Video editing by Anne Simmons. Invest In Arizona Now leaders Luci Messing and David Lujan called on voters to sign petitions to nullify three new state tax laws that cut hundreds of millions of dollars that fund public education. David Lujan led the successful effort to pass Prop. 208, the Invest In Ed ballot initiative, in 2020. Lujan is the Director of the Arizona Center for Economic Progress. He is a former member of the state Senate and House of Representatives. Luci Messing is the Chair of the Education Council of the Arizona Democratic Party, serves on the Tanque Verde [...]

The Pima County Democratic Party and the Tucson Education Association both have all pro-democracy petitions available to sign and circulate to refer legislation to the ballot and to propose new legislation. Pima County Democratic HQ: People can sign the petitions on Thursday, Aug. 5, 5-7 PM or Saturday, August 14, 9-11 am at PCDP HQ at 4639 E. First St., Tucson, AZ 85711 (corner of Swan Road). All petitions will be available to sign at one time and a notary will be available if someone brings in a completed petition. Please call the front desk (520) 326-3716 to let them know when [...]

Starting with the words "Not Again," the pro-public school organization Stand for Children released an ad late last week decrying the Republican attempts to gut Invest in Ed-Proposition 208. The JD Mesnard bill, Senate Bill (SB) 1783, will cut more than $377 million from the proposition, which was just passed 5 months ago. Calling SB 1783 a continuing "illegal scheme to cut education by hundreds of millions more" after years of budget cuts to schools and the voter passage of Proposition 208-Invest in Ed last November, the narrator in the 30-second ad stated this was a "dishonest power grab" that [...]

The campaign to oust traitorous state Rep. March Finchem (R-LD11) is officially underway and aims to have 40,000 signatures by July 2. Now is the time for all good volunteers, precinct committee people, and defenders of democracy to click here for the new volunteer signup form. The Recall Finchem campaign is looking for volunteers to get signatures on the petitions from Democrats and independents. There is no need to be a resident to volunteer in Legislative District 11 (which includes large swathes of PinalCounty and northern Pima County), but people must live in the district to sign the petition. [...]

This article first appeared on the Blog for Arizona. The House of Representatives voted by a bipartisan majority of 228-164 to pass the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, ending the Federal ban on cannabis. The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and expunge nonviolent pot-related offenses. The New York Times reports the law, “would require Federal courts to release those serving sentences for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses, and set up grant programs focused on providing job training, legal aid, and substance use treatment, as well as grants for small business in the marijuana [...]