Schubert is a socialist. Schubert’s victory can be credited in part to several powerful national players in progressive politics.

One of those key players is the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). The DSA endorsed Schubert; she is also a member of their Tucson chapter. 

The DSA platform is the furthest to the left, policywise, on every issue. 

The DSA advocates for:

  • making all healthcare, college, and childcare free; 
  • cancelling all student loan debts; 
  • decriminalizing all drugs; 
  • abolishing prisons, mandatory minimum sentencing, and cash bail; 
  • stripping police departments of military-grade weapons and equipment; 
  • establishing universal rent control;
  • providing free counsel for all tenants; 
  • expanding subsidized housing; 
  • mandating paid family leave for all workers; 
  • reducing the regular workweek to 32 hours; 
  • establishing more unions in the workforce; 
  • eliminating fossil fuels; 
  • transferring ownership of transportation and energy infrastructure to the public; 
  • raising taxes on wealthier families, corporations, and private colleges and universities; 
  • mandating a permanent ceasefire in Gaza; 
  • ending military support and commerce to Israel; 
  • closing overseas bases and reducing the military budget; 
  • abolishing borders and immigration enforcement; 
  • ending economic sanctions on foreign countries; 
  • restoring voting rights to felons; 
  • granting voting rights to noncitizens; 
  • establishing statehood for Washington, D.C.; 
  • abolishing the electoral college; 
  • adding more House seats; 
  • ending the Senate filibuster; 
  • and limiting the Supreme Court’s powers

Schubert’s local DSA in Tucson aligns with this platform, and also supports progressive causes like allowing gender transitions for minors.

Another key player integral to Schubert’s victory was Run For Something (RFS), a political action committee devoted to recruiting and providing campaign assistance to progressive candidates across all 50 states. A former staffer from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, Amanda Litman, and a Democratic Party consultant, Ross Morales Rocketto, launched RFS in 2017. 

Schubert was one of two 2025 candidates in Arizona to receive support from RFS. They also provided Schubert support for her unsuccessful council run in 2021; that year she was their only endorsed candidate for Arizona. 

IRS records show the social welfare nonprofit arm for RFS — formed in 2020 with the same name as its parent organization — reported over $6 million in revenue, over $9 million in expenditures, and nearly $7 million in total assets in the last available reporting (2023). 

Another DSA member won a significant seat across the country on Tuesday night: Zohran Mamdani for New York City mayor. 

Along with the strength of progressive powerhouses DSA and RFS, Schubert had significant support from the corporate sector: specifically, those assisting in transitioning the state to “clean” energy.

Schubert’s partner, Amanda Maass, is senior managing consultant at Illume Advising, a progressive research and advisory firm with headquarters in Tucson and Madison, Wisconsin. Illume assists utilities, states, and governments with the adoption of “clean” and “green” initiatives such as decarbonization and renewable energy. 

Both Arizona Public Service (APS) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP) have been Illume clients. In recent years, Illume worked with both to craft a DEI-driven plan to electrify transportation across Arizona. 

Illume has close ties to local and state leaders, including Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, Pima County Deputy Administrator Steve Holmes, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and Attorney General Kris Mayes. Romero’s communications and policy advisor, Victor Mercado, was Illume’s marketing and business development principal. 

Illume founder and co-owner Anne Dougherty is board chair of the LGBTQ+ Alliance Fund of Southern Arizona, and director for the Arizona Technology Council as well as Groundswell Capital.

Prior to running for council, Schubert founded a labor union for Arizona’s public universities and some community colleges, CWA Local 7065 United Campus Workers of Arizona, and a local housing and transit advocacy group, Tucson for Everyone.

Schubert also served on two city commissions, the Complete Streets Coordinating Council and the Board of Adjustment.

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Democrat-Socialists Celebrate Unofficial Primary Results In Tucson

Democrat-Socialists Celebrate Unofficial Primary Results In Tucson

by | Aug 9, 2025 | News

By Matthew Holloway |

Democrat-Socialist endorsed politicians are not only present on Arizona ballots but appear to be thriving in the Tucson Democratic Primary. Miranda Schubert, running in the Aug. 5 primary for the Tucson Ward 6 council seat, and Sadie Shaw, running against incumbent City Councilmember Kevin Dahl in Ward 3, who also sits on the Tucson Unified School District governing board, were both endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America’s Tucson chapter.

In a statement, the Tucson Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) celebrated the early results, saying, “Tonight, Tucson rejected the status quo and supported champions for Public Power and the working class. At a time when big corporations like Amazon are threatening Tucson’s water and a liveable climate, @mirandaforward6tucson’s decisive victory and @sadieforward3 running neck and neck with a well-funded incumbent proves that Tucsonans want elected leaders who will fight for policies like free-transit, affordable housing and public power that will address the crises we are facing and directly benefit the working class people of Tucson. We look forward to working with these two socialists and the most progressive city council in recent history to improve the lives of all people in Tucson.”

According to the DSA, “The Democratic Socialists of America is the largest socialist organization in the United States because we’re a member-driven mass organization.”

The unofficial election results showed that Schubert is trending to capture the Ward 6 council seat “by a wide margin.” As of Friday evening, the tally stood at 6,343 votes, against Democrats Leighton Rockafellow Jr., with 2,927 votes, and James Sinex won 365 votes. She is expected to face Republican Jay Tolkoff, who ran unopposed in his primary. Per AZCentral, Rockafellow has conceded the race.

Schubert declared victory and thanked her supporters Wednesday night, telling them, “I love local politics because it’s so simple. It comes down to having conversations, having conversations with your neighbors and with your fellow community members, and so I hope that this can be the start of more conversations and more work to come together to make Tucson a better place for future generations.”

The Ward 6 seat was vacated by former Councilman Steve Kozachik, who handily defeated Schubert by nearly 18 points in the 2021 Democratic Primary. Kozachik later stepped down to take over the Pima Animal Care Center in 2024. He was succeeded temporarily by Karin Uhlich, who later ran in her own right to finish out his term. However, in July, Uhlich announced she would not seek reelection, leaving Schubert as the frontrunner.

In the Ward 3 race, DSA-endorsee Sadie Shaw is trailing Democrat incumbent Councilman Kevin Dahl by just 19 votes as of this report. The councilman claimed victory, but Shaw has announced that she will await the final results once they have been canvassed and certified per Arizona law. The winner will face Republican Janet “JL” Wittenbraker, who ran unopposed in her primary.

Wittenbraker recently made waves in the city election by calling out the Tucson Sentinel for “failure to interview Republican candidates on key issues such as fare-free transit, Project Blue, and TPD funding,” adding this is “emblematic of their bias,” and “very disappointing.”

In a statement following the results, she told the outlet, “Tucson is ready for change, especially in Ward 3, where poverty, homelessness, and high crime rates resulted in a competitive race between Shaw and Dahl.”

Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.