Meet Our Candidates: Daria Lohman for State Senator, LD 23

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona

The time to fight back — and fight forward — for reproductive justice is fast approaching. The stakes are high in this year’s state election, with candidates for governor, secretary of state, attorney general, and other races on the ballot. The Arizona general election will be held November 6, 2018, with early voting beginning on October 10. Voters need to be registered by October 9 to cast their ballots. Reproductive health has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who put our health and our rights first. Get to know them now in our series of “Meet Our Candidates” interviews, and make your voice heard in 2018!

[L]egislative District 23 is nearly the reddest of the red districts in Arizona, and home to communities such as Fountain Hills and East Scottsdale. Senate candidate Daria Lohman, however, not only makes her race sound winnable, she also speaks to the necessity of getting involved. Issues like education, access to affordable health care, housing, and community resources are essential to creating a resilient community.

“So many Arizonans have come to the realization that they need to be involved in the political process.”

Despite her district’s red hue, Ms. Lohman is optimistic. “I think we’ve had an awakening in this state, and that’s why I think I have a shot in a strong-red LD 23,” she said to the Northeast Valley News earlier this year. “People are paying more attention now than they used to.”

She hopes to defeat incumbent Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, who has received consistently low ratings from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and NARAL Arizona for her positions against reproductive rights, and a low rating from Stonewall Democrats of Arizona for her positions against LGBTQ equality. Ms. Lohman, whose victory would make her the first transgender elected official in Arizona’s history, personally knows what’s at stake when lawmakers don’t recognize that the right to bodily autonomy is worth fighting for, and would be a determined advocate for reproductive justice and LGBTQ equality.

Ms. Lohman has been diligently campaigning and was kind enough to take time away from the trail to answer a few questions on September 5, 2018.

Please tell us a little about your background and why you’re running for office right now in this political climate.

The short answer is I am running because I can’t not run.

Everything I believe in and care about could be lost. The current Legislature is making it harder to get an education and have access to health care, both of which are critical to having a decent way of life. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Tammy Caputi for State Representative, LD 23

Posted on August 29, 2016 by Ellie B.

The Arizona primary election will be held on August 30, 2016. Reproductive health care access has been under attack, both nationally and statewide, but Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona has endorsed candidates who have shown strong commitment to reproductive justice. To acquaint you with our endorsed candidates, we are running a series called “Meet Our Candidates.” In order to vote in the primary election, you need to have been registered to vote by August 1. Missed the deadline? You can still register online for November’s general election. Make your voice heard in 2016!

[T]ammy Caputi’s business, Yale Electric West, buys and distributes lighting and electrical supplies for large commercial construction projects. It’s also a metaphor for what she says she intends to do as a public servant.

“For the last 15 years, I’ve provided light fixtures that light up our valley, and now I want to help light up our state House,’’ she said to us in a July 31 email.

The New England transplant, married for 12 years, lives in Scottsdale, where she’s active in the Jewish community, her Democratic legislative district, and physical fitness activities.

“Women’s voices matter. I cannot and will not be shushed.”

“I am an outspoken feminist and a fierce advocate for women’s rights, particularly reproductive rights,’’ she said. “How can anyone possibly run for public office and not be a feminist?’’

Below are her answers to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona’s questions.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m running for the House of Representatives in District 23, Scottsdale/Fountain Hills/Rio Verde, because I want to make a difference. I’ve lived in Scottsdale for 20 years; Arizona is my home. I’m a successful local business owner, homeowner, and taxpayer. I have three children in the public school system and I want the best for them. I also want the best for the people in our communities. Our current representatives are not representing all of us. I want everyone in our district to have a voice. Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Ginny Dickey for Mayor of Fountain Hills

Posted on August 23, 2016 by Ellie B.

[G]inny Dickey is running as a write-in candidate for mayor of Fountain Hills, a town of about 22,000 people in Maricopa County, east of Scottsdale and bordering the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Ms. Dickey, one of five siblings who grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley, moved to Fountain Hills in 1983, following her parents, who relocated in the late 1970s. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Tufts University.

Ms. Dickey jumped into the race challenging Mayor Linda M. Kavanagh for several reasons, including that Mayor Kavanagh would be running unopposed for the third time.

The Fountain Hills mayoral election will be decided on August 30 — not in November.

“There was a definite discontent overall that the mayor would once again be unopposed,” Ms. Dickey told us in an email. “We opened a $500 threshold campaign committee on June 28 so we could do a poll, which came back that we could possibly be successful, so we opened up the full campaign committee on July 11,” 10 days before the write-in deadline.

“The reaction was very encouraging and positive. No matter the result, this has been such a joy and privilege to offer up a choice,” wrote Ms. Dickey.

Much of her time is spent “making sure people know I am a candidate, then on how to actually vote for me,” Ms. Dickey wrote. “The legislative mandate that cities must hold elections in the fall of even years has disenfranchised Independent voters and turned our local elections into partisan affairs.

“Forcing our high number of Independent early voters to select which ballot they want decreases turnout for them. But we are getting the word out on several fronts, and hopefully the mantra, ‘Write-in Ginny Dickey for Mayor and connect the arrow,’ is permeating our electorate.”

Whoever receives the majority of the votes on the August 30 mayoral election in Fountain Hills will be declared the winner, and will not run in November’s general election — meaning that this citywide race will be decided next week, not later this year. Continue reading →