Catherine “Cat” Ripley (D) vs. Ethan Orr (R)
Catherine Ripley
The Arizona Daily Star endorses Catherine “Cat” Ripley to replace the retiring Mark Hanna as the representative for District 1 on the Pima Community College Governing Board.
The race pits the two candidates who most understand what the position they are running for is and why they want to fill it. Both the veteran Ripley and former state legislator Ethan Orr exhibit a genuine love for the college punctuated by different understandings of how to make it more inclusive to all Pima County residents.
Although Orr boasts more time spent in a legislative body and has served the Southern Arizona community for years, Ripley is used to being somewhere new and adapting quickly: She was one of the first women to be admitted and graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy.
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Additionally, she held the position of assistant professor at some of the country’s most prestigious universities and is currently an adjunct professor at PCC in political science.
On top of an impressive résumé, Ripley promises a more community-inclusive plan to keep PCC competitive in a new era complicated by new, for-profit online universities and COVID-19.
“To recover economically after the pandemic, it’s going to take the city, the local population, the electricians, the plumbers, the welders, the nurses, the EMTs and auto-mechanics — it’s basically our work force — is going to need to be trained to be ready to go, ready to work,” she said during our candidate discussion.
It will be important that Ripley grow quickly in the job: a continued pandemic and looming financial and economic issues won’t wait. Considering her background and ability, that shouldn’t be an issue.
