Speed Camera Inequities: A Citizen Speaks Out

Speed cameras rolled out across Arizona as a statewide initiative to curb speeding in 2008 amidst protest and controversy. These cameras now pepper the roadside, often in locations that capitalize on reduced speed limits, difficult merge areas and long wide open stretches of highway. Despite the fact that there have been many recorded instances of incorrectly issued tickets, inconsistencies in citation and conviction, Arizona motorists continue to endure the speed camera's presence. We often encourage you to act on issues that affect you, and in this case, you do not have to simply tolerate injustice. Below, is a letter written by an LD20 citizen that we have been given permission to publish. We encourage you to share with us your issues and how you have taken action to address them! You can email us at ld20dems@gmail.com to share your stories.

Dear Mr McCain,

I am writing you today because I feel that our traffic and justice system are broken. This leaves our citizens and residents of Az feeling helpless, over scrutinize with not much added benefit and unsafe. Please let me expand.

In Phoenix many, many speed cameras (stationary and vans) have been installed, sometimes feet after a speed limit changes to 10 below where the speed cameras are. All of these speed cameras are machines that have any error, like any machine. The judge representative that heard my case in court and RedFlex witness both agreed that the cameras probably have 1 mph error inhered in them (although I have heard higher numbers for this error from police officials-the complaint line that the court gave me to report this- to be higher).

The fact is also that people also slow down when they see these cameras, which likely causes a lot of accidents. I have personally been rear ended on 5 different occasions (none being my fault) because of stops and goes in traffic flow. I can see a lot of potential accidents occurring from these cameras. This is a bad thing.

In addition, I feel that our justice system is flawed. I was tried by a judge representative that is not educated in statistics. I received a ticket for 11mph over the speed limit on a freeway where there were 2 other cars on my side of the free way and they were semi- trucks (not much of a sample size). Also, the camera van was parked feet away from where the speed limit changed from 75 mph to 65 mph. This did not give me much time to react. The RedFlex witness based his whole case on statistics, yet he could not tell me how they were calculated or what the sample size was. The judge representative listened and did not care. In fact he ruled in favor of RedFlex in every case that came before him that I saw that day. I sat through 3 other cases.

I feel that this was not a fair trial for 5 reasons. First, my friend Adolph received a speeding ticket for doing 11mph over the speed limit. He went to court and was found innocent in a Phoenix court (cmp number was 50179704). I was tried for the same thing and found guilty. Second, the judge representative ruling ruled against all of the defendants in his court room (that I saw). Third, the judge representative did not recognize error in the machines and misleading statistics from RedFlex (sample size 3 cars and misleading scatter plot). Fourth, I was given a help line number (from the court clerk) to a police officer’s answering machine that stated that the error on the speed cameras was up to 3 or 4 mph wrong and the court would not accept that and denied that the officer was affiliated with the court even though in the same court, it was the court clerk that gave me the number. Fifth, I tried to appeal, like the court clerk suggested, and a judge in the court said that he would not hear the case unless ordered to by the Supreme Court since it was already ruled on. It is $78 to file an appeal. I do not feel that my ruling was fair, but I feel helpless to do anything about it. Do you have any suggestions? I have a 7 day time limit.

Please write me back with suggestions about what I can do for my case and please look into all of the things I have written about our system.

I am very proud to be an American; however, I am not proud of the above.

Thank you for your time and attention,

Erin

LD20 Bunco: A Monthly Pasttime

Given the partisan climate of politics today, it can sometimes be very difficult to find an avenue where one can have open, honest discourse about the issues of the day. It was with this in mind that Tish Summers, a Legislative District 20 precinct committeeman for the Aprende precinct, helped found ladies Bunco night. That was almost three years ago, and in this its third year, it is still going strong. "We started out with a core group of around five or six," Tish said, and now the group consistently draws twelve players. The ladies of District 20 meet on a monthly basis to share fun, food and fellowship.

