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.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
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:
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
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
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
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 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
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
Friday, April 24, 2009
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
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
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
Majority Leader
Legislative District 20
Monday, March 30, 2009
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?
- 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!
- Join Healthcare-NOW! or PDA America for monthly call-in days to remind legislators that we care about healthcare.
- Write the Arizona Republic and the East Valley Tribune voice your concerns about the state of health care in America!
- Contact our Arizona legislators Harry Mitchell, Jon Kyle and John McCain about supporting the American Heath Security Act of 2009.
- Ask our District 20 representatives Rae Waters (D) and John McComish (R) to support the Arizona Health Security Act when it is introduced.
- 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.
- 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.
- Submit ideas you have about healthcare reform
- Attend one of the many health care forums hosted around the state by Dr. Jonathan Weisbuch!
- Contact Janet Higgins or 480-545-0219 to get involved!
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
Monday, March 23, 2009
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!
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!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Senator Kyl Divorced from Reality on Iraq
Senator Kyl was recently on KJZZ talking about various issues. I was lucky enough to get through, so I posted my chat with the Senator on Youtube:
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