Council Aide Matt Kopec appointed to LD 9 House seat by Pima County Bd. of Supervisors

Last Friday January 15,  the PCs (Precinct committee people) in LD 9 selected 3 Democrats to send to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, to choose one for appointment to a vacant LD 9 House seat at today’s regular board meeting.  Victoria Steele, twice elected to that position resigned last week to run for CD 1 House, currently held by freshman Republican Congresswoman Martha McSally. (Steele  faces opposition in the Dem primary on August 30 for that seat from Dr. Matt Heinz, who also served in the Arizona State House.)

The 3 people nominated were:

Pamela Powers Hannley, managing editor (now part time) of the American Journal of Medicine, blogger here at Blog for Arizona and her own blogsite Tucson Progressive;

Matt Kopec, Pima County Dem Party Treasurer and Council aide to Ward 3 Councilmember Karin Uhlich;

and Ted Prezelski, Council aide to Ward 2 Councilmember Paul Cunningham, founder of blogsite Rum, Romanism & Rebellion (inactive), who also ran for LD 28 House in the Democratic primary of August, 2010.  He is the twin brother of former LD 29 House Rep. Tom Prezelski, who served 2 terms in the Arizona State House.

Matt Kopec, Ward 3 Council Aide
Matt Kopec, Ward 3 Council Aide

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LD Precinct committee persons nominate Pam Powers Hannley, Matt Kopec, & Ted Prezelski for appointment for LD 9 House Vacancy

LD 9 precinct committee people met tonight at the Pima County Democratic Party  headquarters,  4639 E. 1st St. There were 42  PCs in attendance, with 18 proxies of 71 PCs total  in LD 9.  Four Democratic candidates were seeking the appointment for the vacancy created by this week’s resignation by Democrat LD 9 House Rep. … Read more

AZ Dem reorganization meeting: Not a good day for incumbents (video)

Welcome_0096-sm72by Pamela Powers Hannley

Saturday, January 26, was a day of surprises– a bad day for incumbent Democratic Party officers but a good day for activists and young Democrats. It was the culmination of the Arizona Democratic Party's (ADP) statewide reorganization, which began with the election of new precinct committee (PC) persons in August.

These last two years have been somewhat tumultuous for the ADP, after the stormy election and eventual resignation of Andrei Cherny (of No Labels fame) as party chair. Both the county and state parties came under fire from candidates and activists for playing favorites, endorsing candidates before the primary election, and, sometimes, and actively working for or against certain Democratic candidates. As a result, many unhappy campers grumbled on Facebook, on the blogs, and in person, and some even protested the headquarters in Phoenix. Multiple groups— including progressives— used the past few months to gain power in the local party structure– with an eye on Saturday's state committee meeting. 

On Saturday, 400+ elected precinct committee people elected the chair, eight vice chairs (four of each gender from different counties), a secretary, a treasurer, a DNC representative, an education coordinator, and an affirmative action moderator. 

The first upset victory of the day was for first vice chair. Former Carmona campaign manager and long-time activist Alexis Tameron beat three-term vice chair Harriet Young handily. After the jump, watch a video of Tameron, as well as more details, photos, and election results.