6 candidates seek spot on Sunnyside school board

One seat was vacated June 28 by Robert Jaramillo, who resigned to become an instructor at Desert View High School.

Candidates seeking the appointment, which ends Dec. 31, 2012, are:

• Jose M. Carbajal, a retired Raytheon Missile Systems worker and former Sunnyside Unified School District Governing Board member.

• Buck Crouch, a manufacturing systems consultant and a business management professor for Northern Arizona University's extended campus in Tucson.

• Robert John Garcia, a retired Tucson Police Department officer who served as a liaison officer and a former wrestling coach at Sunnyside and Desert View high schools.

• Daniel Hernandez Jr., a 2008 Sunnyside High School grad and political science major at the University of Arizona. He is a former intern for Giffords' office, specializing in constituent casework for veterans.

• Mikki Edward Niemi, a retired educator with more than 40 years of experience, including teaching on reservations in Arizona and New Mexico. Niemi served as a substitute teacher at Sunnyside High School and recently served on the district's bond advisory committee.

• Rebecca Quintero, recycling education coordinator for Tucson Clean & Beautiful, president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, and former program chair of the Community Justice Board at the Pima County Attorney's Office.

An advisory committee made up of district residents will interview the candidates Aug. 12. Members are Alex Sproule, Martin Gomez, Gloria Lopez, Hector M. Encinas and Paula Montijo. They will advise Pima County School Superintendent Linda Arzoumanian, who is likely to decide this month.

The other vacated seat was left by Ignacio Gomez, who resigned in January after his residency was questioned. The district will conduct an election in November.

Contact reporter Carmen Duarte at 573-4104 or cduarte@azstarnet.com