#AZHouse Republicans Pass Burdensome Regulation on Citizens Initiative (video)

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley

Arizona House Republicans recently passed SB1451, Senator Vince Leach’s latest attempt to kill the Citizens Initiative process. Every year, Republicans add new regulations to the popular Citizens Initiative process–like dramatically increasing the number of signatures, strict compliance on petitions (forcing us to write in between the lines or risk having our signature knocked off), or eliminating the pay-per-signature practice for paid circulators.

The worst part of 1451 was taken out in the Senate. That was the section that made people group the petitions by circulator and allowed for elimination of whole petitions if one volunteer’s petitions got mixed up with another. The house added another amendment to give the attorney general the power to change the language used to explain the initiative. (This is a scary thought, after all of the intrigue and BS that surrounded the language of the initiatives on the 2018 ballot. You’ll remember that the anti-Clean Elections initiative was allowed to be purposefully misleading.)

SB1451 is a bad bill that over-regulates the Citizens Initiative process, adds bureaucracy and slows the process of circulator recruitment and signature gathering down.

Continue reading #AZHouse Republicans Pass Burdensome Regulation on Citizens Initiative (video)

Voter Suppression Is ‘Theme’ for #AZLeg in 2019 (video)

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley

Republicans have two big problems with the 2018 election: too many of you voted, which resulted in too many of them losing.

Each year of the Arizona Legislature seems to have a theme. For 2017, the theme was big tax giveaways. For 2018, it was Red for Ed. The theme for 2019 is voter suppression. One of the Democrats suggested that the Republicans were overreacting to their losses in 2018.

The sheer volume of voter suppression bills is staggering. In the multiple ways, the Republicans are trying to make it more difficult to vote, to register someone to vote, and to submit Citizens’ Initiatives. They also want to solidify big money politics by attacking the independence of Clean Elections Commission.

There are so many awful bills that I needed a cheat sheet to do this video. Many of these are still in play, and you can use the Request to Speak system to comment. HB2724 (anti-Clean Elections) and HB2616 (adds penalties and unnecessary burden to registering people to vote) passed the Arizona House this week and will head to the Senate. (You can stop them there!)

For some of them, it’s time to start pleading with Governor Ducey for vetoes. SB1072 (even stricter voter ID laws, which would result in a poll tax for people who move often) passed both the House and the Senate. Other horrible bills from Senators Michelle Ugenti-Rita (SB1090) and Vince Leach (SB1451) are on there way to the House floor soon.

Stopping people from voting is anti-Democratic. (I am working on a blog post with more bills and details.)

Labor Day Picnic on Sept 4: Come On Down!

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley
Re-Elect Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley

Come and join Jim and I at the Powers For The People booth at the Pima Area Labor Federation’s Annual Labor Day Picnic on Monday, September 4 at Reid Park.

The Labor Day Picnic is like homecoming for Jim and me. We have had a booth or attended the Labor Day Picnic nearly every year since we met– first with Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), then with Arizonans for a New Economy, for the past two years as a candidate for Arizona House, and this year as an elected representative. Two years ago, I collected my first signatures and $5 Clean Elections Qualifying Contributions at the Labor Day Picnic.

There are five ways you can support my 2018 re-election campaign at the picnic.

1- Sign my petition

If you live in LD9, I will have nominating petitions for you to sign at my booth. Please help me get on the ballot in 2018.

2- Give Me $5 for Clean Elections

Yes, I am running clean again and looking for $5s. Running clean is part of my value system. I believe that elected officials should answer to the voters– not to big money donors, lobbyists, political action committees, or dark money. Clean candidates have no strings attached because we accept only modest donations from real people. I will have $5 Clean Elections Qualifying Contribution forms at the booth on Monday. To qualify for Clean Elections funds and avoid trap of big money politics, I have to collect at least 200 $5 donations from LD9 voters . Please help me out, and bring a $5 to the picnic.

Continue reading Labor Day Picnic on Sept 4: Come On Down!

#PowersForThePeople Update: LD9 Debate & Volunteer Opportunities

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley
Randy Friese, Pamela Powers Hannley, Steve Farley

Now that early voting has started and now that mailed ballots, the election information booklets, and the first of the campaign mailers have gone out, the Nov. 8 election is officially underway in Arizona.

There are big events coming up this week in the LD9 race.

Oct 14: LD9 Clean Elections Debate

The LD9 Clean Elections debate will be held at the Pima Community College Northwest Campus at 6-7 p.m. on Friday, Oct 14.  Please come if you can. This will be the first chance (and perhaps the only chance) you the voters will get to see all three LD9 House candidates together: incumbent Rep. Randy Friese, Tea Party challenger Ana Henderson, and me. Audience members can submit questions. If there are questions you want to ask, this is your chance! If you miss the debate, watch for the link posted on my website in the future. (Facebook event here.)