More than just a game, the recurring Bunco night helps to build camaraderie among the women. Bunco lends itself to conversation as it does not require a great deal of concentration, merely the ability to roll the dice, thus, very lively discussions take place amidst the calls of "Bunco!" and "Traveller!" During the last Bunco session, Ruth Levin, a Democratic activist and precinct committeeman, remarked that she is looking forward to the next election cycle. The tongue in cheek comment referred to the pending court case against District 20 representative John Huppenthal, whom Levin confronted for removing signage on election day in 2008. This type of candid discussion is what Tish Summers was hoping for when she began hosting, "It's been good bonding and getting to know each other outside of a formal political event," she said.

These days the venue rotates as a different host opens her home to the group each month. Hosting responsibilities include providing beverages, snacks, and a dessert of choice at the close of the evening. The monthly Bunco night also helps to replenish the District 20 treasury. Participants make a voluntary donation for attending. When asked if there are plans to expand the evening into other arenas, Tish replied "I am hoping to see other districts pick up the practice."


New players are always welcome at Bunco night! For more information on joining, please contact us at ld20dems@gmail.com, we would love to have you in attendance!

Cooking with the LD20 Democrats!

After months of collecting recipes from our members we have prepared, for your dining enjoyment, the first Legislative District 20 cookbook! Precinct committeemen Jean Cappello and Judy Wade worked tirelessly to solicit (and sometimes strong arm!) a wonderful selection of tasty meals, snacks and desserts to tempt your pallate!

District 20 Cookbook Fundraiser

The soon-to-be released cookbook includes nearly 200 recipes from your District friends and family, as well as many recipes from our Arizona Democratic superstars such as Former Arizona Governor Rose Mofford, Attorney General Terry Goddard, and our very own State Representative Rae Waters.

Quantities will be limited –These books will make excellent gifts for your Democratic friends and family. Order yours today! http://www.actblue.com/page/ld20cookbook

This event is sponsored and paid for by Legislative District 20

A Word From Our Young Democrats

We are fortunate to have active young Democrats who are helping reach out to the youth in the community of Legislative District 20. One of our dedicated young people was quite fortunate in receiving the opportunity to intern at the offices of Congressman Harry Mitchell in Washington, DC!

Erica Pederson is active on Arizona State University's campus as a Young Democrat, and helped stage the protest against the education budget cuts at the State Capitol earlier this year. She has maintained correspondence with LD20 and has given us her blessing in sharing some of her experiences. In her own words, Erica describes her time in DC:

I've been in DC for 7 weeks, and working in Congressman Mitchell's office for 6 weeks now, and I've loved every minute. DC is truly an amazing city, and it has so much culture, something that Phoenix seriously lacks. I'll be sad to leave in two weeks, but at the same time I am eager to return to familiar things, my friends, and my family. And LD 20!

Some of the highlights of my trip have been the holidays. Back in May on Memorial Day, I got to see President Obama speak at Arlington Cemetery, which was an incredible experience. My roommate and I arrived about 3 hours early in order to get good seats in the amphitheater, and we were probably about 150 feet away from the main stage.

I also got to celebrate the Fourth of July in the nation's capital. Some of my friends came in to town to visit me, and I showed them around all the monuments. We ended up at the FDR memorial to watch the fireworks show across the Tidal Basin just south of the mall, and it was hands down the best fireworks show I've seen ever. I kept thinking the finale was happening every 5 minutes, but the show lasted for 20 minutes, and when the finale finally did happen, there were so many fireworks that the smoke from them was clouding out some of the other fireworks. It was awesome.

Working in Harry's office has been amazing; it's been probably one of my favorite things about being here! Everyone in the office has been super nice, and they have been eager to help me when I need it. I've been doing lots of "interny" things, like sorting mail, answering phones, and data entry. But I've also been able to help some of the legislative staff with research, and I've done a lot with constituent correspondence. It's interesting to see the other side of politics, rather than just the campaign side.

I miss everyone in LD 20, please say hi for me!

Be back soon,
Erica

We are always happy to see our local stars shine brightly on a national stage!

Act Locally!

If you are not paying attention to local politics, you should be. Why is that? Because local politicians make choices every day that directly effect you here, in Arizona. Sometimes we can get so caught up in the Washington political scene that we do not know what is happening in our own back yards. The decisions made on Capitol Hill are enacted by our local legislators, congressional representatives, and city government.

