Podcast: Blog for Arizona Authors & Rep. PPH Breakdown AZ Primary Races

A View from the Left Side, Rep. PPH

Season 2 Episode 12 of  A View from the Left Side focuses on Arizona’s primary election races — from the Legislature to Statewide, Corporation Commission and Congressional races.

Joining me today for this podcast are three long-term colleagues of mine at Blog for Arizona Michael Bryan, Larry Bodine and David Gordon. Mike is the founder and managing editor of Blog for Arizona. He is a local attorney and served as a prosecutor for the City of Tucson. Larry has been a writer and editor at Blog for Arizona for many years. Larry is also an attorney by profession and a former newspaper reporter. David is a prolific blogger who has interviewed many Democratic candidates for Blog for Arizona. He’s also an accomplished science fiction author.

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Arizona Reacts to End of Abortion Rights (video)

Planned Parenthood & Dems Press Conference

Planned Parenthood of Arizona (PP) and the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) held a joint press conference at the Arizona Capitol on June 24, 2022, the day the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, the landmark abortion rights case from 1973.

At the press conference, PP President and CEO Brittany Fonteno said that Planned Parenthood stopped all abortion care services and canceled appointments in Arizona that day, due to multiple conflicting state laws on the books.

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Did You Miss the June LD9 Town Hall? Check Out the Videos (video)

LD9 town hall

The Legislative District 9 Team — Senator Victoria Steele and Reps. Randy Friese and Pamela Powers Hannley — held a virtual town hall on Thursday, June 18. In order to avoid being hacked again, this event required preregistration and other precautions. The 100 free tickets went fast. Unfortunately, the security measures created a barrier for some of the attendees. Hopefully, we can create a happy medium with our next online event.

The June town hall followed the same format as previous events. Each of us gave a 10 minute presentation on a specific topic, followed buy a question and answer period. There are four parts to the video series from the June 18 Legislative District 9 Virtual Town Hall on COVID19 in Arizona. In part one, Friese discusses the status of the pandemic and the importance of wearing face masks. In part two, Steele discusses housing challenges, evictions, and police reform. In part three, Powers Hannley discusses the Arizona Department of Education’s plans to open up Arizona’s K-12 schools. Part four is 30 minutes of questions and answers on a variety of topics.

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LD9 #COVID19 Town Hall on Testing, Unemployment & the #AZ Budget (video)

LD9 town hall video

The Legislative District 9 Team– Senator Victoria Steele,  Rep. Randy Friese, and myself– held our first virtual town hall on Thursday, April 30, 2020. Except for getting hacked at the end [more on that below], it was a great meeting. Many LD9 precinct committee people were on the call. Over the course of the hour, 125 people jumped on the virtual meeting, and for most of the meeting there were close to 90 participants. If you have been to one of our town halls, we’re lucky to get 25 people, so the attendance was amazing, as far as we are concerned. If you were unable to attend online, I broke the town hall into three videos. You can view them below the fold.

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Join the LD9 Team for a COVID19 Virtual Town Hall on April 30

LD9 Legislators

When I look at the above photo, I think to myself, “Those were the days.” I miss seeing you all, but I do enjoy hearing you on the phone and seeing you on video conferencing.

Although the LD9 team can’t meet with you at house parties and libraries, we can still meet virtually. My seatmates– Senator Victoria Steele and Rep. Randy Friese– and I have participated in many online meetings with constituent groups and other Legislators during the adjournment.

Now we are taking the leap and hosting our own online LD9 Town Hall on Thursday, April 30 at 4-5 p.m. Each of us will give a topical update related to COVID19 and then take questions. Senator Steele will address unemployment insurance, Dr. Friese will discuss the COVID19’s impact on the Arizona budget, and I will talk about the public health aspects of the pandemic (testing, contact tracing, etc.) Dr. Friese is also available to answer questions as a healthcare provider who is working in the hospital through the crisis.

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John Oliver Asks: Which State Will Make History by Being #38 to Ratify #ERA? (video)

ERA banner

The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) needs only one more state to ratify it before it can become an amendment to the US Constitution. Although State Senator Sandra Day O’Connor and Arizona State Rep. Sister Claire Dunn proposed ratification, Arizona is one of the laggard states that never ratified the ERA in the 1970s.

Both Senator Victoria Steele and I proposed ERA ratification in 2019 and in past years. Now, HBO Commentator John Oliver has jumped on the ERA bandwagon. Below, you can watch his segment on the history of the ERA and why it should be ratified. Steele has a cameo appearance talking about Arizona’s opportunity to move out of laggard status and move into the history books as the 38th and final state to ratify the ERA.

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