Arizona Legislature

Arizona House

Legislative Whirlwind Begins: Tours & Meetings, Oh, My! (Part 1)

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Arizona House
Newly elected members of the Arizona House, Dec. 2016.

Since Dec. 1, newly elected members of the Arizona House have received a whirlwind of invitations for meetings, trainings, luncheons, dinners, tours, coffees, workshops, receptions, BBQs, caucus meetings, briefings, orientations– and more. For half of December, I was out of Tucson — with multiple trips to Phoenix and a field trip to Yuma. On the street, supporters ask me when I start working. Even though the inauguration isn’t until next week, I have been working for weeks as your “representative-elect”.

Instead of publishing a lengthy article on “how I spent my Christmas vacation”, I’m breaking up my December tales into five parts: meetings (not as boring as it sounds), the ADEQ field trip to a defunct gas station, and three segments about the Yuma agricultural tour (92,000 cows, lettuce and birds, and migrant farm workers).

Here is the first installment in the five-part series.

New House Member Orientation

Most of the 23 new Republican and Democratic members of the Arizona House attended an orientation at the Capitol in the beginning of December. We comprise one of the largest (if not the largest) Freshmen classes, since several of us beat incumbents. (Maybe… just maybe… we could break the gridlock mold because we are such a big group.)

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Southern Az legislative races of note for General Election, 2016

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CD 2 House

Dr. Matt Heinz (D) vs. Congresswoman Martha McSally (R)

CD 3 House

Congressman Raul Grijalva (D), incumbent, unopposed

LD 2 Senate

Andrea Dalessandro (D) incumbent vs. Shelley Kais (R)

LD 2 House (2 seats)

Chris Ackerley (R), incumbent

Rosanna Galdaldon (D), incumbent

Daniel Hernandez Jr. (D)

LD 3 Senate

Olivia Cajero Bedford (D) incumbent,  unopposed

LD 3 House (2 seats)

Edward “Trey” Cizek III (G)

Sally Gonzales (D), incumbent

Macario Saldate (D), incumbent

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Biggs is a Neanderthal

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Cross-posted from RestoreReason.com.

In directing public school districts to let students use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender identity, President Obama’s administration recognized the need to provide top-down cover for a group of people that are routinely subjected to severe discrimination. They also recognized that assuring the civil rights (the right to receive equal treatment and ensure one’s ability to participate in civil life without discrimination or repression) of a minority couldn’t be left to the majority. That’s why Diane Douglas is wrong when she says “Every local community across Arizona is unique, and I know that the people who live in those communities should be making the decisions when it comes to this and many other education issues.” How well did “leaving it to communities” work for Black people in the deep South during the Jim Crow days?

Look, I get that many people are uneasy with the whole transgender issue. I managed Wingspan, (Arizona’s LGBT Community Center), for over a year and had more exposure than most to the transgender community. We had transgender people on staff (a couple of them were transitioning during the time I worked there) and we supported the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA.) If I am totally honest, I still struggle with totally embracing this community. But, I have great respect for what transgender people go through just to be themselves. And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, that no one would put themselves through the ridicule, discrimination and pain of transitioning unless they felt they had no other option. My bottom line is that I accept transgender people and respect their right to live freely and safely as equal members of our society.

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