Selina Barajas is making history as the first woman to run for Tucson’s Ward 5 City Council seat, the same Southside ward she grew up in.

Backed by years of community work, a background in urban planning and a commitment to environmental and economic justice, Barajas says her campaign is about more than politics: it’s about reshaping the future of her neighborhood.

Barajas, a fourth-generation Tucsonan, business owner and UCLA alum, never saw herself as a politician, but her decision to run for Ward 5 was years in the making.

“It took me a lot of reflection,” Barajas told Tucson Spotlight. “Took me a few years to really think about myself in this role. I wanted to make sure that if I was going to commit to this, I wanted to go full force.”

A Democrat, Barajas is facing two other Democratic challengers in the primary: Chris Elsner and Jesse Lugo. With no Republican on the ballot, the winner of July’s primary will take the seat.

Ward 5 includes several neighborhoods with deep, historic and Hispanic roots, including the Rodeo Fairgrounds, Sunnyside and Santa Rita Park.

“My hope is that folks see that this is beyond one party,” Barajas said. “This is going to be for the community. I'm trying to bring folks into this process so that they can get civically engaged and care for the community.”

A graduate of both the Tucson Unified and Sunnyside school districts, Barajas found her motivation for local advocacy through a youth mentorship program with Chicanos Por La Causa.

During her time at CPLC, she met former Executive Director Lorraine Lee, a prominent activist and spokeswoman for Tucson’s Hispanic community. She was also Barajas’ mentor.

“I didn't really see her until I sat at a roundtable at CPLC and heard her speak about education, affordable housing, environmental justice, community development, youth mentorship,” Barajas said. “I credit her  to this day, you know, for having me getting involved more in our civic engagement.”

Lee also chaired the Pima County Board of Health’s TCE Subcommittee, addressing contamination from a toxic chemical in South Tucson’s aquifers that had directly affected her own health.

“It’s something that our community has dealt with and has had unfortunate consequences. Environmental justice isn't just a term,” Barajas said.

Barajas followed in the footsteps of Lee, pursuing a master’s degree in urban planning. After graduating from UCLA, she went on to lead several of CPLC’s major initiatives, including an affordable housing construction company, three charter schools and the mentorship program that helped shape her own path.

She also worked with low-income communities of color in the Los Angeles metro area, researching successful community-led sustainability models to better address environmental disparities.

“The whole time that I was in Los Angeles, I worked with frontline communities, and I got to see (infrastructure) models that were sustainable, that worked,” Barajas said. “At the core of it, it was (about) getting the community involved, really guiding the process.”

According to the EPA’s Air Quality Index Report, the number of “good” air quality days in Tucson has steadily declined over the years.

Barajas’ campaign champions clean air and water, safe green spaces and clean energy, recognizing the clear link between community infrastructure and quality of life.

“The hottest areas of town are in Ward 5,” she said. “The least amount of trees are in Ward 5. The poorest air quality is in Ward 5. Water contamination is still something that our community needs to be aware of. This is why some of our (community) members are dealing with the sicknesses that they have.”

Her campaign also supports economic development that centers the needs of artists, entrepreneurs and small businesses by addressing potential barriers to resources.

“I just feel like our Ward 5 community has so many different visionaries that are small business owners, but we need to continue to work on and improve on the collectiveness,” she said. “We don't have a formal small business coalition (in Ward 5). We all gather in groups, and we all support each other. We do that by word of mouth. We really rely on each other for that institutional knowledge. But I would love to create more of a formal group working alongside Ward 1.”

As the owner of South Tucson’s first-ever coffee shop and green space, Luna Y Sol, Barajas hopes to support second- and third-generation businesses by introducing online platforms to increase marketing, forming policies that help renters secure property ownership, and simplifying the process of finding and applying for grants.

“I want to make sure that our businesses (will) be able to benefit (from) amenities and infrastructure improvements,” she said. “I feel like our Ward 5 community has so many different visionaries that are small business owners. Businesses have been able to not just sustain, but thrive.”

Barajas also wants to address housing accessibility for new and existing homeowners, advocating for policies that ensure affordable housing, support community land trusts and protect tenants from displacement.

“Ward 5 has the second-most homeownership out of all six wards. We need to figure out ways to have (homeowning) education going into these homes. Having a family estate plan, figure out ways for families to come in and purchase that house, or if the family members could stay in that home and provide a first-time homeowner that opportunity.”

From 2023 to 2024, homelessness in Arizona increased by 3.5%, affecting all segments of the population, including families living in their cars, people who have previously stayed in shelters and unaccompanied youth.

Barajas said she understands that addressing homelessness isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach and requires building trust over time, reducing barriers to entry and offering support that responds to people’s current situations.

“Housing should be a human right. We need to figure out a way, with all the wards working together with the city, to really identify these folks. They are our neighbors. We need to figure out ways to not just push people away.”

One key concern raised by constituents, she said, is the lack of youth engagement in community activities, with many young people choosing to remain idle at home.

Barajas was previously a program director for the Pico Youth & Family Center in Santa Monica, where her passion for youth engagement and re-engagement grew. From helping youth find jobs to providing a safe space to be creative, she hopes to create mentorship, educational and leadership opportunities for young people in Ward 5.

“The youth, if they're doing this work on the ground level, they're doing it because they're committed. No one's holding their hand. They're not doing it because they're getting something out of it — they're doing it because they truly care.”

Whether it’s hiking alongside constituents in Reinas Who Hike or knocking on more than 3,000 doors, Barajas considers herself deeply community-oriented.

“We're not all the same (in Ward 5). We all don't have the same income, the same education level or resources or assets, but we are all one community, and I'm excited to serve this community,” she said. “This campaign is beyond Selina Barajas or Ward 5 City Council. What we're creating for this campaign is going to be something that's going to change the narrative of our Ward 5 landscape.”

Topacio “Topaz” Servellon is a freelance journalist based in Tucson. Contact them at topacioserve@gmail.com.

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