On Friday, September 7, 2018, the Clean Elections Commission sponsored a debate between the Republican and Democratic nominees for State House and State Senate in LD 18. The appropriately named Republican Nominee Frank Schmuck chose not to debate his Democratic opponent, incumbent State Senator Sean Bowie.
Our Democratic legislative nominees across the state are united in their fury at the Ducey packed Arizona Supreme Court decisions to prevent the Invest in Education and Outlaw Dirty Money Initiatives from appearing on the November 6 Ballot. They are all equally united in promising to do everything in their power, once elected in November, to restore full funding to our public schools and Democracy to our states. Below are the comments of some of the Democratic State Senate and House Nominees in response to the Supreme Court rulings on August 29 and what solutions they propose to solve the issues of funding our schools and getting rid of Dark Money special interests.
Dear reader,
Below are the links to the profiles of Democratic Candidates interviewed up until August 21, 2018. Future profiles will be added for study. Please use this valuable resource to help make the best-informed choice when you vote in August either via a mail-in ballot or in person on August 28, 2018. Above all, please do not forget to vote. There are many exceptional Democratic candidates to consider so please take the time to vote for the ones that you feel will best move your local community and the state forward.
Federal elections
Statewide elections
As Governor, Steve Farley Will Fight for Education and Social Justice
Kathy Hoffman: A Progressive Candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
David Schapira, a Progressive Candidate For Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
Treasurer Candidate Mark Manoil Seeks to Revitalize Arizona’s Economy Through Community Banks
AG Candidate January Contreras Will Protect Vulnerable Populations
Candidate Kiana Sears Brings a Consumer-Focused Approach to the Arizona Corporation Commission
Democrat AZ Mine Inspector Candidate Bill Pierce Will Protect Us from Soil and Water Contamination
About 700 excited and enthusiastic Democratic activists, including many candidates, precinct captains, and Legislative District chairpersons, filled the auditorium at the Performing Arts Center of Horizon High School in Paradise Valley on June 30 to attend the Summer Convention of the Maricopa Democratic Party.
They heard speakers including the County Party Leadership, Maricopa County State Representatives Kelli Butler and Mitzi Epstein, House Representative Ruben Gallego, the three Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates (Farley, Fryer, and Garcia), Maricopa County Recorder Adrian Fontes, and Guest Speaker Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
The gathered assemblage conveyed an optimistic mood, cheering when Maricopa County Party Leader Steven Slugocki proclaimed that the “Blue Wave starts here” in the “largest Battleground County.”
He happily reported that the Democratic Party has surged in growth since 2016, citing examples of the quadrupling in the number of Precinct Captains in some Legislative Districts (with LD 18, for example exploding with 254 of which I have to disclose I am one) and legislative offices.
Slugocki also relayed that there has been a surge in the number of candidates. In 2014, the Democrats recruited 55 people to run and there were some positions where Republicans ran unopposed, today there are 75 people running and all legislative offices are being contested. LD 23 was singled out for being the district that gathered the most ballot signatures and LD 12 for the most voter registrations.
Read: LD 23 State House Candidate Eric Kurland sees 2018 as a Referendum on Public Education.
Democrat Eric Kurland described his reasons and goals for seeking one of the LD 23 State House seats from orthodox conservatives John Kavanagh and Jay Lawrence.
Over breakfast at the Scottsdale restaurant Randy’s (very good food and service) at Chaparral and Hayden, he said he was motivated by his advocacy for children and the misdirection of our Dark-Money-serving Republican state leaders in promoting private school vouchers rather than fully funding public education, Kurland, an educator with the Scottsdale Unified School District, has launched a campaign, fueled by his army of education supporters, emphasizing education, campaign finance reform, and reforming the private prison system.
A legislative district that encompasses all or parts of Scottsdale, Fountain Hills, Paradise Valley, and Rio Verde, there has not been a Democratic representative from LD 23 in recent years. Eager to break that trend, Kurland will be running for one of two state house seats against incumbent State Representative Jay Lawrence and Senate Pro Tempore John Kavanagh.
Kurland feels that both Lawrence and Kavanagh are on the “opposite end” of what the people who elected them want, living in “an ivory tower who do not feel the pulse of what a community requires.” If elected, Kurland states, that unlike his opponents, “it will not be the last time they (the people) will hear from him.”