Dr. Cathy Eden

Dr. Cathy Eden, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Arizona will be speaking at Democrats of Greater Tucson (DGT) on August 2.

The other three men running on the Democratic ticket for this race have appeared at DGT before her: Dr. Rodney Glassman on April 19, Randy Parraz on June 21, and John Dougherty on June 28. I reported on these speakers before (click here).

Eden is the Director of the ASU School of Social Work and is a former 2 term state legislator
(LD 25, now LD15) from the Phoenix area. She has a B.S. in political science from Arizona State University, an M.S. in sociology/public administration from Northern Arizona University, and a Ph.D. in organization and management from Capella University, Minneapolis.

For her campaign info: www.edenforaz.com.

DGT meets every Monday (except holidays) at the Dragon View restaurant, 400 N. Bonita Ave., at high noon to hear Democratic politicians, wannabees, community leaders, etc. speak about their work and issues. The Chinese buffet lunch costs $8.50 (includes tax & tip), drink only is $2.50. Their new website: www.tucsondemocrats.org.

And, on August 5th, Channel 6 KUAT AZ Illustrated will be having a debate between all four Democrats (Dougherty, Eden, Glassman, and Parraz) here in Tucson.

One of these four Democrats will win the August 24 primary, and then face off with the winner of the Republican primary — either current Senior U.S. Senator John McCain, former Congressman J. D. Hayworth (CD 5), or businessman Jim Deakin.

Note: There are currently 17 women serving in the 100 member U.S. Senate, the most in our history.

In April, 2010 only two Democrats (Rudy Garcia and Dr. Rodney Glassman) were running for U.S. Senate, challenging the seat held by Republican Senior U.S. Senator John McCain, who has served since 1987. In May three other Democrats from the Phoenix area joined the race: John Dougherty, Dr. Cathy Eden, and Randy Parraz.

On June 21 Parraz will speak at the weekly luncheon of Democrats of Greater Tucson (DGT) at the Dragon View restaurant located at 400 N. Bonita Ave. (west of the I-10, south of St. Mary’s Rd.) Then Dougherty speaks the following Monday, June 28. Expect Eden to follow thereafter, prior to the August 24 primary.

I wrote about this race on May 6 (click here), as this election on the Democratic ticket heated up. For bios on these three new candidates, go to my previous blog. (Briefly Dr. Eden is a former state legislator & now the Director of the ASU School of Public Affairs, Dougherty is a freelance investigative reporter, and Parraz is a civil rights advocate and labor organizer.)

DGT states that their “mission is to support the Pima County Democratic Party and provide a forum for elected officials, candidates, and other organizations to address area Democrats. Over the years, DGT has hosted legislators, Governors, U.S. Senators, Sheriffs, Congressmen, countless community leaders and activists.” As a social group DGT meets every Monday (except holidays) at 12 noon to 1 p.m., and the cost of the Chinese buffet lunch is $8.50, which includes tax, tip, and a drink. It’s only $2.50 if you want to hear the speaker and order a drink. Membership dues are $10/year.

DGT also have a new website: tucsondemocrats.org and they publish an electronic newsletter which you can sign up for at: democrats.greater.tucson@gmail.com. If you want further info, call President of DGT, Marilyn Freed at 520-298-7316, marilynfreed@aol.com. She was a candidate for the Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) Governing Board in 2004.

Stay tuned as to whether there will be any debates between these four Democratic contenders before the August 24 primary. Last week candidate Dougherty challenged the others to debates in Tucson, Phoenix, and Flagstaff, but candidate Glassman (who spoke at DGT on April 19) declined to commit to a debate schedule before the primary. Eden and Parraz said yes, and Garcia is not a contender according to the Arizona Secretary of State’s official website.

candidate John Dougherty

candidate Randy Parraz

On the Democratic side, there are now four men running for U.S. Senate from Arizona:

–John Dougherty, a Phoenix freelance investigative reporter, with two B.S. degrees in Journalism and Economics from ASU, www.johndougherty2010.com, born & raised in Fairfax, VA

–Rudy Garcia, former City Councilmember and Mayor (8 years) of Bells Gardens, California (population 45,000), www.arizonaonthemove.com, born in Nogales/raised in Douglas, Arizona

–Dr. Rodney Glassman, former Ward 2 Tucson City Councilmember (2 years), Ph.D. (Arid Land Studies) and J.D. from U of A, M.B.A. and M.P.A. from the U of A Eller College of Management, B.S. (Agricultural Economics) from U of A, www.rodneyglassman.com, born & raised in Fresno, California

–Randy Parraz, civil rights advocate & labor organizer, program director of the Transformative Action Institute, J.D. from U.C. Berkeley, M.P.A. from John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, www.parrazforchange.com, born & raised in Sacramento, CA

No forums or debates between these men have been scheduled to date, as Dougherty and Parraz just announced their candidacies recently. Stay tuned prior to the August 24 primary.

And if you want to hear new candidate John Dougherty, drop by The Shanty, 901 E. 9th St. (at 4th Avenue) on Sunday May 9, at 6 – 8 p.m. and listen to him speak to the Drinking Liberally group.

Whoever wins this Democratic primary will face off with either:

Senior Arizona U.S. Senator John McCain (the 2008 Republican U.S. Presidential nominee), or former CD 5 Congressman & radio talk show host J.D. Hayworth of Phoenix.

Another Republican businessman Jim Deakin hasn’t been receiving a lot of attention, but is listed as a U.S. Senate candidate on the Pima County Republican Party candidate website.

5/9/10 UPDATE: Blog for Arizona reports that Democratic former 2 term State House Rep. Dr. Cathy Eden from Phoenix may be running for this seat as well. She served as the Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, and Director of Administration prior to that. Apparently she has considered running for for U.S. Senate before.

More information on Dr. Eden as Director of the ASU School of Public Affairs (click here.) Her campaign website is:
www.edenforaz.com.