On Tuesday, September 9, 2008, CUE workers attending the General Membership meeting endorsed Tim Fitzmaurice for Santa Cruz City Council. The election is November 4, 2008.

Tim is a UCSC Lecturer and member of his union - AFT Local 2199. For 15 years, Tim has been the Grievance Officer of his union.

Tim served two previous terms on the City Council, some of that time as Mayor. His tenure included stewardship of the Living Wage Ordinance, paying workers a much higher than minimum wage if their employer contracted for goods or services with the City.

He and his wife Ginny, a UCSC retiree (and a former CUE member), were active in the Santa Cruz city Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage, a measure that was on the November 2006 ballot.

In a presentation to the members September 9, Tim expressed his desire to serve again by highlighting the following areas of concern:

• That the City Council needs to be smart, thoughtful and deliberate in considering policy reactions to hard economic times, particularly where layoffs and service reductions are involved.
• That the City Council needs to be aggressive in finding ways to develop low and moderate-income rental housing.
• That the City Council understand that environmental concerns and those of unions do not necessarily compete with each other, but rather, ways can be found to make such concerns compatible.
• Tim restated his commitment to being extremely accessible to all members of the community, particularly union workers and their representatives.

As the November 4 Election Day grows closer, CUE Local 10 will send you reminders to vote.

If you’re interested in volunteering with the Fitzmaurice for City Council Campaign, contact the campaign directly at 831.252.3197 or tim@tim4council.com.