LD22 Newsletter - October 2019

Upcoming LD22 Meeting

• Healthcare Forum 2020
• October Rally Events
• Speaker Spotlights
• Upcoming Speakers
• Social Media Marketing
• Deans Data Download
• Civic Engagement Chair

• Volunteer Spotlight
• Swing Left with Sonoma County
• Boo Bash - Dems Who Care
• National Voter Registration Day
• LD22 - 22 Stories of Impact
• Message from Chair
• Things to do in 22
• Donations Ask

This month our Taco Tuesday event is tonight October1st.

Taco Tuesdays are held at Urban Margarita

Stay tuned for more candidate visits for this event!

https://www.urbanmargarita.com/

Tue Oct 1st 8:30am to 10:00am at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s office for our first Weekly Legislator Rally. This week our rally issue is HEALTHCARE 

Please Bring Signs. (Suggestions: Protect and Expand Access; Control Costs; Protect Medicare; Don’t be Fooled - Republicans have NO REFORM Plan). Don’t forget water and Sunscreen.

Tue Oct 8th 8:30am - 10:00am
Join us at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s office for our Weekly Legislator Rally. This week our rally issue is IMMIGRATION.  Intersection of W Bell Rd and W Grandview Rd, Glendale, AZ

Please Bring Signs. (Suggestions: Refugees are People Too!; Hate Has No Place in America!; #CloseTheCamps). Don’t forget water and Sunscreen.

Tue Oct 15th 8:30am - 10:00am

Join us at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s office for our Weekly Legislator Rally. This week our rally issue is CLIMATE CHANGE.  Intersection of W Bell Rd and W Grandview Rd, Glendale, AZ

Please Bring Signs. (Suggestions: Climate Change is Real!; Denial is Not a Real Policy; There is NO Planet “B”; Be Part of the Solution; Not Pollution). Don’t forget water and Sunscreen.

Tue Oct 22nd 8:30am - 10:00am

Join us at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s office for our Weekly Legislator Rally. This week our rally issue is GUN VIOLENCE.  Intersection of W Bell Rd and W Grandview Rd, Glendale, AZ

Please Bring Signs. (Suggestions: Not One More; Gun Sense Laws - Not a Partisan Issue; Better Background Checks; Be SMART; We can END Gun Violence; Gun Violence is Domestic Violence; Gun Violence is Suicide; Gun Violence is Homicide; Gun Violence is Preventable; Gun Violence is a Public Health Issue). Don’t forget water and Sunscreen.

Tue Oct 29nd 8:30am - 10:00am

Join us at Congresswoman Debbie Lesko’s office for our Weekly Legislator Rally. This week our rally issue is EDUCATION.  Intersection of W Bell Rd and W Grandview Rd, Glendale, AZ

Please Bring Signs. (Full State Funding – Full Federal Funding; Pay Teachers a Living Wage; Fund Students and Classrooms; Strong Schools, Strong State; SOS Arizona; If You Can Read This, Thank a Teacher; For Students – For Educators – For Communities; We were Red For Ed!). . Don’t forget water and Sunscreen.

For information about more weekly rally events follow our FB page at  https://www.facebook.com/AZLD22Dems/ or our website events page at https://ld22democrats.com/events.html.

Jennifer Samuels 
Candidate for Maricopa County Public Instruction

I am a teacher, an activist, a numbers person, a marathon runner, a wife and a mother.

For over a decade, I have taught and volunteered in the public school system where I was born and raised: Maricopa County, Arizona. I earned a Master’s in Special Education and am working on a Master’s in Educational Leadership. My experience includes both general and special education classrooms in the Paradise Valley School District. I’ve been a Coach, an Athletic Director and the Vice President of Desert Springs Preparatory PTA. 

Last year, as I addressed the Arizona House Ways and Means Committee, 70,000 educators, parents, and students who rallied at the Capitol. I called out legislators who refused to fund public education in Arizona. “I have ninety students this year,” I said. “I have approximately three minutes with each student each day to give them individual attention […] We need to properly fund education so that our class sizes will go down.”

