By Larry Bodine, LD18 Board Member
All these achievements were accomplished with a team effort, with board members, PCs and volunteers working together.
2024 election: promoted dozens of canvassing, tabling, texting LD18 52,000 voters, mailing 60,000 printed voter guides, phone banking and fundraising initiatives. We assisted LD16, 17, and 19 with election guides.
Annual fundraising: $52,000, leaving $5,400 for the new board. Initiatives included the “Lucky 18 for 18,” Restaurant Raffle gift card raffle, the Voter Guide project, and two Winter Blast parties.
Activities:
- A two-year effort to collect signatures for the Access to Abortion initiative
- Coffee with the Chair meetings
- Letters to the Editor Writer Brigade
- Speaker videos produced by Charles Wantman
PCs: 12 territories, 64 precincts and 164 PCs. We have the largest number of PCs of LDs in Pima County. LD18 is Republican Kryptonite. The LD18 mailing list up to 2,000 names.
Social events:
- St. Patrick’s Day party, March 19, 2023, with 125 attendees, raised $3,622.
- Two sold-out Winter Blast parties, in Jan. 2023 at Brother John’s, $25 fee, and Jan. 2024 at Calle Chica.
- Veterans Day 2023 Party in Ft. Lowell Park
Speakers:
- LD18 representatives Sen. Priya Sundareshan and Reps. Nancy Gutierrez and Chris Mathis.
- John Della Volpe about Gen Z voters.
- Simon Rosenberg of Hopium Chronicles.
- Rachel Bitecofer, political scientist and author of The Cycle newsletter.
- Yolanda Bejarano, Arizona Democratic Party Chair.
- Cathy Sigmon, Civic Engagement Beyond Voting
- Gail Kamaras on 2024 propositions
- Carol Evans on multiple tabling events
- Shelly Burgoyne, PCDP Executive Director on social media.
- Sean McEnerey, Campaign Manager for Biden-Harris in Arizona.
- Dustin Williams, Pima County School Superintendent
- Domingo DeGrazia, Democratic political analyst
- Kirsten Engel, Democratic candidate for CD6 House.
- Adrian Fontes, AZ Secretary of State
- Youth speakers: Ojas Sanghi and Tanish Doshi of the Arizona Youth Climate Coalition, Melissa Ochoa of the Arizona Students Association.
- Cathy Nichols, Executive Director of Arizona List, on the Abortion Access Initiative (Prop. 139).
- Laura Conover, Pima County Attorney, and primary candidate Mike Jette.
- Francesca Martin, Deputy Director, Keep Arizona Blue Coalition.
- Tucson City Council members Nikki Lee and Lane Santa Cruz.
- Arizona Corporation Commission candidates Joshua Polacheck and Jonathan Hill
- Michael Bryan, Program Director of Democrats of Greater Tucson
- John McLean, LD17 Senate candidate, Keith Seaman, LD16 House candidate.
- Jeff Herr of Save the Scenic Santa Ritas