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. **
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.
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.”
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.
Broadcaster John C. Scott of KVOI radio 1030 AM talks with Blog for Arizona blogger Larry Bodine. Listen to hear about: Grassroots organizations have taken over the Pima County Democratic Party. Alison Jones’ 5-vote victory is not a mandate, but it is a call for a new direction. Finding a new executive director to replace incumbent … Read more
Chair Alison Jones emphasized her #1 campaign goal “to bring in and coordinate with grassroots groups. A lot of credit goes to these groups. We have plenty of opportunities for us to work together.”
Only 50 hours after being elected Pima County Democratic Chair, Alison Jones vowed to embrace community groups that helped elect Democrats, and to hold an outreach summit among the County’s six Legislative District leaders.
One of her first projects is to find a replacement for outgoing Executive Director Heath Butrum. “I want someone with budgeting and personnel skills, who is very organized with logistics. We need someone who will create a welcoming tone at headquarters, and someone who is excited about spreading our message of inclusivity,” Jones said. Butrum’s departure date is flexible.
Coordinate with grassroots groups
She emphasized her #1 campaign goal “to bring in and coordinate with grassroots groups. A lot of credit goes to these groups. We have plenty of opportunities for us to work together.”
She specifically cited the Arizona Ground Game, which “mobilized hundreds of people knocking on doors for Democrats,” and AZBlue2020, which is working on PC development and training. “We are going to need all the help we can get,” she said. “2020 will be on a scale we’ve never seen before. It’ going to be gigantic.”
Jones is a career hydrogeologist who has been president, secretary, and treasurer of the Arizona Geological Society. “All these skills are directly applicable to the chair position,” she said. She has been in Tucson since 2006, arriving from Maine. In her work, she consults for Tucson Water designing wells and assisting mining companies with permits.