A perfect example are the stimulus funds. Do you know how stimulus dollars are being spent locally? But you probably had something to say during the debate on whether we should accept the funds. Did you know that the City of Chandler provides live coverage of it's meetings via the internet and public broadcast and that you can attend any of those meetings in person to voice your opinion on agenda items? We know that not everyone has the time, or the interest to become involved, but surely there must be some issue of importance that you feel passionately about! Please bring your ideas and your passion and come volunteer with the Legislative District 20 Democrats. We are meeting on Saturday July 25, 2009 at the Sunset Library right here in Chandler to hear what you have to say, and provide opportunities for you to make a difference where you live.

If you are not sure which district you live in, please check the Arizona District Map.

District Chairs are listed on the maricopa county democratic party' website.
County Chairs can be found on the arizona demcratic party's website

RSVP here to attend, and we hope to see you very soon.

Phoenix Symphony Budget Crisis

As I have mentioned before, the purpose of this blog is not only to inform, but to galvanize to action! Please help support the arts! The following is a communication from the Phoenix Symphony:

Dear Friend of the Symphony and the Arts,

I am asking you to take action TODAY to preserve arts funding for the Symphony and other arts groups from the State of Arizona. As you may know, tickets sales cover about 50% of the Symphony's operating expenses and, therefore, we rely on annual grants and gifts like the $125,000 funding from the State of Arizona to present our 200 concerts per year and touch the lives of about 75,000 students and young adults.

Arizona's historic budget crisis has put the future of the state's arts community in serious danger. The Arizona House and Senate Leadership budgets:

• Propose cuts to the Arizona Commission on the Arts budget of more than 70 percent!
• Put at risk up to 50,000 private-sector arts industry jobs across Arizona.
• Virtually eliminate Arizona Commission on the Arts-supported education programs in school and communities that touch 1.7 million Arizona youth.
• Sweep the remaining $14.653 million from Arizona ArtShare, the statewide arts endowment fund that as recently as January stood at $20 million before the Legislature made its first sweep of funds.

Many of you are arts advocates, but I am asking you today to be an arts activist by taking the following actions:

Step 1. Locate your Legislator (For district 20, these are Rae Waters, John McComish and John Huppenthal)
Step 2. E-mail, call or write to your Legislator and tell them about specific arts programs in your area, their importance to your community's quality of life and how they have touched you, your family and your neighbors.
Step 3. Forward this e-mail to your friends, family and other arts advocates.

We support and appreciate our Legislative activists in the House and Senate who have defended the Arizona arts community, but they need your help in reaching out to the decision makers. Time is running out. The future of the arts in Arizona depends on you.
Make your voice heard!

Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,

Maryellen H. GleasonPresident & CEO

Quick Analysis of the Governor's Budget Proposal

On behalf of the House Democratic Leadership:

Several of you have asked for our quick analysis of the Governor's budget proposal. I wanted to share with you these thoughts. In short, these are our concerns with the plan:

• The proposal lacks any real structural tax reform and instead relies on a temporary sales tax hike (a very volatile revenue source) while providing a tax cut to businesses
• Due to a lack of a long-term revenue stabilization, the plan creates a funding "cliff" that will lead to future education and social services program cuts
• The plan implements a TABOR-like constitutional spending limit
• The sales tax increase would have to be approved by the voters, a risky proposition - the state would rely on borrowing until the sales tax passed and the new revenue started to come in which is a financially unsound approach and creates debt-service costs
• The sales tax increase is regressive and more expensive for the average family than other revenue generating options
• Voter-approved funding for key education and health care programs would be placed in jeopardy by the Prop 105 reforms proposed in the plan

