Rodney Glassman is the current Tucson City Council Member for Ward 2 from Arizona. Recently, Glassman was sworn in as Vice Mayor of the City of Tucson. From Fresno, California, Glassman came to Tucson, Arizona, to take over the family’s ice skating rink in 1997. “I was supposed to be here for a year, but I fell in love with Tucson,” Glassman said. On Sunday, December 20, 2009, Glassman married Sasha Borsand. The two met in 2007 at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. She recently graduated from the University of Arizona with her J.D/M.S (in Latin American studies) this past May. Furthermore, she is a licensed attorney in the state of Arizona.
Education and Professional Experience:
Glassman graduated from The University of Arizona five times. He earned his undergraduate degree in Agricultural Economics and both of his Masters in Business Administration and Public Administration from the Eller College of Management.
In 2005 Glassman completed his PhD in Arid Land Resource Sciences from The University of Arizona. He has published research both nationally and internationally in the area of agricultural education and hands-on learning. In 2007, Glassman graduated with his J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law from The University of Arizona and is a member of the Arizona Bar. In the spring of 2009, Glassman was sworn in as a First Lieutenant in the United States Air Force JAG Reserve and serves at Davis-Monthan Air-Force Base in Tucson.
Professionally, Glassman has experience in small business management and holds an Arizona Real Estate license. He has consulted in the areas of community development, relationship building and charitable giving for companies in Tucson. He previously served on the Advisory Board for the Bank of Tucson.
Glassman also served from 2002-2006 as a legislative aide for Congressman Raúl Grijalva, focusing on business and agriculture in the Washington, D.C. and Tucson congressional offices.
City Council Member:
Glassman was elected to Tucson City Council in 2007 at the age of 29.
Glassman has been visiting other Arizona city councils to speak about conserving water through rainwater harvesting. He has become a “driving force” behind a city requirement for commercial building to harvest rainwater and homes use “gray water” for plumbing that makes Tucson the first city to pass mandatory rainwater-harvesting ordinances. Commercial projects will have to collect enough rainwater to supply 50 percent of their landscaping irrigation.
Glassman is rumored to be eying a run for US Senate in 2010 replacing John McCain (Nelson).
Local Community Service:
Glassman is the founder and President of the Glassman Foundation, a community foundation that raises and contributes over $100,000 annually to local non-profits that serve children. It stated in 2002 (Lundin).
He also established an Educational Enrichment Fund Mini Grant. Its goal is to encourage creative projects among teachers in the Tucson Unified School District's Ward 2 schools. The grant will provide funding for special classroom or library projects. Multiple grants of up to $500 can be used without restrictions as to subject matter or emphasis. Glassman serves on the statewide board of the Arizona Legal Services and Education Foundation and the Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation. Previously he served on the Arizona Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.
His Tucson volunteer experiences include serving on the boards of the Pima Council on Aging, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, Catalina Council Boy Scouts of America, Desert Caucus P.A.C. and The University of Arizona School of Music Advisory Board. Additionally, Glassman is an Honorary Board Member of Opening Minds through the Arts (OMA), a program of Tucson Unified School District that infuses arts into the classroom to boost student achievement. Furthermore, he has served on the boards of the American Heart Association, Crime Prevention Council, Pima County Farm Bureau, Sons of Orpheus Men's Choir, Parent-Aid Child Abuse Prevention Program, The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, and the Hacienda Del Rio Homeowner's Association.
Lastly, Glassman earned his Eagle Scout rank at age 13 (Ward 2 - Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman).
"New city council members sworn in, face challenges | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona." Home - Breaking news, weather, sports from KVOA-TV Channel 4 | KVOA.com | Tucson, Arizona. 7 Dec. 2009. KVOA.com Tucson and Southern Arizona News. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.kvoa.com/news/new-city-council-members-face-challenges/>.
Lundin, Martha. "Rodney Glassman." Inside Tucson Business 2005. The Eller Times. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.eller.arizona.edu/ellertimes/2005/dec/glassman.asp>.
Scarpinato, Daniel. "Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Glassman backs this proposal, underwater." Arizona Daily Star [Tucson] 21 June 2008, Tucson Region sec. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/related/244776>. Braun, Phyllis. "Underwater proposal is romantic scuba surprise for Tucson city councilman." JewishTucson.org. 6 Feb. 2009. Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://www.jewishtucson.org/page.aspx?id=194234&page=3>.
"Ward 2 - Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman | City of Tucson Web." The City of Tucson | City of Tucson Web. 23 Dec. 2009 <http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/wardtwo>.
Nelson, Gary. "Mesa weighs Tucson model to save water." The Arizona Republic [Phoenix] 13 Nov. 2009. AZCentral.com. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2009/11/13/20091113rainwater1113.html>.
"Tucson rainwater harvesting law drawing interest." Associated Press 5 July 2009, AZ Green Living sec. AZCentral.com. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.azcentral.com/news/green/articles/2009/07/05/20090705rain.html>.
Huicochea, Alexis. "Students raise $1,000 for sick child's family." Arizona Daily Star [Tucson] 21 Dec. 2009, Tucson Region sec. 21 Dec. 2009 <http://www.azstarnet.com>