Two months later, I addressed the House Appropriations Committee, pointing out that “Many, many of my students are reading a few of not several grade levels below where they should be, not because we don’t have highly-qualified, highly-dedicated teachers, but because these kids have slipped through the cracks of overcrowded classrooms.” As the majority in the legislature proved indifferent to the arguments of teachers, parents, and students, I felt dismay, then determination. In 2018, after lawmakers moved forward with a voucher expansion bill that would have bled the education system further, I decided to run for office as a Representative for Legislative District 15. Campaigning for the Legislature deepened my sense for the people of this county and their commitment to public education. I remain committed to my students, making the decision to become their superintendent an easy one. 

In my prior career at the second-largest credit union in Arizona, I oversaw large funds, directed revenues, and created and implemented marketing strategies. Because of my extensive experience in the financial services industry and Master’s in Organizational Leadership, I was elected to Arizona Federal’s Board of Directors in 2016 to advocate for financial literacy programs and helped establish policies concerning asset liability and risk management for Arizona Federal’s $1.6 billion budget. Therefore, when I am Superintendent, funding for Maricopa schools will be managed responsibly, with an eye toward increasing opportunity for all students. I’ll also advocate for greater accountability for charter schools in order to protect taxpayers’ investments in education from millionaires.

Nothing worth accomplishing is easy. We face serious challenges as we struggle to re-prioritize public education. The teacher-led movement for change, insisting we change course, inspired most of us—parents, business leaders, and other educational advocates. It won’t be easy but we must continue working toward a repaired school system. Just like a marathon race, I will reach the finish line for my students and colleagues.

Ben and I will celebrate our 14-year wedding anniversary this summer and enjoy raising our three daughters – ages 9, 11 and 13 – who attend our local public schools.

Zoe Stein
Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) Training Manager

Zoe Stein is the ADP Training Manager! Zoe has lived in Arizona for 8 years and comes from a strong Sustainability and Organizing background. She has a BA and MS in Sustainability Science from Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability.

During the 2018 cycle, Zoe served as the Arizona Organizing Director for Nextgen America. She oversaw a program that registered over 12,000 people to vote, recruited over 1000 unique volunteers and knocked on over 88,000 people's doors with a result of doubled turnout in targeted precincts around Tucson and Tempe and tripled turnout in Flagstaff, compared to 2014. Furthermore, nearly 30% of the 18-29-year-olds who voted early were first-time voters in Arizona!

Zoe is excited and committed to making sure 2020 is even more successful for Democrats and is available to help with all of your skill-building and organizer-training needs! Please feel free to reach out to her.

Attached is an ADP academy handout! 

Wendy Garcia

Wendy Garcia is running a grass roots campaign to be your next Arizona House Representative for Legislative District 22.  Because she is a Democrat campaigning as a “Clean Elections” candidate, Ms. Garcia will be accountable to the voters; not the special interests, dark money politicians, and corporate lobbyists.  By campaigning “Clean” Wendy will be able to spend more time listening to the voters of Legislative District 22.

Ms. Garcia founded Indivisible Surprise (a local grass roots group).  She also helped organize the Northwest Valley chapter of Save Our Schools.  As an experienced radio broadcaster and news director, she has communicated with members of the Arizona Legislature and the United States Congress to advocate for social justice issues.

Wendy is a fearless activist, leader, and the mother of 2 children (Melody & Michael).  So, she knows the importance of protecting vulnerable people and our rights.  She will serve “by and for the people” of District 22 to restore democracy, improve public schools, expand healthcare coverage, and increase good paying jobs for our community.

Kathleen Honne
Arizona Legislative District #22
2020 Democratic Candidate for the House

Kathleen Honne grew up in rural Southern Arizona.  Participating in 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs, she learned the values of citizenship, responsibility, and service to her community; as well as valuable life skills such as clear thinking and healthy living.  Along with those values and skills Kathleen will bring her leadership and experience to the job of representing the voters in the Northwest Valley (Arizona’s Legislative District #22).