The Governor's plan does nothing to address our overall structural deficit problem. It does not create a new, stable revenue source that can help ensure that sufficient funding is available to fund state education and vital social service programs long-term. Instead, the plan relies on a short-term increase to the state sales tax rate which is too expensive for families ($438 a year) currently struggling during the economic downturn. Additionally, the Governor's plan proposes tax cuts to more stable revenue-generating sources and these tax cuts would primarily benefit corporations, mines and utilities. These tax policy changes are diametrically opposed to what Arizona should be doing to improve it's revenue stability. It moves away from structural tax reform - not toward it. The plan also calls for TABOR-like constitutional spending limits that are unrealistic for a state that has traditionally grown and changed demographically as rapidly as Arizona. It is our belief that this plan, as envisioned, would leave Arizona’s revenue and budget situation in an even less sound position that we are in now to weather a future economic downturn. When Stimulus funding runs out, corporate tax cuts are implemented and the temporary sales tax ends (or fails to pass at the ballot), a "funding cliff" would be created. And education funding (including K-12 and higher education), social services and shared revenues for cities and counties will be very much at risk. As you all know, there are many other revenue generating options, all of which would bring more stability to Arizona’s revenue base than a straight sales tax rate increase. Most of these solutions would actually cost the average family far less money than the sales tax rate increase proposed by this plan. The Governor should rethink a package that hits families with a big tax hike and increases reliance on the sales tax while increasing corporate tax giveaways.

We believe that attempting to take the sales tax proposal to the voters for approval is reckless and irresponsible. After the sound defeat of a budget and revenue package in California, it seems incredibly risky to pass-off the responsibility of adopting a comprehensive budget and revenue package to the voters. It is also not a financially sound idea (and costly in terms of debt financing) to try and fund the state budget from bridge borrowing in hopes that a tax increase will pass at the ballot. It is our responsibility as elected officials to pass a budget that protects education and social services and the required revenue changes to fund it.

In addition to creating a "funding cliff" that will eventually result in a situation where funding for education and vital social services is again jeopardized, the Governor's proposal would dismantle voter-protected funding for education and health care programs, including Proposition 301 and Proposition 204. The Governor's proposal would require education and community groups to fight for and pay AGAIN for passage of these propositions on the ballot. The voters have spoken and we believe these ballot measures should not be tampered with nor should Proposition 105 be amended or repealed. The problem that needs to be address is the creation of a stable revenue source through tax reform, not a change to Proposition 105.

We have also attached a document comparing the cuts to health and human services programs in the Governor's proposal, the current Senate Republican proposal (which seems to be the main plan the legislative Republicans are supporting) and the Governor's proposal. If you want more information about the Democratic budget proposal, please visit www.strongerarizona.com. We look forward to receiving your feedback about the Governor's proposal as well. Hopefully, this information was useful to you.

Thank you.

Cynthia Aragon
Arizona House of Representatives
Community and Constituent Liaison
Democratic Staff
1700 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2844
Office (602) 926-3591

John McComish says that All Day Kindergarten is not Daycare.

I recently received this from our other State Representative, John McComish, in my email inbox.  Any thoughts?

"Dear Friends,

 

Recently, I sent you an update on our very serious budget status.  I wanted to follow up on another important topic that is related to our budget crisis and talk to you about education issues.

 

I know many of you are interested in maintaining appropriate resources for public education and that there has been much controversy regarding All-Day Kindergarten.  Some say it is merely subsidized baby-sitting.  Others claim it is a necessary beginning for today’s modern world and its challenges.  Considering the financial investment involved, I decided to investigate and find out what I could about All-Day K, in person.

 

Toward that end, I visited four different Kindergarten classes in the Kyrene School District.  Without exception, there was considerable learning going on – and certainly no baby-sitting. 

 

I witnessed science lessons (I’ll bet you don’t know what oviparous animals are), math, reading, and spelling lessons.  I also discovered each Kindergarten class in the State of Arizona has required curriculum that includes Numeration, Data Analysis, Measurement and Geometry, Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Science and Health, and Technology, among others.

 

Based on what I have learned, I will be working very hard during budget negotiations to maintain funding for All-Day K.  The budget crisis we are facing is so severe that some reductions to the K-12 budget will be necessary, but I will do all I can to keep public education cuts to a minimum and to protect All-Day Kindergarten.

 

As always, I look forward to hearing from you with any questions or comments.

