Year: 2018

Julie Gunnigle pledges to fight corruption as a State Representative for LD 15

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LD 15 Democratic State House Candidate Julie Gunnigle

In what has become the designated meeting place for Legislative District 15 Democratic Candidates, the Starbucks at Tatum and Paradise Parkway, Julie Gunnigle ardently relayed why she would be the best candidate to work for the district’s constituents as one of the two State House Representatives after the November elections.

Ms. Gunnigle is one of three Democrats running for two State House seats in LD 15. The others are Jennifer Samuels and Tonya MacBeth. In what is a likely result of the prevailing political winds (The Trump Administration, the reactionary state Republican Legislature, and Governor beholden to Dark Money-Koch Interests), this is the first time in recent memory more than one Democrat is running to secure at least one of the State House seats.

Who is Julie Gunnigle?

 A native of LD 15, Ms. Gunnigle graduated with a Law Degree from Notre Dame University and served as a Cook County Prosecutor in Illinois (where she participated in the indictment of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Cook County) before moving back with her family in 2011 to practice education (special needs including gifted), midwifery, veteran’s affairs, and reproductive rights law. Some of her work (veteran’s law for example) is performed on a pro bono basis. She also taught at Summit Law School and has been a member of the Arizona Association Advocating for the Gifted and Talented, advocating for special needs children and restoration of funding for them in front of the Arizona State Legislature for three years. She is also a wife and mother.

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Disgraced Candidate Yahya Yuksel Still Promoting Bizarre Candidacy for CD2 Congress Seat

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Yahya Yuksel
At a July 14 press conference, Yahya Yuksel announced he will stay in the race despite rape allegations which he tried to cover up. An angry crowd of 35 rape survivors and other women chanted “Shame on You!”

Candidate Yahya Yuksel persists in a bizarre campaign for the CD2 Congressional seat in Tucson — ignoring repeated calls for him to drop out of the race, disavowment by the Pima County Democratic Party, and cancellations of invitations from Democrats of Greater Tucson and Represent Me AZ.

Read Accused Rapist Yahya Yuksel Must Drop Out Now

Yuksel sent a broadcast email on July 26:

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Sunlink

Happy Birthday, SunLink! (video)

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Sunlink
The eastern stop of the SunLink modern streetcar.

Four years ago, on a ridiculously hot July day, thousands of Tucsonans showed up to welcome the Modern Streetcar (AKA SunLink or affectionately “the trolley”) to downtown Tucson.

Tomorrow, July 28, Tucson will celebrate the streetcar’s steamy birthday with music and air-conditioned rides.

I won’t be downtown for the birthday party because I am giving a talk on the Equal Rights Amendment on Saturday night in Tubac, but I hope you all will check out the festivities and the live music on the streetcar and along the route. Below the fold are a few photos and a video from opening day.

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Treasurer Candidate Mark Manoil Seeks to Revitalize Arizona’s Economy Through Community Banks

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Arizona State Treasurer Democratic Candidate Mark Manoil

Over beverages in the outdoor common area of the Phoenix café Lolas last week, Democrat Mark Manoil explained he would promote the creation of state community banks as the first Democratic Arizona State Treasurer since 1967. A July 25 Poll from Data Orbital shows the race between Manoil and his likely opponent Kimberly Yee a virtual dead heat with many undecideds Manoil has time to convince on the merit of his positions.

A Clean Elections Candidate, Mr. Manoil believes that “we need a Treasurer that is dedicated to preserving state assets including human capital.” He comes from a long line of public servants with his great-grandfather and granduncle serving as territorial treasurers before Arizona became a state. A graduate of Stanford and Arizona State University (where he received a Masters in Business Administration), he earned his law degree and has been practicing primarily property tax law for the last 30 years, which has partly equipped him with the knowledge necessary to function as the State Treasurer.

Mr. Manoil’s views on the State Financial Situation

 Mr. Manoil feels that Republican leadership, reinforced by the passage of Proposition 108 in 1992, has led this state to poor financial stewardship with tax cuts needing only a simple majority to pass but tax increases needing a supermajority to correct any fiscal imbalances or errors. This has led to a plutocrats dream where social justice programs like university tuition rates have soared since the early 1990’s while Dark Money interests reap the rewards with trickle-down tax cut after tax cut while the people have to pay regressive state taxes to try to maintain a semblance of state services.

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