Mrs. Honne has worked in education for over 20 years serving as both an assistant principal and a classroom instructor.  She has taught 3^rd grade, managed an elementary school with over 900 students, and balanced a multi-million dollar budget.  Kathleen has also successfully written safety grants and advocated for individual students with special needs.  So she knows, first-hand, how to navigate the bureaucratic red-tape and address the challenges we face in getting the politicians down at the Capitol to act for the public good.

During this campaign, as both a Democratic and Clean Elections candidate. Kathleen will address the issues of political corruption, improving student education, healthcare access for all, and making our economy work for everyone.

This is the second in my series of downloads I offer for your information.  Last month I introduced you to VAN (Voter Activation Network), the online database where we organize most of our voter and volunteer information.  With this database we keep track of voters we call or visit and our volunteers.

During September we continued our Virtual Phone Bank (VPB) featuring volunteers from California.  (A VPB uses a VAN application with your computer or cell phone track results of the call/visit automatically.  If you are familiar with computers, it is easy to use.) 

This initiative is designed to promote the Permanent Early Voting List (PEVL).  We made 304 calls and 10 voters agreed to sign-up for PEVL and another 8 stated they may sign-up later.  We recruited one volunteer and three told us they would consider volunteering later.  An early October VPB with our California connection is planned. 

I held two VPBs at my house and we made 121 calls recruiting volunteers to events and asking our supporters what volunteer activities they prefer.  This is a huge task and we have around 1,000 people to call.  During October I plan to expand phone calling to both voters and volunteers.  Anyone who is interested in gathering friends and neighbors to their house to make calls either from a paper list or from laptops, please call me at 801-265-9866.

Canvassing, of course, is the very best way to engage voters.  We started our fall canvassing on Saturday, September 28^th.  Ten hearty souls participated in this event.  We knocked on 144 doors in Reems and Willow Canyon precincts and talked with 43 voters.  This is a very impressive 30% contact rate.  Twenty of these voters agreed to volunteer as soon as possible, one agreed to volunteer later and another eight would consider volunteering.  During this canvass we promoted our LD22 Democratic Party and 27 people agreed to join us on Facebook and/or Twitter and provide an email address for our monthly newsletter. 

We also distributed a flyer for our “YES” initiative (Youth Empowering Society).  These two precincts were used to pilot this initiative which attempts to get high school and our young adult population engaged in activating their neighborhoods by focusing on the gun violence, climate crises and public-school funding issues.  If you know of any youth interested in this initiative, please text “YES” to 801-265-9866.

We again increased the attendance at our monthly meeting with 57 attendees in September plus well over 6 visitors who were obtaining signatures for candidates and the Outlaw Dirty Money initiative.  With the snowbirds starting to flock back to Arizona, we may need to set-up additional seating.  Thank you to everyone who has volunteered over the past month – your efforts our very, very much appreciated.

Dean
VAN Captain

I took on the job of Civic Engagement Chair because I believe that voting can no longer be a proxy for civic engagement.  There is no better time for civic engagement than now!
 
CALL TO ACTION:
Now that the Arizona mornings are perfect for a walk, please join us for the Weekly CD8 Rally.  We want to increase the presence of LD22 Dems in the community and reinforce our Democratic values with Representative Debbie Lesko.  Find out more (#ld22democrats on FB) or click on my name above to email me for additional information!

LEARN about The Arizona Corporation Commission here:
https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Corporation_Commission
https://www.azcleanelections.gov/how-government-works/arizona-corporation-commissioner
 
LEARN about H.R. 4 - The Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA) here:
https://www.leahy.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/VRAA%20of%202019%20one%20pager.pdf
 
LEARN more about the underlying causes of the mass migration of asylum seekers here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/19/central-america-migrants-us-foreign-policy
 
CALL TO ACTION - Help the Asylum Seekers 
http://allhandsaz.org

In the face of this humanitarian crisis, an amazing grassroots coalition of churches, community organizations and concerned citizens has come together to provide much-needed assistance.
Find something you can do to help, then sign up and do it. Be the Humanitarian Hero these desperate people need​.

