FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 12, 2011 – Tucson, AZ – Green Party Mayoral Candidate Jon McLane Withdraws, Endorses McClusky
Tucson, AZ — Jon McLane, Green Party candidate for Mayor of Tucson, has decided to withdraw from the race and has chosen to endorse Shaun McClusky in his bid for the Mayor’s seat. Below is the text of the announcement by Mr. McLane.
“I joined Tucson’s mayoral race to ensure the strategies and plans were in place to recover our economy, improve our educational system and protect our natural resources. As Mayor, I thought I could deliver a concerted focus on sustainability that would allow our city government and residents to minimize or even eliminate the need to outsource dollars that should be staying in Tucson-money for energy, fuel and water that could be better spent here at home.
I am a proud member and elected officer of the Green Party of Pima County. Yet since the inception of the Green party of Pima County more than twenty years ago, our registered voter count is a humble eight hundred and fifty seven in the City of Tucson.
This humble number of registered Greens has to be accounted for. Not only for the sake of the members who have put their faith in our leadership, but for the two hundred thousand registered voters in the city of Tucson who do not believe in the Green party or our ability to create a sustainable city. This is an issue that the Green Party of Pima County, including myself is accountable for.
While the Green party of Pima County is an amazing organization, and I wish Dave Croteau the best in his recently announced campaign, I have decided to withdraw from the Tucson mayoral race. The Green Party of Pima County has an important mission, and I will continue to serve the Party as At-Large Representative-the path that I believe will provide the most direct impact for creating a sustainable Tucson.
While I will not be running for Mayor myself, I have decided to join the campaign committee and act as chair of the Sustainability Committee for Shaun McClusky, Republican Mayoral candidate. After meeting Shaun I was impressed not only by his knowledge on local issues, but his prescient plans and strategies for rebuilding Tucson were.
Subsequent conversations with Shaun, including one about practical ideas to solve our water shortage issues, showed me that Shaun McClusky has ideas, openness and courage to be a good leader for a more sustainable Tucson. He doesn’t make decisions by what the status quo demands.
Thank you, to Ron Asta, Marshall Home, Dave Croteau, and Jonathan Rothschild for the invitations to join your campaign committees. I have become close with all of the mayoral candidates, but Shaun McClusky is the most inspiring candidate in this race, and I am confident that he will have the ability to rebuild Tucson in a vibrant, sustainable, economical way. With my help and the help of other local resource professionals he will be able to model Tucson as the first sustainable city in the United States of America.
Thank you, to all of my supporters who share the same vision for Tucson that I do. With your support I will continue to dedicate myself in service to you, to the Green Party of Pima County, to the City of Tucson, and to the State of Arizona.” – Jon McLane
“I want to thank Mr. McLane for his support and say that I look forward to working with Jon and our Green community to build a better Tucson,” said Shaun McClusky. “Conserving our water and natural resources isn’t optional. Not here. So to have the advice and expertise of a man like Jon McLane on my team is invaluable.
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