Larry Bodine

Larry is an intelligent, articulate, and insightful commentator whose views are shaped by a combination of journalism, entrepreneurship, law practice, and leadership.‎ ✍ He is an experienced and well-known leader, having served as Chair of the LD18 Democrats, and President of the Democrats of Greater Tucson, a teacher at the UofA Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and Video Manager for Iskashitaa Refugee Network, ‎ ✍ A common-sense business leader, he operated a successful marketing consultancy for 20 years. He is skilled in fundraising, artificial intelligence, and online communications.‎ ✍He considers multiple viewpoints before forming an opinion. His ethos is the Boy Scout Law.‎ ✍ Larry is a lifelong writer, having worked as a seven-time award-winning journalist for the New York Daily News and as the author of 600 editorials for the Blog for Arizona.‎ ✍He is a graduate of Amherst College and Seton Hall Law School and has also attended the University of Munich in Germany.‎ ✍He is not all work and no play. Larry enjoys singing and playing the guitar, watching film noir, going on outings with his Portuguese Water Dog, weight training, and meeting his many friends for lattes at breakfast.‎ ‎** Scroll down to see my articles below. **

Will Mark Kelly Run for US Senate? Now hear this

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John C. Scott and I analyzed whether ex-astronaut Mark Kelly will run for US Senate. A group called 314 Action is drafting him to run, and Kelly did speak to the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee about backing him. He favors gun safety measures and fighting climate change. He would run for the seat now occupied by … Read more

Water Price Increase Coming as Drought Persists

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Arizona homeowners can expect their water bills to go up this year as a 19-year drought continues to dry up Lake Mead, the state’s primary source of water. If Lake Mead in Nevada drops by 5 feet, the US Bureau of Reclamation will declare “Tier 1” water shortage. This will cut Arizona’s share of the water … Read more

Ballot Initiative Proposes to Make Tucson a Sanctuary City

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Joel Feinman
Zaira Livier

Public Defender Joel Feinman and community organizer Zaira Livier propose to put a ballot initiative before Tucson voters in November that will make Tucson a sanctuary city, like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York.

“We envision a Tucson that serves as a safe refuge for all people regardless of their immigration status, race, color, age, gender identity, ethnicity, ability to speak English, religion, sexual orientation, or economic status,” according to the People’s Defense Initiative, which Feinman and Livier co-founded last April.

Titled the Tucson Families Free & Together initiative will prohibit city police officers from detaining people on the basis of immigration status, and from assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and minimize record-keeping of communications between Tucson and federal authorities.

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Senator Steve Farley is Running for Mayor of Tucson to Protect the City

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Steve Farley came to Tucson 25 years ago and has represented the city in the state legislature for 12 years.
Steve Farley came to Tucson 25 years ago and has represented the city in the state legislature for 12 years.

Veteran state legislator Steve Farley announced today that he is running for Mayor of Tucson, so that he can protect the city from attacks by the Trump administration and the state Legislature. He pledged to create a construction job training program for young people, to fight climate change and to protect migrant and asylum-seekers.

He was surprised by the retirement of Mayor Jonathan Rothschild after 8 years in office. “I realized that the experience I could bring to serve the city I would be amazing,” he said in an interview with the Blog for Arizona. “I chose Tucson for my home 25 years ago and it is a dream to be able to serve the city I love.”

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100 Arizona charters charter schools are significantly in the red

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Arizona’s charter schools are overleveraged, holding $2.56 billion in debt while property and assets are valued at $1.4 billion, according to a new policy paper.

Meanwhile, 33 charter sites are losing at least $1,000 per student per school year, three-quarters of which also have significant negative net assets—owing more than they are worth, according to the non-partisan think tank the Grand Canyon Institute (GCI). Financial failure is inevitable for charters in this financial position, according to GCI’s research.

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