Every year the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission hosts statewide debates for the contested races in the Arizona Legislative Districts for the primary and the general elections. However this year due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these debates will not be in person (with videos posted afterwards), but will be livestreamed via YouTube. Here’s the debate schedule starting April 21 (with LD 19 House):
Also debating this year are six Republican candidates running for 3 seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission. I’ve also posted that June 24 primary debate on our image Calendar. There are also 3 Democrats running, but no CCEC debate is necessary in the primary.
Also on our Calendar are debates for LD 2 House, LD 3 House, LD 10 House,LD 11 Senate — all Democratic debates, which I will be following in Southern Arizona.
“HOW DO I WATCH THE DEBATE? All debates will be live streamed on the Clean Elections YouTube Page. If you miss the live stream, the recorded debates will continue to be available on BlogforArizona’s YouTube page so you can watch at your convenience.
Any person with a disability may request accommodation, such as a sign language interpreter, by contacting the Commission at (602) 364-3477. Requests should be made as early as possible to allow time to arrange accommodations.”
Vote wisely on or before August 4, 2020 for the Primary in Arizona.
The following statement may be attributed to Alison Jones, Chair of the Pima County Democratic Party
It comes as no surprise that a lawless president would ignore a longstanding agreement to consult with the Tohono O’odham Nation before blasting lands held sacred for 10,000 years.
Nor should anyone be surprised that contractors are bulldozing cacti in Organ Pipe National Park, felling cottonwood trees on the San Pedro River or that the rush to build Trump’s monument to himself is threatening groundwater and disrupting migration patterns. The Sierra Club counts 38 federal environmental protection laws suspended to build the wall.
No one was shocked when the president plundered funds from the military budget to build his wall – five times more than Congress authorized.
And it’s business-as-usual when Trump pressures the Army Corps of Engineers to award Fisher Sand and Gravel Company a $400 million contract after the North Dakota company lobbied for the job on Fox News. The contract for the steel was won by Zekelman Industries, which donated $1.7 million to a pro-Trump super PAC, the Star reported.
Trump’s monument to fear is an example of the chaos and corruption that infests this administration. Instead of the comprehensive and humane immigration policy this nation so sorely needs, this “businessman” opts for a multi-billion-dollar wall that anyone with a homemade ladder can scale. This is one of many reasons why Arizonans are changing their party affiliation to Democrat and will turn Arizona blue in November.
Would you like to run to be a delegate to the July Democratic Convention in Milwaukee, or are you just wondering how delegates are selected? Here is your chance to find out why we have Presidential Preference Elections and what they have to do with being a delegate as well as learn about The Arizona Democratic Party’s commitment to diversity in the delegation.
If you would like to try to be a delegate or if you are just interested in how delegates are chosen, this workshop is for you.
Summer may seem far away, but now is the time to start finding about how delegates are picked and how to be part of the process. Competition for seats on the Arizona delegation is pretty stiff, so the earlier you start planning the better your chances.
The delegate selection plan is complex and involves goals for equal numbers of males and females; as well as goals for groups such as Native Americans, LGBT, young people, disabled, etc. Arizona is committed to diversity.
You are welcome at any of the following places/dates:
Oct. 18. 1:00 p.m. Sierra Vista Democratic HQ, Sierra Vista
Dec. 9. 6:00 p.m. Pima County Housing Office. 800 W Congress, Tucson
Dates and times are subject to change. If you RSVP you will be notified of any changes of date or time that may happen. BARBTEE2@COX.NET Please indicate date or place for which you are replying.
On Sunday, September 15, District 3 Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson addressed an audience of 41 people as part of the Civic 2.0 series of talks on local, state and federal government. She shared what the Board of Supervisors does and how it interacts with other county agencies. She also explained the typical tax bill residents receive, what it pays for, how much the county actually gets, and what the money is used for. She encouraged people to get involved with advisory boards.
The next Civics 2.0 event is on Sunday, October 20, Flowing Wells Library, 1730 W Wetmore Rd, 2-3 pm. “Can you hear me now?” What happens when you contact your Member of Congress? Billy Kovacs (Outreach Director for Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick) and Cassandra Becerra (Outreach Director for Congressman Raúl Grijalva) will talk about what happens when you contact the local office of your Member of Congress. How does your comment reach your elected Representative? Register for FREE at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/can-you-hear-me-now-what-happens-when-you-contact-your-member-of-congress-tickets-69812291443
Bring a friend!
Civics 2.0 is a series of free talks, open to and aimed at the general public, offering topics of interest and relevance to Pima County residents. The talks are scheduled for the third Sunday of the month at Pima County Branch Libraries. These are not fund-raising or campaign events. Brought to you by the Pima County Democratic Party. For more info, call PCDP at (520) 326-3716.
