Today is Women’s Equality Day. Read my previous blog post about the event today at 5 p.m. at the Pima County Tucson Women’s Commission (click here).

Arizona Womenh’s Political Caucus (AWPC) 2012 Primary Election Endorsements
Federal Races (endorsements done by National Women’s Political Caucus)

U.S. House CD 1 Ann Kirkpatrick (D)
U.S. House CD 9 Kyrsten Sinema (D)

Arizona Statewide Races
Corporation Commission Marcia Busching (D)
Corporation Commission Sandra Kennedy (D)*

Arizona Legislative District (LD) Races
LD 2 Senate Linda Lopez (D)* (unopposed)
House Andrea Dalessandro (D)
House Rosanna Gabaldon (D)

LD 3 Senate Olivia Cajero Bedford (D)*
House Sally Ann Gonzales (D)*

LD 4 House Charlene Fernandez (D)

LD 6 House Angela LeFevre (D)

LD 8 Senate Barbara McGuire (D)
House Emily Verdugo (D)

LD 9 House Mohur Sarah Sidhwa (D)
House Victoria Steele (D)

LD 10 House Stefanie Mach (D)

LD 11 Senate Jo Holt (D)

LD 14 Senate Patricia Fleming (D)

LD 17 House Karyn Lathan (D)

LD 18 Senate Janie Hydrick (D)

LD 20 House Tonya Norwood (D)
House Jackie Thrasher (D)

LD 21 House Carol Lokare (D)
House Sheri Van Horsen (D)

LD 24 Senate Katie Hobbs (D)
House Lela Alston (D)*

LD 30 House Debbie McCune-Davis (D)*

Pima County Races
Board of Supervisors Dist.1 Nancy Young Wright (D)
Board of Supervisors Dist.3 Sharon Bronson (D)*
County Attorney Barbara LaWall (D)*
Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez (D)*
School Superintendent Linda Arzoumanian (R)*
Treasurer Elaine Richardson (D)

* indicates incumbent. CD 1, 2 & 3 and LD 2,3,9,10,11 & 14 are in Southern AZ. The Arizona Women’s Political Caucus endorses women of all political parties. More info about this group, click here.

Their quest is “to increase the number of pro-choice women elected and appointed to office. Getting women involved in the political process while targeting, recruiting, training and supporting women candidates at the local, state and national level has been and remains the primary activity of the Caucus. In 1971 when the group first convened, 14 women served in the Arizona Legislature. In 2012 30 of the 90 members are women.”

I also just learned via the Pima County Tucson Women’s Commission and the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson that women were granted suffrage in Arizona in Nov. 1912 — before the federal 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed in 1920. So women in Arizona have been voting for 100 years. (Remember that Arizona became a state that same year on February 14, 1912.)

Vote wisely on August 28.

Back in March, during Women’s “Herstory” month, I blogged about the rise of women politicians in Arizona (click here). Coming up is Women’s Equality Day on August 26, celebrating the suffrage movement allowing women the right to vote.

So now as we head into the Arizona primary on Tuesday August 24, here’s a list of the women candidates and politicians up for re-election in Arizona (and mostly Southern Arizona). D stands for Democratic Party, G for Green Party, R for Republican Party.

–U.S. Senate: Dr. Cathy Eden (D) candidate
–U.S. House: Ruth McClung (R) in CD 7, candidate
–U.S. House: Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D) in CD 8, incumbent

–Governor Jan Brewer (R), incumbent
–Sec. of State: Michelle Lochmann (G), write-in candidate
–Attorney General: Felecia Rotellini (D), candidate
–Treasurer: Barbara Leff (R), candidate
–Superintendent of Public Instruction: Margaret Garcia Dugan (R), candidate;
Penny Kotterman (D), candidate;
Dr. Beth Price (R), candidate
–Corporation Commission: Brenda Burns (R), candidate

–State Senate LD 25: Gail Griffin (R), candidate, former legislator
–State Senate LD 26: Cheryl Cage (D), candidate
–State Senate LD 27: Olivia Cajero Bedford (D), candidate, former legislator
–State Senate LD 28: Paula Aboud (D), incumbent
–State Senate LD 29: Linda Lopez (D), incumbent
–State Senate LD 30: Marian McClure (R), candidate, former legislator

