Tucson Democrat takes helm of Arizona Senate

Tucson will have a direct seat at the top of Arizona’s Senate for the first time in decades, after Democratic Sen. Priya Sundareshan was chosen to serve as president for the next two years. Her elevation gives Southern Arizona its strongest position in the chamber in a Legislature long dominated by lawmakers from Maricopa County. It also marks the first time since 1991 that a Democrat will hold a Senate majority leadership role.

The change is significant for Tucson residents because the region has often struggled to protect its priorities in state budget negotiations. Four senators and eight representatives serve districts that include Tucson or other parts of Pima County. By comparison, about 22 senators and 44 representatives come from the Maricopa County area. Tucson voters have also generally elected Democrats, who until this election were part of the Legislature’s minority party. Sundareshan’s selection follows an election that gave Senate Democrats the majority and placed her at the center of decisions over the state budget, transportation, education and local authority.

Sundareshan has identified higher education and road funding as two areas where Southern Arizona has felt overlooked. The University of Arizona received a $5.7 million reduction in the final bipartisan budget. That outcome was less severe than an earlier Republican proposal, which would have cut roughly $14 million from the university. The earlier plan also called for reducing Rio Nuevo’s sales tax revenue by about $19 million. Rio Nuevo is a tax increment financing district that supports downtown Tucson development, infrastructure and business projects. The final budget avoided that reduction, though it added requirements governing how the district uses its money.

Transportation funding has presented another long-running challenge. The Highway User Revenue Fund, known as HURF, pays for highway construction, maintenance and local transportation infrastructure. During the past two decades, lawmakers have sometimes redirected HURF money to help balance the state budget. At the same time, revenue from the state fuel tax, the main source of HURF funding, has declined. The tax has remained at 18 cents per gallon since 1990, leaving less money available as transportation needs have grown.

Tucson has responded by seeking local revenue for projects that state funding has not fully covered. Voters have considered three local propositions involving half-cent sales taxes to pay for major road work, neighborhood streets, pedestrian improvements and public transit services. Those local efforts underscore why the city is watching the new Senate leadership closely. Decisions made in Phoenix can affect whether Tucson has to rely on local taxes to maintain basic infrastructure and whether it can move forward with broader transportation improvements.

Sundareshan has said Senate Democrats will not pursue additional cuts to university funding and intends to consider the needs of communities beyond the state’s most populous county when shaping the budget. She has argued that non-Maricopa communities have often been overlooked and said Southern Arizona should have a stronger voice in the process. Her leadership will be tested as the Legislature begins its next session and lawmakers weigh competing demands from urban, rural and suburban areas across Arizona.

Her rise also carries historical importance. The last Democrat to preside over the Senate was Pete Rios, who served from 1991 to 1992 and represented Dudleyville, a small community south of Hayden. The last Tucsonan to hold the position was Republican Tim Bee, who served for two years beginning in 2007. Before Bee, Tucson’s Bill Jacquin, also a Republican, led the chamber in 1970. Sundareshan therefore becomes the first Tucson Democrat to hold the Senate presidency and the first Tucsonan in nearly two decades to occupy the chamber’s top position.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero welcomed the change and said the city was proud of Sundareshan’s selection. Romero said city officials want to work with the new Senate president on Tucson’s Safe City Initiative, which addresses homelessness, substance abuse and violent crime. The city also plans to pursue state support for affordable housing, infrastructure, local decision-making authority, climate and water resilience, and funding connected to those goals. The mayor’s response signals that Tucson officials see Sundareshan’s leadership as an opportunity to build a more productive relationship with the state.

Sundareshan is not the only Tucson-area Democrat moving into a leadership role. She selected Sen. Alma Hernandez and Sen. Edgar Soto, who represent Legislative Districts 20 and 17, as presidents pro tempore. In the House, newly elected Speaker Oscar De Los Santos appointed Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, from District 18, as majority leader and Rep. Kevin Volk, also from District 18, as majority whip. Together, the appointments give Tucson and nearby districts a larger presence among the Legislature’s decision-makers as lawmakers prepare for the next session. For residents, the question now is whether that representation will translate into durable funding for the university, roads, downtown investment and the other priorities Southern Arizona has pursued for years.