 

Sincerely,

 

Representative John McComish

Majority Leader

Legislative District 20

(602) 926-5898"

Healthcare Reform: A Call to Action

In the wake of the current economic disaster, our president and elected officials are struggling to prioritize a mountain of important issues that require immediate attention. There are many voices in their ears attempting to frame the conversation around only a certain subset of these but in the political world, where lobbyists sometimes reign supreme, there is a voice more powerful -- yours. That was the underlying theme of the Healthcare forum held tonight at the Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Chandler, Arizona. The talk, Sponsored by the Progressive Democrats of America, focused mainly on reforms introduced in House Bill 676.

The series of community health care forums sponsored by PDA are both timely and necessary. With so many Americans struggling to make ends meet, the truth is, we cannot afford to get sick. The thought that crosses most of our minds when we consider seeking a physician's opinion is not our health and well being, but: "how much will this cost me?" Unfortunately, this means that conditions go untreated and become more costly to resolve as time (and the disease) progress. We are a nation left wondering why we pay nearly double the cost in healthcare and receive far fewer services than our western counterparts.

This issue has not gone unnoticed by the medical community. The Physicians for a National Health Plan, or PNHP, has given voice to impassioned individuals that have taken it upon themselves to inform the public about proposed solutions to our current medical nightmare. It was with great pleasure that the attendees of this evenings forum welcomed Doctor Jonathan B Weisbuch, a member of PNHP, to speak on the topic of “The broken American Healthcare System and How HB 676 and Others Can Help.”

The key points discussed as necessary areas of reform were cost, access and quality of care with the most urgent of these being access. In short, the bill seeks to build on the successes of Medicare by expanding that coverage to the population in it's entirety. The bill would fix costs, streamline paperwork and retain patient doctor relationships. Many in the audience wanted to know why, if HB 676 was the solution, had it not been strongly advocated for by law makers on behalf of their constituents? It is because we, the constituents, are not doing enough to make our voices heard. During her opening remarks Janet Higgins, co-coordinator of the East Valley Progressive Democrats of America, quoted Senator Bernie Sanders:

the only thing that will work is when we raise public consciousness and millions of people demand that congress work for their interest instead of the wealthy

The purpose of this blog is not just to keep its reader's informed, but to call them to action on issues of great importance. We cannot let the health care problem go unresolved for yet another presidential term because it has been preempted by a more "urgent" issue. So, what can we do?

1. Be an informed advocate! Read HB 676 and the transcript of tonight's healthcare forum in their entirety and talk to your friends and neighbors or forward them this blog!
   
2. Join Healthcare-NOW! or PDA America for monthly call-in days to remind legislators that we care about healthcare.
3. Write the Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune voice your concerns about the state of health care in America!
   
4. Contact our Arizona legislators Harry Mitchell, Jon Kyle and John McCain about supporting the American Heath Security Act of 2009.
5. Ask our District 20 representatives Rae Waters (D) and John McComish (R) to support the Arizona Health Security Act when it is introduced.
   
6. Email or fax Senators Kennedy and Baucus and President Obama and let them know that you care about single-payer, not-for-profit, comprehensive universal healthcare, with a concrete example being HB 676.
7. Call 202-456-1111, fax 202-456-2461 , or mail The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500 and let them know that the issue of health care is important to you.
8. Submit ideas you have about healthcare reform
9. Attend one of the many health care forums hosted around the state by Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch!
10. Contact Janet Higgins or 480-545-0219 to get involved!
    

Upcoming Health Care events:

Healthcare reform Townhall
Thursday, April 16, 7pm
Love of Christ Lutheran Church
1525 N Power Rd
Mesa, AZ

Health Care Town Hall
Saturday, April 18, 1-5pm
UA Local 469
3109 N 24th St.
Phoenix, AZ,
contact: phoenix-healthcare-town-hall@googlegroups.com

LD20 Is Talking

We're looking at more and better ways to keep in touch with each other. Among the new things are a twitter feed that you can sign up to follow. You can see the LD20 twitter page here; I know you're going to want to keep up with goings-on in the district, so make sure you check it out.

We're looking at other opportunities, such as a Facebook group - there'll be more information on that later.

We're also trying to get district members to submit calendar items on the web site - if you have a user account, you can post all the details there and help make the monthly meetings a bit shorter. One central spot with all the relevant events will help us all find out what's happening. So, if you've got an event you want the district to know about, go try out posting on the web site. If you've forgotten the link, go here!