Steve Arnquist
Chief of Staff
Steve graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1998 and has lived in Tucson since 2002. Steve has worked for a number of Arizona environmental, labor and civic participation organizations to secure a just, accessible and sustainable future for all of us. Steve has worked for City Government since 2014 and for CM Cunningham since 2021. Prior to working at the City, Steve was the Executive Director of the bi-partisan environmental advocacy organization, Arizona League of Conservation Voters, where he served from 2005-2013.
Steve works on environmental issues; including water, open space, and sustainability, arts & culture, bicycle and pedestrian issues & historic preservation.
Ted Prezelski
Communications Director
Ted Prezelski has been on staff with Councilmember Cunningham since October of 2012. His responsibilities include police, zoning and communications.
A Tucson native, he has been active in the community for decades. He serves on the board of the National Writers Union (AFL-CIO) and Downtown Radio, a low-power FM community radio station.
His writing on politics has been recognized by both the Washington Post and Arizona Capital Times. More recently, he has put his writing time into local soccer, earning a “Legend of Tucson Soccer” award from FC Tucson.
Chris Desborough
Community Outreach Director
Originally from London, England, Chris has called Tucson his home since March 2009 and has been very active statewide advocating for the rights of individuals with disabilities.
He served 4.5 years on the Governor’s Council on Blindness and Visual Impairment deafblind issues sub-committee and successfully helped pass a state budget amendment that provided services for individuals with acute combined visual and hearing loss. He has also spoken at many conferences around the state on a variety of disability related subjects and issues and was the key note speaker at the 40th anniversary of the Arizona Comission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ACDHH.)
He is a passionate advocate of equal rights for individuals with disabilities within the work place and community and it was this passion that led him to create the City of Tucson’s first ever celebration of disability, Disability Pride Day which is establishing itself as an annual Tucson tradition.
Within the office, Chris has a broad range of responsibilities which include managing the speed hump program for the Ward, transportation, disability related issues including internal and external policy change, water and water related policy related matters and also manages the Ward 2 intern program.
A double graduate of Arizona State University, Chris holds both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work and was also a recipient of the Gabe Zimmermann scholarship for community service in 2017.
Away from Ward 2, you will find Chris active in the community serving on a couple of non-profit boards, spending time with family and friends, watching movies and enjoying travel both domestically and internationally. He is also a life long fan of the San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants and the English soccer clubs, Watford and Arsenal.
Odessa Draheim
Executive Assistant
Odessa Draheim manages the office for Ward 2. She is responsible for keeping the office in order, managing conference rooms for groups and has specialized in constituent service for over 10 years, she also schedules meetings for Council Member Cunningham as his Executive Assistant. She earned her Associates of Arts, in Liberal Arts, focused on Academics, Fine Arts and Accounting at Pima Community College. In her free time, she enjoys music and is an American Sailing Certified Sailor.
Pat Burns
Ward 2 special Projects Coordinator
Pat Burns was born and raised here in Tucson and proudly attended Flowing Wells Public Schools. He has a bachelor’s in political science and a Master’s in Public Administration with a certificate in Collaborative Governance, all from the University of Arizona. He’s been involved in local government and politics for more than two decades and has worked in the Ward 2 office since January of 2022. His responsibilities include facilities and parks and recreation issues, being a liaison to some of the Ward 2 neighborhoods, and office event and project planning.
In his spare time, Pat enjoys doing fun things around Tucson with his partner Laura, attending various UA sporting events with friends, and very slowly restoring his 50-year-old pickup truck. He also volunteers his time on the Flowing Wells Educational Foundation board and is a steering committee member for the Civic and Political Leadership Academy, a program of Greater Tucson Leadership.
Kat Stratford
Homeless Outreach Specialist
Kat Stratford is a mother of two and a member of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. She is an advocate for the unsheltered and housing insecure working to end the emergency of homelessness in a unique position created by Paul Cunningham. In addition to her work with the unsheltered community, Kat also is an outspoken advocate for the disabled community and runs the social media for Disability Pride Tucson.
When she’s not working, Kat enjoys music, dancing, and yoga.