ADEQ

Legislative Whirlwind Part 2: ADEQ Gas Tank Removal in Phoenix

Did you ever wonder what happens to the storage tanks when a gas station closes? In Arizona, taxpayers often fund removal of the tanks– not the companies that installed them. When I was  professional photographer, one of my favorite subjects to photograph was industry, because of the sheer scale of the machinery and striking angles … Read more

Arizona House

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

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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Bernie, Donald & Me: Beyond the Victory on Nov 8

Steve Farley, Pamela Powers Hannley, Randy Friese
LD9 Senator Steve Farley, Rep.-Elect Pamela Powers Hannley and Rep. Randy Friese on Election Night.

At 5 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2016, I had an existential crisis. How could a Progressive candidate like me win election on the same day as Donald Trump?

The LD9 team won early on Nov. 8. Randy, Steve and I were the first winners to take the stage at the Pima County Democratic Party party in the Marriott Hotel, where many of us watched President Barack Obama win twice.

Excitement was in the air. Everyone was so cheery. The polls all told us that our candidate– the first woman president– would win handily. Yes, of course, one poll said that Hillary Clinton would win by only 3%, but how could that be when all other polls were so high in favor of her?

Now we all know what happened. The polls were wrong. Twenty-five years of lies; millions of social media shares of questionable meme attacks and fake news; editorializing instead of news analysis by mainstream news media; Russian hacks; dithering, drawn-out FBI investigation of those @#$% emails;  and deep-seeded sexism took down the most qualified candidate and gave us a president who promises to rule with an authoritarian hand.

So, how did I win on the same night Trump won?

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Dem Volunteers Beat the Bushes for Every Vote

   Working out of three regional offices, Democratic Party volunteers have been fanning across Southern Arizona to find every last vote possible.  There are volunteer opportunities for walkers and phone bankers today — Election Day– from the main headquarters, the NW LD9 headquarters on Oracle, and the South Side headquarters.  Help us get out the … Read more

Pamela Powers Hannley

Pamela Powers Hannley: Voice of the People (video)

Pamela Powers Hannley

For more than a year now, I have been running for the Legislature to serve Legislative District 9 in the Arizona House.

Along the campaign trail, I have met 1000s of you at community events, like the Hunger Walk, Cyclovia, the Garden District Porch Fest, the Labor Day picnic, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march, the Peace Fair, Poetry Center activities, and other events.

I’ve met you at dozens of house parties and coffees with the candidate events.

I’ve met you at meetings like Democrats of Greater Tucson, the Nucleus Club, the Democratic Party State Committee meetings, and the LD9 meetings.

I’ve seen your creativity when I stopped at your doorsteps, and I’ve heard your passion at rallies.

I understand you because I am one of you. I’m a Mom and a Grandma. I worked in a factory, in a laundry, on a landscape crew, and as a waitress. I have climbed the corporate career ladder, and I’ve been laid off.

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