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Kevin Dahl is seeking another term on Tucson’s City Council representing Ward 3, where he’s running on his record of action on housing, climate and community safety, and facing a primary test from fellow Democrat Sadie Shaw.

Dahl was first elected in 2021 and has served as vice mayor for the past year. Since taking office, he’s become known for his conservation work and hopes to continue strengthening community resilience, particularly in the ward’s lower-income neighborhoods.

Dahl has lived in Tucson for 40 years with his wife and son, who are also prominent members of the community. His wife, Bam Miller, is president of the Samos Neighborhood Association, and their son, Brian Dahl, is well known in downtown Tucson and can often be spotted dancing on the Club Congress stage.

Before entering city politics, Dahl worked to protect national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Saguaro National Park and Petrified Forest.

That work brought him to Tucson, where he decided to build on his conservation efforts by joining the Tucson Planning Commission while maintaining his position as Arizona representative for the National Parks Conservation Association. He retired from the position in 2022, a year after winning his City Council seat.

Dahl’s background in environmental conservation has helped shape how he sees Tucson’s future. For him, climate change isn't abstract: it’s already here, and it's costing lives.

“People died in Ward 3 last year from heat,” he said, pointing to the 146 heat-related deaths recorded by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office in 2023.

If elected, Dahl plans to continue hosting cooling centers in Ward 3, but he strives to create spaces that go beyond offering a cold drink and air conditioning. He believes people need access to resources, no matter how simple, such as a shower and a quiet space to rest and feel safe.

“They need dignity, not just cold air,” Dahl said.

After years of building connections across local government and grassroots networks, he’s stacked up endorsements, as reported on his campaign website.

Dahl is backed by Mayor Regina Romero and fellow city councilmembers Nikki Lee and Paul Cunningham, along with Pima County supervisors Jennifer Allen and Rex Scott.

With these and other endorsements, Dahl has become the favored candidate among many of the region's top Democratic leaders. He’s also backed by several community organizations, including the Tucson Police Officers Association and Tucson Firefighters Association.

“As a council member, he’s delivered wins for Ward 3 on everything from climate action to housing and neighborhood infrastructure," Arizona Rep. Nancy Gutierrez said on Dahl’s campaign website. "I trust Kevin to keep showing up, doing the work, and putting Tucson families first — and I’m proud to endorse his re-election.”

Since taking office, Dahl has pushed to create more low-barrier shelter options, such as the Wildcat Inn, a shelter that accommodates people with pets, partners and children, who are often turned away from traditional shelters.

“I've discovered there's lots of challenges for someone who's been living on the street. If you have a dog, you're not going to take your dog to the pound to go live in a congregate shelter, so there needs to be opportunities for people who have support pets,” Dahl said.

One of his proudest recent accomplishments was helping repurpose Ward 3’s Fire Station 8 into Amphi Housing First, a shelter and cooling center. He said there were initial fears from neighbors, but that if a shelter is run well, residents will see a reduction in crime and an increase in neighborhood stability.

Dahl says that while he’s realistic about the scale of the issue, during his three and a half years on the council, he’s seen how rents are often driven up by out-of-state investors who push people out of their homes faster than the city can respond.

“Our hands are tied. I would love to have reasonable rent controls. But we see people from out of state buy up apartment complexes and as much as double or more the rents for people on fixed incomes,” Dahl said. “That means they might be couch surfing or living in their car.”

If he wins a second term, Dahl said he’ll push the city to create more emergency prevention tools, such as short-term financial assistance for people who fall behind on bills.

“Keeping someone in their home is always cheaper than getting them back on their feet once they're out,” he said.

The city must also focus on supporting its outreach team and community safety workers who, Dahl said, are overworked and under-supported despite playing a critical role in getting unhoused individuals the help they need.

Earlier this year, his office hosted an appreciation lunch for these workers to thank them for all they do in the community.

“You could see the toll this work takes on them,” Dahl said. “We need more people doing this work and we need to give them the basic resources to keep people housed and safe.”

With Ward 3’s high homeless population, Dahl said it’s crucial to increase public safety through presence, not just policing. He acknowledged the role of law enforcement, but sees it as only one piece of the puzzle, advocating for increased staffing across city departments and seeking alternative solutions.

“The programs that we're doing create affordable housing, provide outreach to people and helping them navigate their way back into society," Dahl said. "It's not an easy task."

During his first term, Dahl helped launch Tucson's Community Safety, Health and Wellness program, which sends trained responders to crisis calls that don’t require armed officers.

He has also been one of the faces pushing to maintain fare-free transit, which many Tucsonans rely on every day to get around. Dahl said if Tucson resumes charging for rides, ridership will drop immediately — a loss for the community and the environment.

“We need better safety nets at all levels of government, and that's the long-term solution,” he said.

Ward 3 is also no stranger to road issues — from giant potholes to incomplete sidewalks. Dahl said the city’s infrastructure investments should be guided by fairness, noting that his ward includes some of Tucson’s lowest-income and hottest neighborhoods, many of which lack tree canopy and have deteriorating sidewalks.

In response, he’s pushing developers to do more to benefit the neighborhoods where they build. If companies want city approval, they’ll have to play ball, Dahl said, providing an example.

“Walmart agreed to plant more trees and pay for a HAWK light to make their store safer to access on foot,” he said. “That's a win.”

Dahl said the work of a council member comes down to showing up for issues, both big and small.

If he defeats Shaw in August's primary, he’ll go on to face Republican Janet Wittenbraker in November’s general election.

Angelina Maynes is a University of Arizona alum and reporter with Tucson Spotlight. Contact her at angelinamaynes@arizona.edu.

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