Moms Demand Action documentary screening of “Parkland – Inside Building 12”

“In observance of Gun Violence Awareness weekend, Moms Demand Action-Tucson will be screening the documentary “Parkland-Inside Building 12.” Following the documentary, there will be interaction with the audience, music and remembrance of the three survivors from Parkland & Sandy Hook who died by suicide. This event is free, and we hope you will invite your … Read more

Is there a voter crisis in Arizona?

Recently in July 2018  the ASU Morrison Institute for Public Policy issued a report  entitled “Arizona’s Voter Crisis”.

Here’s the report funded by the Citizens Clean Election Commission (CCEC) and on their website:

https://storageccec.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/public/docs/312-Voter-Crisis-Report-FINAL3.pdf

I attended a recent Tucson town hall on October 24 hosted by these 2 entities in which Joseph Garcia of ASU (director of communication & impact/co-author of the report) and Tom Collins E.D. of CCEC reported that  2.1 million or 45% of Arizona’s “potential voters” in 2016 (General) didn’t choose to exercise their fundamental right to vote.  They reported on the nationwide trend in erosion of voter participation & on groups which aren’t voting in high numbers:  youth, less educated, and Latinos.  Moreover, Independents have a lower voter turnout due to not voting in primaries (don’t feel that they belong to either party or don’t know they can vote in the primaries by requesting a party ballot), and also don’t feel part of the electoral process.

In August 2018, the voter turnout statewide (of registered voters) for the Arizona Primary was: 33.26%

In the Arizona Mid-term General Election 2018 the voter turnout statewide was:   64.33%.  And higher in Pima County: 70.55%

So the big question in the report was “Why Don’t More People vote?”  (see page 15). There are a myriad of answers including “too busy” “out of town”, etc. but a main reason seems to be lack of information on the candidates and voting process.   So that means better ways to reach voters needs to occur, along with more information.  We here at Blog for Arizona do our best in that regard.
Local reporters after the recent elections were saying that negative campaigning suppresses the vote, or backfires against candidates doing negative campaigning.

Read more

Alison Jones will Include Community Groups as Pima Democrats Chair

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP8f1Pvubys

Alison Jones, a Democratic precinct committee person and activist, promises to reach out to progressive community and labor groups that have been shut out the Democratic party, if she is elected Pima County Democratic Party Chairperson.

“If we can collaborate all these groups, we will be a force to be reckoned with,” she said. “We have got to reach out to these marvelous organizations that share our values and want the same things we want,” naming Arizona Ground Game, Labor, Mi Familia Vota, Justice Alliance, Planned Parenthood, YWCA, and AZ Blue 2020. We need to be working with these groups and using the best ideas.”

She announced at the LD9 Democrats meeting on October 23 that she is challenging current Chair Jo Holt, who has held the position since November 2015. The new chair will be elected by precinct committee persons at a mandatory meeting on Saturday, Dec. 15.

Read more

Vote for AZ Candidates Who Support Marijuana Legalization

By The Downtown Dispensary, Tucson, AZ.

One of the most effective ways to fix federal marijuana laws is to elect candidates who share the same values as those of us who realize that marijuana is the actual solution to the opioid crisis and that the right to choose an alternative medicine is not something that people like Attorney General Jeff Sessions should have a say in. One of the most likely bills to begin solving the problem is the STATES Act that would recognize the legalization of cannabis. However, we need to elect officials who will help make it law.

We must also have a Governor and state administration who support access to cannabis. As some of you are still waiting on sending in your early ballots and with the election just 11 days away, we ask you to review the information below on some of the candidates in Arizona’s 2nd congressional district and the Arizona Governor’s race. We do not believe the 1st Congressional District and 3rd Congressional District will see a change in representation and wish Congressman Grijalva and Congressman O’Halleran the best of luck.

Thank you for exercising your right to vote!
Primary Election – August 28, 2018
General Election – November 6, 2018

ARIZONA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 2

Billy Kovacs – DEMOCRAT

“I fully support medical marijuana. We need to end the federal prohibitions on medical marijuana and allow the possession, production, and distribution of medical marijuana in states with established marijuana laws.”

According to Billy’s ads in the Tucson Weekly and the Arizona Daily Star, he supports the legalization of marijuana for adult use at the federal and state level.

SOURCE:  Billy Kovacs for Congress | Arizona Daily Star – Candidates

Ann Kirkpatrick – DEMOCRAT

Ann Kirkpatrick has voted to protect the rights of medical marijuana patients and dispensaries in 2015 but she does not support the legalization of marijuana according to statements she made at a candidate forum in Green Valley earlier this year.

SOURCE: Arizona Daily Star Vote Results – Roll Call (Rohrbacher-Blumenauer Amendment)

Read more

Kovacs Shines and Kirkpatrick Gets Booed at CD2 Congressional Candidates Forum

Candidates Billy Kovacs, Mary Matiella, Matt Heinz, Barbara Sherry, Bruce Wheeler, and Ann Kirkpatrick.
Candidates Billy Kovacs, Mary Matiella, Matt Heinz, Barbara Sherry, Bruce Wheeler, and Ann Kirkpatrick.

The CD2 Congressional candidate forum on July 19 was a classic Democratic assembly, with at least 450 attendees including hecklers, cheering and booing, and horrendous audio.

The PAC RepresentMeAZ organized the event at Tucson High School and gave out report cards about the candidates. The results will be posted soon on Facebook. At the last event, Bruce Wheeler was the crowd favorite, and I’m guessing this time it may be Billy Kovacs.


Sure enough, Billy Kovacs was the audience favorite at the July 19th candidate forum. Second place went to the winner of our last Forum, Bruce Wheeler. candidate report card


Kovacs, Maria Matiella, Bruce Wheeler, Barbara Sherry and Matt Heinz staked out ultra-progressive positions, leaving a beleaguered and defensive Ann Kirkpatrick as the odd person out.

Highlights:

  • All the candidates agreed to support the winner of the August 28 primary. Mail-in ballots will be sent to voters on August 1.
  • The audience groaned as Kirkpatrick and Heinz sniped at each other. See videos and attack ads in the comments section at https://goo.gl/6QtjfHI have no tolerance for candidates who go negative against fellow Democrats.
  • All the candidates supported federal legalization of marijuana except Kirkpatrick. Why, Ann, why must weed be outlawed as a Schedule 1 drug?
  • The candidates — except for Kirkpatrick — took the radical, left-wing position to abolish ICE, the internal immigration enforcement agency. Arizona Star columnist Tim Steller called this “a loser of a political position.”
  • All but Kirkpatrick supported Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, for calling the president’s remarks “cowardly and shameful” when he bowed to Putin.
  • Regarding impeaching the president, supporters were Kovacs, Matiella, Sherry, and Kirkpatrick — but not Heinz or Wheeler.
  • Most of the candidates wore teal ribbons for Sexual Assualt Awareness.

Who can beat the Republican?

Read more