By Executive Director Cat Ripley
Dearest Pima Democrats,
We, at PCDP HQ, wish you all a FABULOUS holiday season!
These past two months have been abuzz with activity – for which we were well prepared – culminating in the historic inauguration of Tucson’s FIRST LATINA MAYOR, Regina Romero!
After the swearing-in ceremony on December 2, PCDP hosted a blow-out gala luncheon at the Tucson Convention Center, where 650 revelers packed the ballroom. The amazing, all-female Mariachi Pasions welcomed the crowd in the foyer, and the 20-piece University of Arizona Studio Jazz Ensemble provided first-rate Big Band music in the ballroom.
The Tucson and Yaquis Pueblo Firefighters provided honor guards and bagpipes, adding to the grandeur of the event. The fantastic vocalist, Crystal Stark, sang the national anthem. And the Tucson Firefighters honored outgoing Mayor Jonathan Rothschild for his eight years of service to our city.
This event perfectly showcased the peaceful transition of power as a hallmark of our democracy!
Back in January, we knew we needed to build up, train and equip an army of volunteers as 2020 loomed, and indeed, we did! We have incorporated a series of focused PC and community training programs and a very popular (always sold out!) educational Platform Film Series here at HQ. We also hosted presidential-candidate debate watch parties, which packed the house. There’s always plenty of snacks and refreshments, making these a fun way for the community to enjoy an evening with sister and brother Dems.
We can seat about 90 people in our hodge-podge combination of chairs, so it gets cozy. These events are free, but attendees have generously filled our empty pickle jars with enough donations to buy new chairs for HQ!
We are also proud to host interns from the Mark Kelly for Senate Campaign, and have provided meeting spaces for all of our candidates and elected officials. It’s truly an exciting time to be at HQ and to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
We continue to collect donated clothes and school supplies for needy elementary schools, in conjunction with the Community Action Committee, as well as food donations for striking ASARCO workers. We presented more than $6,500 to the workers at the Mission Mine strike line at a December 1 press conference, with U.S. Rep. Greg Stanton, Teamsters leaders, United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO, and the Pima Area Labor Federation (PALF).
It is truly emotional to join the striking workers and their families. Supporting our struggling workers is a major Democratic party tenet, so please continue to support them through your online donations, and food brought to HQ.
Our volunteers and interns continue to provide a safe, welcoming, positive and energized space at HQ, all in an effort to ELECT DEMOCRATS! The key to winning in 2020 will be voter turnout, so everything we do here is towards that end. KEEP THE PRESSURE ON!
Enjoy your holiday break, then come back in 2020 READY TO WIN!
In Solidarity,
Cat and the PCDP HQ Team