CALL TO ACTION:
A Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Group is being formed in the West Valley.  The first meeting is Monday, October 21, 2019 at 6pm.  Click here for more information and to sign up: https://www.facebook.com/272486962876954/posts/2296691723789791?sfns=mo

LEARN more information about the Moms Demand Action national organization here: https://momsdemandaction.org/

 
LEARN more about Elders Climate Action here:
https://www.eldersclimateaction.org/
 

Information, as it becomes available, will be discussed at LD22 meetings, sent out in this LD22 newsletter, listed in events on ld22democrats.com and posted on the LD22 Facebook page.

  Volunteer Spotlight  -  Lynn Peters
 

When did you get involved with the Democratic Party and why?

Just like many of us I got involved with the Democratic Party shortly after the 2016 Presidential election. I knew I had to be active to counteract the results of that election.
 
What type of volunteering activities did you do in the past?
In the past I was not politically active other than always voting. I volunteered with the Friends of the Surprise Libraries at their used book sale in the lobby of the Northwest Reginal Library.
 
Why is volunteering important to you?
 While I feel it is important to participate in our community, volunteering has personal rewards to me since I retired. I value activities outside of my household and treasure sharing time with likeminded people. I often used to tell people that I have lived in Arizona for 19 years and liked it for the first 5 years. When asked why I always said I couldn’t stand the politics of this state. Since I started volunteering, especially for LD22 and Maricopa County Democratic Party, I am much more comfortable with this state. Working to elect Democrats to local, county and state offices is critical to changing the character of Arizona.
 
What are your plans for volunteering in 2019?
I plan my volunteer activities based on what LD22 asks for participation. I plan to continue some canvasing, post card writing, phone banking and voter registration. I was very hesitant about both canvasing and phone banking but canvasing with a buddy makes it better for me. Also, I have never had a bad experience canvasing or phone banking. Since I am contacting Democrats, I am meeting more like minded people.
 
Do you have a favorite volunteering story you want to share?
I do not have one particular favorite volunteering story. All of my Democrat volunteer activities allow me to meet and get to know more like minded people. Post card writing parties at Barbara Nelson’s house are particularly fun.

Meet Deborah Howard… public affairs junkie, never Trumper, storyteller, aspiring citizen of the world. Currently dedicated to turning AZ Blue in 2020 and a volunteer with LD22.
 
Deborah recently rallied (CD8 Weekly Legislator Rally) in support of state and federal policies to make Arizona a leader, not a laggard, in education. These are a few of the facts that motivated Deborah to organize and join others to rally for education.
 

• Arizona ranks 49th for public education in two key metrics — quality and safety. Arizona performs especially poorly in quality measured by median SAT and ACT scores, pupil-to-teacher ratio and dropout rate.
• The average salary for a new teacher in Arizona is $34,473; the average salary for all teachers is $48,372. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, adjusted for local cost of living, federal figures show elementary teachers in Arizona actually rank 49th in earnings and high school teachers 48th.
• And the pay gap of teachers to other professions requiring commensurate levels of education and experience is .67. This is certainly one reason why Arizona faces a teacher shortage. At the start of the 2018 school year there were 1,547 classrooms without an assigned teacher! An additional 663 teachers quit in the first month of school.  
• Despite the slight progress made on the funding issue in 2018, class sizes in Arizona continue to grow. Because the state does not require schools to report class size, the best stand in for this number is the statewide student to teacher ratio.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 23 students per Arizona teacher in 2016-17 – the nation’s highest. The national average, by comparison, was 16 students. Anecdotally, reports of 40 children per classroom are not uncommon!