One of the high points of the DNC2012 for me was being interviewed by Jason Jones of Comedy Central. (I wasn’t nutty enough to get on TV.)
Laughing is good for your health.
Laughing Liberally is good for your health, good for your mind, and good for democracy.
Laughing Liberally political comics regularly perform around town. Tonight– July 31— the comics will perform at Hotel Congress at 8 p.m. The twist for tonight’s event will be the addition of tabling politicians like myself. Come on down! Have a laugh, meet the candidates, and enjoy an evening of politics and laughs.
In honor of tonight’s event, check out my one and only Laughing Liberally performance from 2012. I had the honor of blogging the 2012 DNC for the Huffington Post. Hear about my experiences below, and come to Hotel Congress tonight to catch some laughs and meet fellow progressives.
Pamela Powers Hannley, Progressive Democrat and Clean Elections Candidate for LD9
Primary races are good for the Democratic Party because they allow different opinions to be heard. Last night while watching the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the value of the Clinton vs Sanders primary was evident. As a progressive, I heartened to hear Senator Bernie Sanders say that the two camps came together on the platform and came to agreement regarding debt-free college, busting up the banks, making society more equitable, ending Citizens United, and other populist agenda items. (They also added the Equal Rights Amendment – ERA – to the platform, but no one mentioned it.)
Mission accomplished, Bernie. Thanks for your service to the 99%. Bernie pushed Hillary and other establishment Democrats to the left and opened their eyes to the inequities of our current economic policies which offer largesse for the 1% and austerity for the 99%. They balance tax cuts and giveaways for big corporations with budget cuts, layoffs and tax increases for the rest of us– Robin Hood in Reverse.
I am by far the most progressive candidate running in Tucson and the only Tucson Democrat running clean. I have often quip that I am the Bernie Sanders of Tucson– with Hillary Clinton’s gender issues. I am pushing the local political discussion out of the safety zone of politics as usual and toward a more progressive direction– particularly in the areas of economic reform, wages, and money in politics.
In any normal presidential election year (when I’m not running for office myself), I would have been hunkered down in front of the TV watching the Republican National Convention (RNC) this week.
But since I have had campaign events every night, I have had to depend upon social media and the lame stream media for my news. From what I have seen, the scene in Cleveland, my hometowm region, has been a wild ride. For a light-hearted look at how dire the situation is. Check out Randy Rainbow after the jump.
Talking about inequality and the stinky wages women make in Tucson.
Last Thursday, the Nucleus Club hosted the second LD9 Democratic Party match-up between the three candidates who will be on the primary ballot in August– Dr. Randy Friese, Matt Kopec, and me– Pamela Powers Hannley.
About 50 LD9 residents and party regulars attended the event at the Viscount. This was the fourth Democratic candidate forum that the club hosted during this election season; all were well-attended. Apparently, Democrats are no longer afraid of primaries because there are several this year: Congressional District 2 (Victoria Steele vs Matt Heinz); LD10 House race (Kirsten Engel, Stephanie Mach and Courtney Frogge), LD2 House race (Daniel Hernandez, Aaron Baumann and Rosanna Gabaldon), Pima County Superintendent of Schools (Dustin Williams and Michael Gordy), and my race in LD9.
Personally, I disagree with those who think primaries are a waste of money. I think they are a great idea. It gets the candidates out and allows different ideas to be heard. (Also, having almost no primaries int 2014 didn’t do us any good.)
Broadway Village Shopping Center, designed by Tucson icon Josais Joesler, is one of the most unique shopping locations in Tucson. It could be destroyed with the widening of Broadway.
UPDATE: About 200 Tucsonans came to the Tucson City Council meeting publicized below. The Arizona Daily Star reported that the city “got an earful” from residents who want a modest project on Broadway. The final City Council vote will be Tuesday, April 19.
Or how many times we said we wanted to keep valuable historic buildings on Broadway? Or how many times we said that following obsolete growth projects was a silly idea? Or how many times we said, “We’re widening Grant Rd., why widen Broadway, too?”
Well, apparently, we have not told the Mayor and Council, “Enough is Enough” enough times.
I thought the fight over sustainable development and modest expansion of Broadway had been won months ago when the citizens task force voted to go with a smaller foot-print for the widening– a plan that the neighbors and concerned citizens agreed with– but no. Developers, real estate speculators, and automobile promoters are putting pressure on the Mayor and Council to ignore the will of the citizens.
TONIGHT – April 5 at 5:30 p.m. is another major public hearing on the Broadway Widening Project. Note the location change. It will be at the County Board of Supervisors meeting room. Details from the Broadway Coalition, link to a petition to sign, and links to four years of past articles after the jump.
