Political leader explores run for U.S. Senate

Rodney B. Glassman will discuss his exploration process to run for the U.S. Senate at the District 9 Democrats meeting Nov. 23.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Menke's Community Room, 10307 W. Coggins Drive, one block south of Grand Avenue in Sun City.

Glassman is the Ward 2 council member for Tucson. Professionally, he has experience in small business management and has 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. Rodney 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.

Glassman is the founder and president of the Glassman Foundation, a community foundation that raises and contributes more than $100,000 annually to local nonprofits that serve children. He serves on the statewide board of the Arizona Legal Services and Education Foundation and the Arizona 4-H Youth Foundation. His Tucson volunteer experience includes 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. In addition, he is an honorary board member of Opening Minds through the Arts, a program of Tucson Unified School District that infuses arts into the classroom to boost student achievement.

He also 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.

Glassman earned his undergraduate degree in agricultural economics and master's degrees in business administration and public administration from the Eller College of Management. In 2005, Glassman completed his Ph.D. in arid land resource sciences from The University of Arizona. He has published award-winning research both nationally and internationally in the area of agricultural education and hands-on learning. Just weeks after his election to the Tucson City Council in 2007, he graduated with his J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law and is a member of the Arizona Bar. In spring 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.