By Susan Bickel, former Chair of LD18
Democratic Activist Barbara Jo Cain, known for promoting the popular LD9-LD10 St. Patrick’s Day event, was inducted into the Arizona Hall of Fame Award.
Barbara died on June 3, 2022, after a lengthy illness. She was 85 years old.
As a PC, she held a variety of elected LD offices. For six years, she served as secretary for LD 28. After the statewide reorganization in 2011, she served as the 2nd vice chair for LD 9. Responsibilities tasked to this position included organizing and promoting fundraising events.
Never one to miss out on having fun while working, she took on this challenge by naming herself “organizer in chief of parties.” Reverting to her teaching days, Barbara would dress in costume to announce party information in the form of songs, often borrowing well-known tunes to which she had humorously changed the words. These events included wine tastings, and more recently, she helped organize our LD9 holiday parties.
St. Patrick’s Day dinner
Perhaps her most demanding contribution in this role came from her active participation and organization of the overwhelmingly successful St. Patrick’s Day Dinners hosted by LDs 9 and 10. Her meticulous notes and lists remain to help us organize another event in the future.
Grassroots politics came to Barbara Jo Cain early in life. She was related on her mother’s side to Harry Truman, and her father was a precinct committeeman in Phoenix. One of her favorite stories revealed that her grandfather referred to the family as “Yellow Dog” Democrats, meaning “a dirty yellow dog would be better than electing a Republican.”
She loved to tell the story of walking by her father’s side while he canvassed in their Phoenix neighborhood. They would chat with old friends and make new friends along the way.
With this upbringing, is it any surprise that she became a political activist?
Building personal relationships
In later life, Barbara attributed her success as a precinct committeeperson to the personal relationships developed as she rode her 3-wheel bicycle while “walking her dog,” Bruno. As she learned from her father, she would stop to visit with friends and neighbors to “talk politics.” They recognized her as their Democratic representative who could always answer their questions about candidates, candidate and initiative petitions, political issues and more.
Always mentoring others, when Barbara talked to new PCs, she would encourage them by saying, “Boots on the ground and personal interaction make the best PCs. Reach out neighbor to neighbor. We all benefit from sharing a spirit of knowing and helping our neighbors.”
Like many of us, Barbara put politics on hold while she raised her family. With a passion for the environment and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Education from the University of Arizona, she taught children in the elementary and junior high grades in the Tucson Unified School District. Nevertheless, her born activism inspired her to help lead the 1978 TUSD teacher’s strike.
After retirement, she and her husband moved to their home along a creek at the base of the Chiricahua National Park in the Sulphur Springs Valley in Cochise County. For ten years, they enjoyed a wide variety of birds and other wildlife.
After her husband’s passing, Barbara stayed in her rural home for eight more years, becoming more active in fighting the Tea Party activists who were infiltrating the secluded valley she loved. Finally, she moved back to Tucson and became a PC in LD28 and then LD9.
Lifelong Democrat
Barbara was elected to represent LD9 on the Pima County Democratic Party Executive Committee. She was an active State Committee Member, never missing a meeting, even if it meant catching a ride and staying overnight in far-away locations. She was frequently seen at events collecting petition signatures for initiatives and Democratic candidates. Until an illness forced her to step away, she worked at the Pima County Democratic Headquarters as a volunteer at the front desk every Wednesday for four years. Additionally, she organized voter registration and outreach for the Pima County Democratic Party.
Sadly, we lost Barbara Jo Cain in June 2022 to a lengthy illness that she fought until the end. One of her final wishes was to be an elected PC in her precinct again.
Barbara Jo Cain lived the values of the Arizona Democratic Party. A respected representative of her LD and county party, she conveyed a favorable image of the Arizona Democratic Party.
Barbara Cain stood up for the democratic ideals of our party by demonstrating a unique competence and personal ability to share and promote the party’s values. In addition, she encouraged high expectations of herself and others.