Going into the 2020 Elections, there was great hope that both the outstanding campaigns of Democrats Colonel Felicia French and Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans would catapult Democrats into the Arizona Legislative District (LD) Six State Senate and one of the State House seats.
Unfortunately, Trumpist support at the local level was higher than expected and the French and Evans campaigns fell short after all the November election results were tallied.
Since then, the District has had to suffer the fringe comments and questionable behavior of State Senator Wendy the COVID Vaccine is the Mark of the Beast Rogers and the continuing Know Nothing- reactionary- support the rich Republican agenda among the LD Six delegation.
Moving forward, Coconino Chairperson Ann Heitland graciously discussed how the Democrats in what is currently LD Six (redistricting still needs to be finalized) will move forward from the surprising 2020 results and lay the groundwork for turning LD Six bluer.
The questions and Ms. Heitland’s responses are below.
1) Please tell the reader about yourself and your most important goals for Legislative District 6 going into 2022.
“I am Chair of the Coconino County Democratic Party. LD Six as presently configured includes parts of Coconino and parts of three other counties. I will work with the other county chairs to recruit the best candidates we can to represent the people of this large district. And, of course, the goal is to elect three well-qualified Democrats to the Arizona Legislature.”
2) With regards to working toward Democratic gains in LD Six in 2022, what are three electoral priorities the LD has going into the fall and winter?
- “Register voters.
- Educate voters.
- Motivate voters”
3) Please advise on the status of candidate recruitment/county party infrastructure and if some of it is on hold until the new legislative district maps are finalized. Please explain.
“Nothing is on hold. We are full steam ahead in working on those three priorities. In regard to candidate recruitment, we’re talking with potential candidates and offering training opportunities. If anyone reading your article is interested in running for the legislature in this neck of the woods, I’d like to talk with them. Please contact me at Chair@CoconinoDemocrats.org.”
4) Please advise/explain the status of fundraising going into the 2022 electoral cycle.
“I can only speak to my county party’s fundraising, of course. There is always room for additional funding to expand our work but we are on target for the realistic goals we set at the beginning of the year. The strength of county parties is always from our volunteers. No campaign could afford to pay for the kind of talent and grassroots expertise that our volunteers collectively provide for free. That’s why any contribution at the county party level has more leverage than contributing further up among Democratic Party organizations.”
5) As of August 2021, what are the most important political issues for the LD going into the 2022 cycle? Please explain.
“There are three:
- Election integrity is number one. We must counter the lies that the GOP has been pushing for the last year about the security of our elections and we must make voting as transparent and easy as possible for voters.
- Education and Economic Development – Arizona has trouble attracting major corporations because our workforce does not have access to high-quality education as people in other states do. Employees don’t want to transfer their kids into Arizona’s school system so corporations won’t move here because their key employees won’t follow.
- Fair taxation – the wealthy need to pay their fair share to support essential government services like firefighting, public safety, road improvements, broadband service. Billionaires who can shoot themselves into space can afford a little more in taxes.”
6) Please advise/explain the status of preparing to get out the vote efforts ahead of 2022. To what extent will those preparation efforts be influenced by ballot initiatives to undo voter suppression measures passed by the Republicans in the State Legislature?
“Our efforts at voter registration are year-round. In terms in preparation for 2022, if the ballot initiatives are not successful, we are going to have to spend more time communicating and working with voters. That’s why we are working hard to get those referenda on the ballot!
“If counties are barred from the private grant funding which they used in 2020 to expand polling places with additional staff, equipment, and drop boxes – and the legislature doesn’t step up to replace that funding (which seems unlikely) — we’ll need to work harder to get people to the polls and early voting locations.
“If people are dropped from PEVL, we’ll have extra work to do to get them back on the list or get them to a polling place or early voter location.
“One of the bills the legislature passed requires counties to print ballots in certain ways which will cost the counties more money. This is an unfunded mandate What they have done doesn’t impact election integrity but reflects the paranoid messaging of the extreme wing of the Republican Party.”
7) Is there anything not covered in the first six questions that you would like the reader to be aware of? Please explain.
“The County parties in Arizona are the year-round grassroots organization for the Democratic Process. Candidates and campaigns come and go but we are the folks that register the voters and get them to the polls.”
Please click on the below social media links for more information on the Coconino County Democratic Party:
Website: www.CoconinoDemocrats.org
Facebook: @CoconinoDems
Twitter: @CoconinoDems
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