Mary Keerins, LD9, goes over Voter Registration and PEVL sign-up basics at PCDP training on May 25.
The PCDP Education Team was formed to educate Pima County PCs, volunteers and members of the community about the Democratic Party’s values, strategies, methods and organization, and the political process.
We will be holding a series of trainings and educational presentations throughout the county. The first series of trainings for PCs and volunteers will cover Voter Registration, PC Basics, Use of the VAN/Mini VAN, and Voter Outreach and Messaging. The second, a Citizens Education series, open to the public, will address topics including Federal Government Civics, AZ State Government Civics, AZ Corporation Commission, Inner Workings of the Offices of Senators and House Members, and Tucson and Pima County Civics.
We’ll hold PC/Volunteer trainings at least monthly, and topics will repeat every two to three months depending on the subject. We’ll hold the Citizens Education Series monthly, on a rotating basis. We’re working on the presentations’ content, finding instructors, locating venues throughout the county, and marketing the series.
An awesome team of experienced people is joining me: Bonnie Heidler, Greer Warren, Marlene Bluestein, Lori Cinnamond, Carol Quortan, Betts Putnam-Hidalgo, and Karen Stiles. We have two main goals: to have the best prepared and informed PCs and volunteers for 2020 to help get Democrats elected in the county, state and nationally. Our second goal is to build the PCDP brand in the community by engaging and informing citizens about how government works, and about the Democratic Party’s values.
We held a Voter Registration training at HQ on May 25 which was well attended and drew positive feedback. Our next training, AZ Civics for PCs and PC Basics, will be on June 29 at HQ, followed by a second Voter Registration training on July 10. Watch for information about future events on social media, in the newsletter and email. Please be sure to register for classes using the registration link provided.
Gil Wier, LD11, talks about recent Phoenix and Tucson collaborations with Field Team 6.
We are hoping to have recordings made of the presentations and have them available for online viewing by the end of the summer.
If you are interested in helping as a trainer or facilitator, please send an email to education.pcdp@gmail.com.
Arizona
Civics and Request to Speak (RTS) trainings held at PCDP Headquarters in
January and February were popular with both new and experienced RTS users. A
total of five trainings have been held at HQ to date. These trainings were put
on by Greer Warren, Meg Pradelt and Bryna Koch. Close to 30 people have participated in these trainings.
The Request
to Speak (RTS) system allows Arizona citizens to register opinions of
legislation pending in the state legislature. Anyone can sign up to use RTS,
whether or not they are registered voters. This allows part-time Arizona residents,
people not registered to vote, and young people under 18, to use the
system.
Opinions
registered via the RTS system remain part of the public record for the current,
past and future legislative sessions. The RTS system is not hard to use but it
helps to have live training and some hand-holding, especially when one first
activates an account.
Arizona
Civics and RTS training go together well. Many of us didn’t grow up in Arizona
and didn’t learn about the Arizona government. Some of us did and we don‘t
remember! So, to get the larger picture, we first talk about the structure of
the Arizona government and the lifecycle of a piece of legislation, then we do
a training on how to use the RTS system.
The Arizona
Legislature has a 100-day session, from January through April. Time is quickly
running out for concerned citizens to weigh in on pending legislation for the
2019 session. There will be at least one more AZ CIVICS 101 + RTS TRAINING in
March. We are also planning to hold a series of these training sessions in the
fall, to get citizens geared up for the start of the 2020 election cycle.
For those
who already have an activated RTS account but want some help and companionship
while doing RTS, we are holding RTS “office hours’’ on Monday mornings through
March, 8:30-10:00, at the Pima Dems Headquarters, 4639 E. First St. Please stop by if you need RTS help or have questions
about the system.
For more information, please call or text Greer Warren at 520-204-4899.
LD 10 PCs Buddy Up for RTS
By Donna Johnson, LD 10 PC Precinct 96
Legislative District 10 is busy helping our state legislators by using Request to Speak to voice our opinions on particular bills.
During the
last legislative session, I signed up for RTS at an LD10 meeting, with the Arizona
Advocacy Network’s help. But it didn’t quite “click,’’ maybe because I didn’t
ask for more help. This legislative session I doubled down and got an “RTS
buddy,’’ Erik Ebert. We help each other understand the issues better and use
RTS more effectively.
Erik wanted
to make his voice heard beyond the ballot box, and thinks that RTS is an
important way to let our lawmakers know what their constituents are thinking. It allows us to keep active in the government
process. The RTS buddy group helps us do
that. We also debate the finer points of legislation, and so far have used RTS
almost 200 times to vote on committee bills.
Erik and I welcome everyone in LD10 to this enlightening process. We have upped the ante and now monitor certain House and Senate Committee legislation. We encourage folks to attend Monday morning RTS help sessions at PCDP headquarters.
