Political Calendar: Week of April 4, 2010

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

Today is Easter Sunday. Wishing you all a happy holiday with your family and friends. It is also Opening Day for major league baseball. Play ball!

Political Calendar For The Week of April 4, 2010

Sundays, 6:00 p.m.: Drinking Liberally, at The Shanty, 401 E. 9th Street (at 4th Avenue). An informal, inclusive progressive social group, and lively discussion. Contact: www.livingliberallytucson.org.

Monday, April 5, 11:30 a.m: Special time. Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon's View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, south of St. Mary's Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn south at Furr's Cafeteria), buffet lunch costs $8.50. The regular program has been rescheduled this week to encourage attendance at Terry Goddard's formal Campaign Kickoff event in Tucson on the same date and time. DGT will meet early for vanpooling to the Goddard Campaign Kickoff event from the restaurant. (Although the regular luncheon will not take place, DGT requests that members come early and continue to support the restaurant this week!)

Monday, April 5, Noon: Goddard for Governor Campaign Kickoff Event at the old Pima County Courthouse (courtyard on West side), 115 N. Church Avenue. Terry Goddard will formally kickoff his campaign for governor with a speech scheduled to begin at approximately 12:15 p.m. Please come out and show Terry that we support him and that Arizona is ready for change!

Monday, April 5, 5:30 p.m.: Ted Prezelski's Second Annual Southwestern Dyngus Day Celebration. Join the Elías family and the Prezelski family to celebrate Dyngus Day (a Polish holiday celebrated the Monday after Easter) with Polish and Mexican cuisine, great company and complimentary beverages. Please RSVP to prezelski2010@gmail.com or look for us on Facebook.

Monday, April 5, 6:30 p.m.: Pima County Democratic Party Executive Committee Meeting.

Wednesday, April 7, 7:00 p.m.: Legislative District 28 meeting, at the Pima County Democratic Party headquarters (4639 E. 1st Street, one block south of Speedway Boulevard, west of Swan Road). Featured speaker is Rep. David Lujan, candidate for Arizona Attorney General, also a discussion of Prop. 100. For more information contact Wood Sanders at LD28chair@gmail.com.

Wednesday, April 7, 6:30 p.m.: Northwest Democrats meeting, (Note the location has changed for this month's meeting). Featured speaker is Ken Collier, Board Chair of Friends of Medicare in Alberta, Canada, on universal healthcare coverage vs. private insurance. A Q&A session will follow. For more information please contact Rod McLeod (520) 297-0095 or mcleod58@gmail.com.

Thursday, April 8, 5:30 p.m.: Pima County Nucleus Club meeting, at the Viscount Suite Hotel, 4855 E. Broadway. This month's featured speakers are candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction Jason Williams and Penny Kotterman. Admission free to Nucleus Club members, $20 for everyone else. Please pay dues secure online at http://www.ActBlue.com/page/Nucleus_Club. For more information and to RSVP (please) contact Ash Silverburg at (520) 326-3716.

Friday, April 9, 7:00 p.m.: The Pima County Democratic Party African-American Caucus hosts Movie Night, at the Pima County Democratic Party headquarters (4639 E. 1st Street, one block south of Speedway Boulevard, west of Swan Road). Movie "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith. $5 admission. Refreshments will be served. For more information please contact Cheryl Rodgers at 326-3716.

Saturday, April 10, 8:30 a.m.: Breakfast/Canvass with Rep. Raul Grijalva and U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman, at the Pima County Democratic Party headquarters (4639 E. 1st Street, one block south of Speedway Boulevard, west of Swan Road). Walk with Rodney Glassman and Rep. Raul Grijalva to collect signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Saturday, April 10, 10:30 a.m.: The Pima County Democratic Party African-American Caucus meeting, at the Pima County Democratic Party headquarters (4639 E. 1st Street, one block south of Speedway Boulevard, west of Swan Road). Featured Speaker Dr. George B. Brooks, from the School of Renewable Natural Resources at the University of Arizona. For more information please contact Cheryl Rodgers at 326-3716.

Special Announcements:

Democratic Club of the Santa Rita Area and Democratic Women in Action Democratic Celebration/Rally

Sunday, April 11, 4:30 p.m.:The Democratic Club of the Santa Rita Area and Democratic Women in Action are jointly sponsoring a Democratic Celebration/Rally at the Amado Territory Ranch, Oasis Outdoor Venue, 3001 E. Frontage Road (Amado). The event will feature a full picnic-style chicken dinner and a cash bar. Make your check payable to: DCSRA (suggested minimum donation is $25 per person) and mail to Anne Crews, 3773 S. Camino Comica, Green Valley, AZ 85614. All proceeds will go to the Arizona Democratic Party in support of electing Democrats in November. Guests will include more than a dozen local and statewide Democratic candidates. Special guest speaker is Fred Duval, member of the Democratic National Committee, who will explain why and how Democrats will win in Arizona this November. For more information, please email acnjf@cox.net.

