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. **

Listen: Time to Shut Down Hacienda Healthcare

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Click to hear the January 26 Steele Report with State Senator Victoria Steele and Blog for Arizona journalist and Democratic Precinct Committeeman Larry Bodine. Now is the time to shut down Hacienda Health Care in Phoenix, where a 29-year old mentally disabled women was raped by her caretaker nurse, who has been arrested. Astonishingly, the staff did not know the woman … Read more

Catherine Ripley is New Executive Director of the Pima Democrats

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Catherine Ripley, Executive Director of the Pima County Democratic Party
Catherine Ripley, Executive Director of the Pima County Democratic Party

Catherine Ripley, a former Democratic candidate for state House in Tucson’s LD10, has been named as the new executive director of the Pima Democratic Party, adding to a sweep of new voices in the party. She starts work on Friday, Jan. 25.

Ripley will replace Heath Butrum, who will stay on the job till Jan. 31. New county chairwoman Alison Jones and members of the executive committee interviewed three candidates before selecting Ripley.

The hiring decision solidifies Jones’ change in course for the county party and the goal to incorporate some 65 community activist organizations that sprouted up in a vacuum created by the county party.

Ripley’s presence is expected to heal the disunity in the party caused by holdover supporters of Jo Holt, who was defeated as party chair by a vote of precinct committeemen on Dec. 15.

Read more

Reliving Terror of Gifford’s Shooting, Mom’s Group Calls for Background Checks

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Pat Miesch, a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, recounts the 2011 Gabby Giffords shooting.
Pat Maisch, a member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, recounts the 2011 Gabby Giffords shooting.

When the first shot went off, Pat Maisch of Tucson knew it was a gun. Standing at the end of a line to see Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, she hit the ground. The murderer had just shot Mary Reed who was shielding her children, when he ran out of bullets.

The shooter had fired 33 rounds in 20 seconds on January 8, 2011, at a “Congress on Your Corner” event, killing six people and injuring 13. Suddenly two men tackled the crazy shooter and landed on Maisch.

“In our case, we had two good guys without guns,” she said. The killer was taking another magazine out of his pocket, “and I was able to take that away from him.” She immobilized the shooter by pinning her knees on each of his ankles.

Speaking at a meeting of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, she said she was not physically injured, but is scarred by the gun violence. “People said to me, ‘that happened for a reason.’ That really pissed me off because there’s no reason that God needed Christina-Taylor Green [age 9] in heaven, or Dorwan Stoddard, or Phyllis Schneck, or Judge John Roll or Gabe Zimmerman, or Dorothy Morris.”

“This happened because people who are a danger to themselves and others shouldn’t have guns, but have easy access to them,” Maisch said.

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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

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