We had a great crowd of about 50 people who came out for the Tanque Verde Democrats LD9 Forum on May 12. For those of you who couldn’t make it, my husband Jim manned me video camera, and we taped the whole thing.
There are seven videos total. Each incumbent or candidate answered every question, and each question is a separate video. The video topics are: introductory comments, water policy, the property tax hike for TUSD residents, gun violence prevention, police interactions with communities of color, working across the aisle, and closing comments with accomplishments or goals.
You can watch the forum videos, as well as my one-minute updates and selected Arizona House Floor Videos on my YouTube Channel here. (There is also a link to subscribe if you want to follow me on YouTube.) Below the fold are the videos from the meeting. If you are wondering what that red cone is in several of the videos, it is a flag on an audience member’s wheelchair. At first when I saw the raw video footage, I thought, “Who was wearing a tiny red party hat?” Check out the videos after the jump.
The introductory comments show a wide range of experience and ideas. It’s too bad Rep. Randy Friese was unable to make the event; he was busy being a doctor.
This one is pretty interesting… particularly the comments about Speaker Mesnard. Seriously?
Gun violence prevention legislation didn’t make it out of the Legislature this year.
To help pay for teacher raises, the Arizona Legislature did a “reverse sweep” of desegregation funds and pushed $18 million in costs down to the school districts. The biggest chuck of this financial burden ($16.7 million) will fall in the laps of TUSD home owners.
What can be done to prevent racial profiling and police violence against communities of color?
Lake Mead is dangerously low, but in Phoenix, political water wars rage on. We not only have to protect our water supply, we must stop the Republicans from passing dangerous water bill.
During closing comments, incumbents and candidates talked about their accomplishments or what they hope to accomplish in the Legislature. Do you think corporations deserve more tax breaks? Or do you think it is time for the Legislature to stand up to special interests and eliminate some of the $13 billion in tax giveaways that are starving our public schools and contributing to our crumbling infrastructure? This video offers a clear choice on that issue.