“Election Integrity: Are our votes counted honestly?”

On Tuesday January 8, 2013, Saguaro Eastside Democrats will host a discussion of this issue by Mickey Duniho and Tom Ryan. Both men are members of the Pima County Election Integrity Commission which tries to influence our ability, as voters in Pima County, to confirm the honesty of our elections process. Their opinion is that the results in its first four years are limited. Although attempts to increase security procedures and security documentation have succeeded, attempts to increase the transparency of election processing have failed.

The meeting will be held at New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (on the northeast corner at Camino Seco). The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments and time for socializing. The formal program will begin at 7 p.m. and last until 8:30.

Please note that this is a new day of the week for our programs. In 2013 we will be meeting the second Tuesday of the month.

All meetings of SED are free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend. For further information, call attorney Pat Wiedhopf at 520-850-6755.

This is a very important issue as we all in this democratic country want to insure that when we vote in Primary and General (and special) elections that our vote will be counted accurately.

Saguaro Eastside Democrats is hosting a candidates’ forum on Monday September 17 for the 12 (yes 12!) people seeking 3 positions on the Tucson Unified School District Board Governing Board. Read my previous post about the official list (click here) of those who are running.

Miguel Cuevas, Dr. Mark Stegeman, and Dr. Alex Sugiyama are currently on the board and seeking election. Cuevas ran for a TUSD board seat in Nov. 2006 and lost, but was elected in Nov. 2008, along with Dr. Stegeman. Dr. Sugiyama was appointed to his seat in December, 2011 and is now seeking election to it.

All 12 candidates were invited and here’s the list of who have confirmed their attendance:

Don Cotton
Ralph Ellinwood
Kristel Foster
Camy Juarez
Betts Putnam-Hidalgo
Mark Stegeman
Alex Sugiyama

The forum will be the New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (on the northeast corner at Camino Seco). It starts at 6:30 p.m. with socializing and refreshments, then 7 p.m. for the introductions and later questions/answers. For info on the Saguaro Eastside Democrats contact attorney Pat Wiedhopf at 520-850-6755.

If you miss this forum, Drinking Liberally is hosting a TUSD Board candidates’ forum on Wed. September 26, 6 p.m. at The Shanty, 401 E. 9th St. And there will be two more forums/debates in October — on the 1st and 10th, so stay tuned.

This is a non-partisan race on the November 6 general election ballot.

Arizona Citizens Clean Election Commission held a debate on July 10 between 3 Democratic candidates seeking 2 House seats in LD 10. The debate can be seen online (click here) and was held at the Pima Community College District Office in mid-town. The moderator was C.J. Karamargin, PCC Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Government Relations.

Candidates for this primary race:

–Stefanie Mach, former Americorps volunteer, current business consultant for non-profit organizations, political newcomer, www.stefaniemach.com

–Brandon Patrick, former Air Force translator (Arabic), former Ward 2 City of Tucson Council aide, current community outreach director for El Tour de Tucson, political newcomer (though was the campaign manager of the successful effort against Prop. 200 in 2009 – defeated 70.21% to 29.79%), www.patrick2012.nationbuilder.com

–Bruce Wheeler, current LD 28 House Representative and former Tucson City Councilman from Ward 1, click here for member page

Only Brandon Patrick is a Clean Elections candidate, the other two are running traditionally.

Stefanie Mach

Brandon Patrick

LD 28 Rep. Bruce Wheeler

And if you missed this debate and want to see these candidates speak & answer questions live:

LD 10 CANDIDATES SPEAK TO SAGUARO EASTSIDE DEMOCRATS AND LD10

On Monday July 16, 2012, the three Democratic candidates for two seats in the Arizona House of Representatives from Legislative District 10 and the candidate for the AZ Senate will participate in a forum co-sponsored by the Saguaro Eastside Democrats and the Legislative District 10 Democratic Committee.

Stefanie Mach, Brandon Patrick and Bruce Wheeler are the candidates for the two House nominations. David Bradley is running unopposed for the Senate nomination.

The meeting will be held at New Spirit Lutheran Church, 8701 E. Old Spanish Trail (on the northeast corner at Camino Seco). The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. with light refreshments and time for socializing. The formal program will begin at 7 p.m.

All meetings of SED are free and open to the public. You do not have to be a member to attend. For further information, call Pat Wiedhopf at 850-6755.

The 2 House winners of this Democratic primary will face two Republicans Todd Clodfelter and LD 30 Rep. Ted Vogt in the General Election. Former LD 28 House. Rep. Dave Bradley will face off with LD 30 Rep. Frank Antenori for the State Senate seat in LD 10.

Vote wisely in the Democratic primary of August 28.