–State House LD 25: Patricia Fleming (D), incumbent;
Peggy Judd (R), candidate
–State House LD 26: Terri Proud (R), candidate;
Nancy Young Wright (D), incumbent
–State House LD 27: Sally Ann Gonzales (D), candidate, former legislator
–State House LD 28: Mohur Sidhwa (D), candidate
–State House LD 30: Andrea Dalessandro (D), candidate;
Parralee Schneider (R), candidate

Seems like there’s now a woman candidate for almost every elected office in Arizona (except State Mine Inspector, which doesn’t quite seem like a woman’s job). But I could be wrong on that one. We have come a long way.

Vote wisely on or before August 24.

Did you know that 4 of the 5 recent Arizona Governors have been women?

I attended a panel discussion at the 2nd Annual Tucson Festival of Books about women politicians in Arizona (pre 1950). Then I started thinking about the women politicians since then and now:

Arizona Governors Rose Mofford (1988 to 1991), Jane Dee Hull (1997 to 2003), Janet Napolitano (2003 to 2009), Jan Brewer (2009 to present) were either Secretary of State or Attorney General before becoming Governor. Governor Brewer is seeking re-election in November, 2010. Prior to Governor Mofford, all of Arizona’s Governors were men.

Two of our 8 U.S. House Congressmembers are now women: Gabrielle Giffords (serving since 2007 in CD Eight) and Ann Kirkpatrick (serving since 2009 in CD One). Isabella Greenway was the first Congresswoman from Arizona (served 1933 to 1937).

Arizona's first Congresswoman Isabella Greenway

Two of the 5 Supervisors on the Pima County Board of Supervisors are women: Sharon Bronson (District 3) and Ann Day (District 1).

3 of our current 6 Tucson City Councilmembers are women: Shirley Scott (Ward 4), Karin Uhlich (Ward 3), and Regina Romero (Ward 1). At one time till December 2009 we had 4 women Councilmembers, including Nina Trasoff (Ward 6).

There are two women’s groups in Arizona promoting the election of more political office holders who are women:

The Arizona Women’s Political Caucus (AWPC) promotes pro-choice women candidates, saying on their website: “We are the only multi-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to increasing the number of pro-choice women in elected and appointed office. We work to help women attain leadership positions at all levels of government.” AWPC was founded in 1972 in Arizona.

Arizona List (founded in 2003) says they are “one of the state’s largest political networks and one of the largest financial resources for women candidates. We are the only Super PAC solely dedicated to electing women in Arizona. We are determined to change the face of Arizona by electing pro-choice Democratic women to state and local office.”

Arizona is in 9th place of 50 states in the percentage of women legislators (31.1%). Women hold 28 of the 90 legislative seats in Arizona. Several women candidates are running for the state legislature this year.

Up for re-election:

State Senate: Paula Aboud (LD 28), Linda Lopez (LD 29)

State House: Patricia Fleming (LD 25), Nancy Young Wright, (LD 26)

Candidates seeking election:

State Senate:
- Cheryl Cage in LD 26,
- House Rep. Olivia Cajero Bedford in LD 27,
- Marian McClure (former State House Rep.) in LD 30.

State House:
- Terri Lynn Proud in LD 26,
- Sally Ann Gonzales (former House Rep. & Pascua Yaqui Tribal Councilwoman) in LD 27,
- Mohur Sidhwa and Marlena Fineberg in LD 28,
- Andrea Dalessandro and Parralee Schneider in LD 30.

And only one woman attorney Felecia Rotellini is seeking the Arizona Attorney General job, in a field with five male attorneys. Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall has been serving since 1996, the first woman in that office. Only four women (27%) serve as County Attorneys of the 15 counties in Arizona.

Granted, there are more men running than women in all these races, but women have indeed come a long way in Arizona politics since 1950. Happy Women’s Herstory Month of March again, as indicated by these women, who seem to have strong backgrounds to run for public office.

Just ask LD 28 House candidate Mohur Sidhwa about her story of being an Indian immigrant from Pakistan who chose (as a teenager) to come to America, instead of staying over there and wearing a burqa.