Victoria Steele

HRC AZ disappoints with Ethan “Bros Before Hoes” Orr endorsement as news media fawn over his weed announcement

by

Crossposted from DemocraticDiva.com

e orr

I learned via good sources on Facebook earlier that the Human Rights Campaign of Arizona has decided to endorse incumbent Ethan Orr (R) along with Dr. Randall Freise (D) for Legislative District 9. It’s bad enough they are snubbing Orr’s seatmate Victoria Steele (D) but they are throwing their support to a guy who has a lousy voting record on human rights issues. (CORRECTION: I have since learned that HRC AZ is endorsing Steele. They picked Orr over Friese.)

I understand that Orr is nominally pro-LGBT rights and, who knows, maybe he has finally come out in support of marriage equality. HRC AZ may be rewarding him for voting against SB1062 (not that it mattered since the bill passed anyway). If that’s the case, I would urge extreme caution about that. Ethan Orr strongly opposes a woman’s right to choose, which should be upsetting enough if you believe that human rights should be a full meal for all, not a cafeteria plan for some. But what that also means is that if/when SB1062 comes back, it will be (as I’ve explained many times) disguised as a “Hobby Lobby”-type measure. They’ll just say the magic word “abortifacients” and Ethan Orr will be on board. Thus, he really cannot be pro-LGBT if he is also anti-choice.

Read more

View LD 9 House Clean Elections debate: Rep. Ethan Orr vs. Dr. Randy Friese

by

On Wednesday September 3, 2014 a Citizens Clean Election Commission debate was held at PCC downtown between LD 9 House contenders:  incumbent Republican Rep. Ethan Orr and his Democrat challenger Dr. Randy Friese.  Democrat LD 9 Rep. Victoria Steele is also in this race but had an out of town commitment prior to the scheduling of this debate.

About 65 people attended this debate, including Ward 6 Councilman Steve Kozachik (a Democrat) and Pima County  Dem Party Chair Don Jorgensen.

Voters have to choose 2 candidates for 2 AZ House seats in the General Election for LD 9, between these 3 individuals running.

View the video of this debate posted by CCEC:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WCbIcQrx9I&feature=youtu.be

 

Read more

Deadline Looms: ERA Ratification Assigned to Judiciary Committee in AZ Legislature

by

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Rep. Victoria Steele’s (D-9) bill to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (HCR2016) was assigned to the House Judiciary Committee late last week. (You’ll remember that mid-week, I reported it was languishing on the desk of House Speaker Andy Tobin.)

This week is the last week for bills to be heard by committees of the Arizona Legislature. Currently, the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet onThursday, Feb. 20, 2014. ERA ratification is not on the agenda, but– hey– it’s only Monday. Agendas and committee meeting dates routinely shift around in the Arizona Legislature. Arizona women deserve economic equality. It's time to make some phone calls to Phoenix!

Bills can be killed in multiple ways: they can be voted down in committee, voted down by the Legislature, or just plain ignored by the Speaker or the committee chair. If the HCR2016 isn’t heard this week, it will die in committee. Arizona women deserve economic equality. Tucson's favorite "moderate" LD9 Rep. Ethan Orr is on the Judiciary Committee; he could be an important swing vote on the ERA.  [Contact information for committee members after the jump.]

HCR2016 ERA Ratification Bill Languishes on Speaker Tobin’s Desk

by

Victoria STEELEby Pamela Powers Hannley

Tucson Rep. Victoria Steele has introduced two bipartisan bills to advance the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Arizona Legislature. One has made it to committee, while the other is waiting on Speaker of the House Andy Tobin's desk.

HCR2016 is a bill to ratify the ERA. Although ERA ratification has 22 sponsors, including four Republicans, it hasn't made it "out of the gate" yet. According to an aid in Steele's office, HCR2016 hasn't had a "first read" yet. Bills are read first by Speaker Tobin, who determines committee assignments. If a bill is never assigned to a committee, it is dead in the water. (HB2016 text here.)

HCM2006 is a memorandum to the federal government asking that the ratification deadline be extended. HCM2006 has 19 sponsors, including two Republicans. The bill has been assigned to the Federalism and Fiscal Responsibility Committee (FFR) but hasn't made it on the committee's agenda… yet. (More about the committee here. HCM2006 text here.)

Bills can be killed in multiple ways: they can be voted down in committee, voted down by the Legislature, or just plain ignored by the Speaker or the committee chair. Although it's early in the session, it appears as if the ERA bills are being ignored– even though the ERA has bipartisan support in the Legislature and broad, popular support among the majority of Americans. (Sponsor list after the jump.)

Uphill Battle: Rep. Victoria Steele Introduces Bill to Extend ERA Ratification Deadline

by

PDA econ equalityEquality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
– Equal Rights Amendment

by Pamela Powers Hannley

There is an ideological perfect storm brewing in the Arizona Legislature. A memorandum supporting extension of the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) has been assigned to a committee where five out of seven members have pledged to protect and fight for the rights of fetuses over the rights of women.

Not content with winning the right to vote in 1920, women’s rights advocates proposed the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) 91 years ago. The ERA was introduced during every Congressional session between 1923 and 1972 and finally passed nearly 70 years after it was originally proposed. In the 1970s, there was a ground war at the state level to get 38 state legislatures to ratify the ERA in order for it to become a Constitutional Amendment. The ERA fell 3 states short of ratification; Arizona is one of a handful of states that never ratified the ERA.

HCM2006 Sponsors

Fast forward to 2013, the ground war for women’s equality has resumed at the state level with ERA ratification proposals six states– Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Virginia, and now … Arizona.; Nevada and North Carolina plan to hear it in 2014. LD9 Rep. Victoria Steele has introduced HCM2006, a memorandum from the State of Arizona asking the federal government to extend the deadline for ratification of the ERA, and HCR2016, a fill to ratify the ERA.

In addition to Steele, the ERA memorandum has 18 co-sponsors– including two Republican women, Kelly Townsend (LD14) and Karen Fann (LD1). Below is the complete list. Although Southern Arizona is well-represented on this list with Steele, Wheeler, Gabaldon, Saldate, and Pencrazi, where are the rest of the Democrats and the “moderate” Repulbican? (Should I name names, or can you figure out who’s missing here? If you live in LD9, LD10, LD2, or LD3, you might want to ask your representatives and senators why their names are missing from this list.)