In Memoriam

It is with great sadness I have to post that a cherished member of the Democratic Party family has passed away. Carolyn Warner was one of the nicest, warmest and funniest people you would ever meet. She will be greatly missed.

The Arizona Republic reports, ‘She was a giant’: Education leader Carolyn Warner dies at 88:

Carolyn Warner, an education leader and advocate who nearly became Arizona’s first female governor, died of cancer Tuesday.

She was 88.

“Arizona has lost an icon,” Phoenix Mayor Thelda Williams said in a statement Wednesday. “A trailblazer in her own right — Carolyn Warner leaves a legacy of tireless dedication and advocacy for public education that will always be remembered.”

The chairwoman and founder of Corporate Education Consulting began her political career nearly 50 years ago as a Phoenix Union High School District board member. The mother of six said she was approached to run after moving to Phoenix from Oklahoma in 1953.

She became the first non-educator elected as state superintendent of public instruction, a post she held for 12 years. She ran for U.S. Senate in 1976 but lost the Democratic primary to Dennis DeConcini.

A decade later, Warner became the second woman in Arizona history to win her party’s nomination in the governor’s race, only to lose in the general election to Republican Evan Mecham.

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Arizona’s senior senator, John McCain, died Saturday afternoon, 9 years to the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy — of the same kind of cancer. “History does rhyme,” Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney from the Southern District of New York, said in a tweet.

I’m sure that Ted was waiting to greet his friend on the other side.

McCain’s Senate colleague and friend, Vice President Joseph Biden, who visited McCain at his home during his losing battle with cancer tweeted:

McCain is expected to lie in state in both Arizona and Washington, D.C., where he split his time. He will also have a church service in each city. Information will be updated on johnmccain.com, his former campaign website. John McCain funerals and tributes planned in Phoenix, Washington:

McCain will not be buried near the family patriarchs at ‎Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

Instead, he will return to his youthful stomping grounds, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, to be buried at the cemetery there. That ceremony was expected to be private.

McCain will be buried near his old Navy pal, Charles “Chuck” Larson, also a member of the academy’s Class of 1958.

His resting place will overlook the Severn River, McCain wrote in his most recent book, “back where it all began.”

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It is with great sadness that I must report the death of Martin Bacal, a long-time friend and the heart and soul of the Pima County Democratic Party. There is not a Democratic activist in Arizona who does not know Martin Bacal over decades of dedicated service to the Democratic Party. Martin is irreplaceable, and I will miss him. Goodbye my friend.

Here is the announcement from the Pima County Democratic Party:

Remembering Martin H. Bacal

MARTIN HARRY BACAL

October 8, 1932 – February 14, 2017

Martin Bacal, a lifelong Tucson resident, died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home. He is survived by his wife Eva, their children Richard (Victoria), David (Diana), Katherine (David), Susan, and Emily, his sister Andrea (Doug), and 6 grandchildren. Martin was born in New York City and has lived in Tucson since 1934. He was a proud graduate of Tucson High and Columbia University. He was the longtime president and owner of Pioneer Paint and Varnish Co. He was active in the Democratic Party and was National Committee person for 12 years. He supported University of Arizona athletics, a season ticket holder for basketball and for football for well over 60 years. He was a past member of Rotary. Martin had an encyclopedic memory of politics, geography, and history, with a special interest in the Civil War. Martin was a loyal friend of Bill W.

Funeral Service 1:30 p.m. Friday February 17, 2017

Congregation Or Chadash, 3939 N. Alvernon Way.

Burial to follow Evergreen Cemetery.

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Arizona’s first woman governor, Rose Mofford has died. The Arizona Republic reports on her passing, Rose Mofford, first woman to serve as Arizona governor, has died:

Rose Mofford, the scrappy softball player from rural Globe who would make history by become Arizona’s first woman secretary of state and governor, has died. She was 94.

Mofford, who lived 55 years in the same home and kept her phone number public, died Thursday morning at Gardiner Home, a hospice in Phoenix.

Karen Scates, a close friend and long-time political associate, said Mofford had been moved to the hospice as a precaution after an Aug. 31 fall at her own home.

“She was moved to Gardiner House to have a little more care and attention, and was doing fine and was recovering,” Scates said.

According to Scates, “She was in good spirits yesterday. She went peacefully – that is all we can hope for.” She added that Mofford, just the day before, had read the newspaper and snacked on lemon cakes and a vanilla milkshake.

Mofford, of course, was anything but vanilla.

As secretary of state, she took over the top office in 1988 after Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached for obstruction of justice and misuse of funds.

Rose Mofford made history as Arizona’s first female governor, but her hairdo was equally legendary.

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