The League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson and the Catalina United Methodist Church Committee on Church, Society and Missions Forum on Prop. 100

Tuesday, April 13, 7:00 p.m.: The League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson and the Catalina United Methodist Church Committee on Church, Society and Missions will host a forum on Prop. 100, at the Fellowship Hall on the Catalina United Methodist Campus, 2700 E. Speedway (Tucson). Prop. 100 is the temporary 1-cent-per-dollar sales-tax increase that will be on the May 18 ballot. The two-hour forum will begin at 7 p.m. On the pro side: former Tucson lawmaker Pete Hershberger and education activist Ann-Eve Pedersen. Against: former Pima County Supervisor Paul Marsh and John Kromko, president of the Pima Association of Taxpayers.

Arizona Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus Happy Hour

Friday, April 23, 5:00 p.m.: The Arizona Democratic Party Hispanic Caucus will host a Happy Hour from 5:00-7:00 p.m. in the Copper Hall at Hotel Congress,  311 E. Congress Street (Tucson). Appetizers will be served and a no host cash bar will be available. Admission is free to paid members of the ADP Hispanic Caucus, $10 for Young Democrats, $15 for everyone else. Please RSVP to AZHispanicDems@gmail.com. Please visit our new website: www.azdem.org/AZHispanicDems.

Arizona Democratic Party Spring State Committee Meeting in Tucson

Saturday, April 24, 2010: Arizona Democratic Party Spring State Committee Meeting in Tucson, at Sunnyside High School 1725 E. Bilby Road. Caucus and Committee meetings 8:00 a.m.- Noon. Registration 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Business meeting begins at 1:00 p.m. State committeemen can download the committee packet at www.azdem.org.

Giffords-Grijalva Dinner After the State Committee Meeting

Saturday, April 24, 6:00 p.m.: The Pima County Democratic Party will host a special dinner featuring Congressman Raúl Grijalva, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Congressman Joseph Crowley (of New York's 7th District), Corporation Commissioner Sandra Kennedy, and Tohono O'odham Nation Chairman Ned Norris, Jr. at the Desert Diamond Hotel Ballroom, 7350 S. Nogales Highway (Tucson). Cocktail Hour at 5:00 p.m., Dinner at 6:00 p.m. Our out-of-town guests for the State Committee meeting are encouraged to stay and enjoy the evening with us! Tickets are $75, $65 for Precinct Committeepersons and $50 for students/current Young Democrats. For the most convenient method of purchasing tickets, please visit our page at ActBlue, http://www.actblue.com/page/giffordsgrijalva. Alternatively, you may pay via credit card by calling (520) 326-3716, or you may mail a check to: Pima County Democratic Party, P.O. Box 40211, Tucson, AZ 85717. Program and table sponsorships are available. For more information or to RSVP please call (520) 326-3716 or e-mail rsvp@pimadems.org.

10th Annual Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner

Saturday, April 24, 5:00 p.m.: Coconino County Democratic Party's 10th Annual Roosevelt-Kennedy Dinner, at the High Country Conference Center, 201 W. Butler Avenue (Flagstaff). This is one of our primary fundraising events of the year. Come meet elected officials and candidates for office and give financial support to our county party headquarters. Please RSVP for dinner reservations to (928) 214-0393.

Comments

[CWren]

Do you think any one of the candidates will address the violence crossing our border? Giffords has only mouthed a few words, but hasn't produced - or made much effort in that direction. Is there someone, ANYONE?? of the D candidates who is willing to take a stand? The tragedy of the murder of Rob Krentz is hitting home with many. He was a good and kind man who helped those in distress - whether they were legal or illegal and the silence from those on the blue side of the aisle is not sitting well with some of us.

[AZ BlueMeanie]

From Rep. Giffords Newsletter to which you can subscribe to better inform yourself:

Border Tragedy

The cold-blooded killing of Arizona rancher Robert Krentz last Saturday is a sad and sobering reminder that the safety of U.S. citizens on American soil must not be taken for granted. Residents of the area are increasingly fearful of the violence that has been brought to the border and into our country by the drug cartels. The murder of this respected community leader has heightened those fears.

I called on President Obama and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to deploy the National Guard to our troubled border in a letter earlier this week. To read the letter, [see below]. In addition to the deployment of the National Guard, I am calling for the establishment of a Border Patrol forward operating base in the San Bernardino Valley, improved communication among law enforcement agencies, increased use of Mobile Surveillance Systems, and the formation of Joint Agency Task Force to coordinate local security efforts.

Thus far, law enforcement has been unable to apprehend the person who killed Mr. Krentz. Mexican officials must continue the search for the assailant and extradite him to the United States to face justice.

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Read the letter (.pdf)at http://giffords.house.gov/2010.03.30.Ltr%20to%20Obama%20Napolitano%20re%20National%20Guard.pdf