Arizona Women Win 42 Legislative, State & Congressional Races (video)

Arizona has a history of electing women to public office. In 1932, Arizona elected Isabella Greenway to the US House of Representatives. In 1972, State Senator Sandra Day O’Connor was the first female president of the Arizona Senate. In 1998, Arizona voters elected five women to run the state government— Jane Hull (Governor), Betsy Bayless (Secretary of State), Janet Napolitano (Attorney General), Carol Springer (Treasurer), and Lisa Graham-Keegan (Superintendent of Public Instruction). To this date, Arizona’s Fab Five remain the most number of women elected to state government at the same time. In 2017, the Arizona Legislature had the highest percentage of women (40 percent) of any state Legislature in the Country.

In 2018, Arizona elected its first female US senator and 41 other women to political office. Out of 108 races, women won 39 percent of them this year. After inauguration in January 2019, half of Arizona’s statewide offices (4/8), 27 percent of our Congressional delegation (3/11), and 39 percent of the Arizona Legislature (35/90) will be women.

Most of the woman who won are Democrats but not all. In the Congressional races, US Senate was won by Kyrsten Sinema (D), Ann Kirkpatrick (D) took CD2, and Debby Lesko (R) was re-elected to CD8. On the statewide level, women took: Secretary of State (Katie Hobbs, D), Treasurer (Kimbery Yee, R), Superintendent of Public Instruction (Kathy Hoffman, D) and one of the Arizona Corporation Commission seats (Sandra Kennedy).

Continue reading Arizona Women Win 42 Legislative, State & Congressional Races (video)

July LD9 Constituent Update: News & Upcoming Events

Reps. Kirsten Engel and Pamela Powers Hannley

It may be hot on the sidewalks of the Old Pueblo, but that doesn’t stop Tucsonans from getting together for community events. Since the Arizona Legislature ended its session in mid-May, I have attended several community events and have given a number of Legislative Updates to groups. I have two events set up so far for July. (You can see the details below or on my Facebook page.)

There were many hot topics in the Legislature this session: teacher pay, the assault on public education and expansion of private and public school vouchers(ESAs), the assault on the Citizens’ Initiative process, hemp cultivation, gun rights, restoration of cash assistance and child care credits for needy families, theEqual Rights Amendment (ERA), fetal resuscitation, corporate tax cuts, andsurprise billing insurance reform, to name a few.

After the session, I was honored to be recognized by the Sierra Club with an A+ rating, by the Secular Coalition as a“Secular Star”, by Children’s Action Alliance with a 100% rating and by the Pima County Interfaith Council (PCIC) formy work on the Spice issue.

Thank you for your support and your emails. It is an honor to serve you in the Arizona House.

Below are a few news items from my email blast. If you want to be on my email list or my blog go here.

Continue reading July LD9 Constituent Update: News & Upcoming Events

#AZ House Democrats Hold Budget Town Hall on Saturday

Reps. Randy Friese, Kirsten Engel, Isela Blanc and I will be participating in a public town hall, organized by the Arizona House Democratic Caucus, to discuss the Arizona budget proposals. The event will be held today, April 8, at the University of Arizona Modern Languages Building, Room 350. Doors open at 12:30.

We have seen Governor Doug Ducey’s budget, majority party’s budget, and the Democrats’ “Minority Report.” Come to the town hall and learn the details. The governor and the Legislative Republicans agree on some principles, but there are many decisions in play right now. Rep. Friese will be making the formal presentation, and the rest of us will be there to answer questions.

Here are some background links:
AZ Legislative Democrats FY18 Education Policy and Fiscal Priorities
Arizona House Democrats Say Their Budget Priorities Are Ignored By Republicans
ICYMI: Arizona Budget Town Hall in Flagstaff

 

Legislative Whirlwind Part 2: ADEQ Gas Tank Removal in Phoenix

ADEQ gas tank removal
ADEQ gas tank removal
Long view of gas tank removal: one tank is on the truck, while the other is still in the ground.

Did you ever wonder what happens to the storage tanks when a gas station closes? In Arizona, taxpayers often fund removal of the tanks– not the companies that installed them.

When I was  professional photographer, one of my favorite subjects to photograph was industry, because of the sheer scale of the machinery and striking angles of industrial settings. Consequently, I jumped at the chance to watch two massive gas storage tanks being removed from an old, out-of-business gas station. The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has a gas tank storage removal program, bankrolled by a special fund set up by the Arizona Legislature.

I think that is great to remove hazardous waste– like old gas storage tanks– and I would support more funding for ADEQ so they could step up the pace on the clean-up. According to ADEQ staff, there are hundreds of defunct gas stations and other industry-related environmental clean-up projects around Arizona that ADEQ is responsible for. Shouldn’t corporations take more responsibility for cleaning up their own environmental messes? Many “Mom-and-Pop” convenience stores/gas stations probably don’t have the funds for gas tank removal and clean-up after they close their doors, but corporate-owned gas stations should be cleaned up by the corporate people who own them, in my humble opinion.

As a Mom, I can’t remember how many times I have said: “You made that mess. You clean it up.”

ADEQ gas tank removal
Legislative Reps. Kirsten Engel, Pamela Powers Hannley (far left) and Kelli Townsend (right) with ADEQ staff (center) and Senator Andrea Dalessandro– watching gas tank removal on a chilly December morning.

This is the second blog post in a five-part series on my first few weeks as a representative-elect:

Legislative Whirlwind Begins: Tours & Meetings, Oh, My! (Part 1)

Legislative Whirlwind Part 2: ADEQ Gas Tank Removal in Phoenix

Legislative Whirlwind Part 3: 92,000 Cows

Legislative Whirlwind Part 4: Lettuce & Birds

Legislative Whirlwind Part 5: Migrant Workers

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Since the election, my Powers For The People blog has officially shifted gears from campaigning to educating voters. Think of this as my version of the “Farley Report”– except delivered via a blog instead of email. (I also have an email list, which you can join here.)

If you want to follow my Legislative update blog, click on this image and every blog post will be delivered to your email inbox. (If you are on gmail, you may have to retrieve it from the “promotions” tab the first time.)

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TV Dems: Meet the Women who Want to Change Arizona

Victoria Steele and Pamela Powers Hannley

Meet the Women who want to change Arizona.

I am honored to participate in the Tanque Verde Democrats’ Women Candidates’ Day Forum. What a great lineup– Ann Kirkpatrick, Victoria Steele, the LD10 Arizona House candidates and me.

The TV Dems are a great group. They meet at Risky Business on Saturday morning for coffee, light breakfast, and politics. Stop by and meet the women who want to change Arizona! Facebook event here.

 

Women Candidates’ Day

at Tanque Verde Dems

Saturday, march 12th, at Risky Business, 8848 E Tanque Verde Rd. 9:30am,
The Tanque Verde Valley Democratic Club Presents:

Ann Kirpatrick, Candidate for United States Senate;
Victoria Steele, Candidate for U S House of Representatives
Stefanie Mach, Candidate for LD10 State House
Courtney Frogge, Candidate for LD10 State House
Kirsten Engel, Candidate for LD10 State House
Pam Hannley, Candidate for LD9 State House