Oct 15-16: LD9 Canvassing & GOTV Phone Banking

The Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (ADLCC) and the Pima County Democrats are organizing a massive Get Out the Vote Effort this weekend. There will be canvassing shifts throughout both days and phone banking from multiple locations. Contact Erin Burton (270-978-7866) for information or check out the Facebook link and show up!  (Facebook event here.)

Thanks for helping us hold LD9 for the Democrats! #DumpTheTeaParty

P.S. Just to clarify, the photo above includes Senator Steve Farley with Randy and me, but Steve will not be participating in the debate because he is running unopposed.

Sprinting Toward the Finish Line: Events!

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley
Rep. Randy Friese, Senator Steve Farley, and Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley

Today is Sept 22.

Nov 8– Election Day– sounds far away, but it’s only 47 days away.

Oct 12– the day that early voting begins in Arizona– is only 20 days away.

Please help Randy and me stop the Tea Party from taking a foothold in LD9. Vote for two on Nov. 8 and help us cross the finish line victorious. Arizona doesn’t need another anti-choice, anti-access-to-healthcare, pro-gun, pro-school-vouchers-for-all, silent-on-the-issues Tea Partier in the Arizona Legislature. #VoteForTwo #VoteBlue

Leading up to Election Day, there are several events and volunteer opportunities.

Sept 24-25: LD 9 Canvasses
Erin Burton, our wonderful ADLCC field organizer, has organized a weekend of LD9 Weekend of Action for this coming weekend for LD9 candidates (pictured above Rep. Randy Friese, Senator Steve Farley, and me).  Jim and I will be at the canvass both days, and I hope some of our regular volunteers will also help out.

#PowersForThePeople CAMPAIGN T-SHIRTS will be available for volunteers at the weekend canvasses and at the Volunteer Appreciation Party (below).

Saturday, Sept 24– 10 a.m. start
La Madera Park (2700 E La Madera Dr., in midtown).
Sunday, Sept 25– 11 a.m. start
Democratic Party Headquarters (4639 E. First St.)

To RSVP contact Erin Burton at 270-978-7866.

Facebook event here.

Sept 25: #PowersForThePeople Volunteer Appreciation Party
On Sunday, Sept 25,  my good friend Merrill Eisenberg is hosting a Volunteer Appreciation Party at her home in midtown. The house party will be from 4-6 p.m. Please stop by for some great snacks, a cool beverage, and great conversation. The campaign t-shirts will be available to the first 48 people who volunteer this weekend. Please help me win! If you can’t attend, please consider volunteering. You can sign up to receive updates from my campaign here.  (Don’t wory, since I am running clean, I won’t spam you with donation requests.)

Facebook event here.

Continue reading Sprinting Toward the Finish Line: Events!

#PowersForThePeople at Labor Day Picnic, Sept 5 (video)

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley

One year ago on Labor Day Weekend, I kicked off my campaign for the Arizona House to serve Legislative District 9. I officially announced by campaign that Sunday at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson (video here), and on Monday at the 2015 Labor Day Picnic, my husband Jim and I began collecting petition signatures and $5 Clean Elections donations.

This year, I am returning to the Labor Day Picnic as one of LD9’s nominees for the Arizona House.

As many of you know, both my Dad, James L. Powers, Sr., and my husband, Jim Hannley, were members of the United Steelworkers. Since I toiled in the pink collar ghetto my entire life, I never had the opportunity to join a union.

My campaign will have a booth at the 2016 Labor Day picnic.  Stop by and say, “hi”. This year at our booth, Jim and I will be honoring our relatives who were union members and collecting names of people who would like to volunteer to help the campaign.

Remembering the Teamsters struggle that was ongoing last year, here’s a video I shot of the labor demonstration at the Rondstadt Transit Center in September 2015. Solidarity forever.

#PowersForThePeople Signatures & $5s Submitted May 27

Posted on by Pamela Powers Hannley

After five house parties, nine days of library tabling, regular canvassing on our bikes, dozens of meetings, soirees, and dinners, and several community events– like Labor Day, Pride in the Desert, the Martin Luther King Jr March, the Peace Fair, Cyclovia, the Foothills Forum, the Tanque Verde Democrats Women Candidates’ Forum, Udall Dinner, and the Garden District Porch Fest— I am proud to say that the Pamela Powers Hannley for House team has met and talked with hundreds of residents of LD9. In the process, the team collected roughly double the number of required signatures and an ample number of Clean Elections Qualifying Contributions to get on the ballot.

Can I get a high 5?

We delivered everything to the Secretary of State’s office in Tucson on Friday, May 27, 2016. The official count from the SOS was 767. Here is a link to the full list of Legislative candidates. Unfortunately, many people who should have Democratic Party opponents don’t. 😦

The campaign will be moving into phase II, focusing on the primary race. As you know, there are three of us Dems– the incumbent, the appointee, and me— running for the two LD9 Arizona House seats. The two Dems who survive the primary election on August 30 will face Tea Party Republican Ana Henderson on November 8. It is interesting to note that the two women are Clean Elections candidates, and the two guys are running privately funded campaigns.

Continue reading #PowersForThePeople Signatures & $5s Submitted May 27