Tag Archives: Karen Fann

What’s the 411 on 2-1-1 Bills?

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The following guest post comes to us via Kelley Dupps, strategic relations officer for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.

Hello, 911? I’d like to report a dumpster fire.

Anti-abortion politicians are at it again — this time targeting the 2-1-1 referral system as a pretext for charging the taxpayers $3 million to fund a pilot program to promote childbirth instead of abortion. The 2-1-1 system is a statewide information and referral network that has been in service since 1964, with more than 80% of calls regarding public utility inquiries.

A new funding bill for the 2-1-1 system is bloated with unnecessary abortion restrictions and charges taxpayers $3 million to promote childbirth.

2-1-1 Arizona is a private, nonprofit organization run by Crisis Response Network, Inc. Through their website, mobile app, and automated phone system, Arizonans can learn about important community services — resources that include assistance with housing, food, and bills; domestic violence; health, dental, and mental health care; services for disabled people and veterans; employment services; and more. Planned Parenthood is one of hundreds of resources listed under Health & Dental, and their inclusion in 2-1-1 Arizona’s listing helps connect patients to vital family planning, STD testing, and cancer screening services. A Google search shows there is no mention of the word abortion anywhere on 2-1-1 Arizona’s website. Continue reading →

Yes, Virginia, Local Elections Do Matter

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This post is from Planned Parenthood Arizona Strategic Relations Officer Kelley Dupps, who traveled to Virginia in late 2019 to work on state campaigns and help turn Virginia blue. After the news broke of Virginia’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), Kelley shared some thoughts from last fall and reflected on where we’re heading into 2020.

Supporters and opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1982

Virginia is a political beast of a state. Once the capital of the Confederacy and current home to the National Rifle Association, Virginia sports 13 lucky electoral votes (only two more than Arizona), and has served as a training ground for many organizers learning how to make a red state blue. When activists take a tobacco-growing, gun-toting Southern capital and organize it to recognize the humanity and equality of their citizens, they provide inspiration — and a proof of principle — to other organizers nationwide that the seemingly impossible is quite possible.

Effecting Change in Virginia

Virginia showed us what’s possible, and in 2020 Arizonans must remember that elections can be won or lost by just a few votes.

Last year around this time, in January 2019, the Virginia Senate refused to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). Wielded by men and women who believe in patriarchy and voted to ensure that women were not seen or treated as equals under the law, that veto triggered a lot of grassroots passion, and the election season of 2019 in Virginia was lit! Voters wanting more visibility and representation in their democracy sent more women, people of color, and LGBTQ candidates to the state Capitol than ever before, turning a once beet-red state into big ‘D’ Democratic blue.

And elections have consequences.

A year later, on January 15, 2020, Virginia legislators voted to ratify the ERA, solidifying that women are to be treated as equal under the law! Continue reading →

Meet Our Candidates: Jo Craycraft for State Senator, LD 1

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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!

[J]o Craycraft is running for the Arizona Senate seat in Legislative District 1, which is home to communities in the Verde Valley, Prescott Valley, and surrounding areas such as Prescott and Dewey-Humboldt. While the roots of these districts are rural and proud, the policies its representatives have supported over the last decade have stripped this region of resources and neglected the impact of the unregulated industry of sober living homes on the opioid epidemic.

“Arizonans are more engaged than ever in stewardship of their great state.”

Ms. Craycraft is running against Sen. Karen Fann, who is seeking re-election and has historically toed the GOP party line on issues important to Planned Parenthood. This district is also home to Rep. David Stringer, whose racist comments documented on social media seem emblematic of many of the area’s other lawmakers, such as U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, who was recently targeted in an ad by six of his nine siblings for peddling conspiracy theories on social media and failing to represent the interests of his rural congressional district, which overlaps with LD 1.

Bolstered by an impressive resume and an even more impressive drive to serve all the people of this district, Ms. Craycraft was generous enough to take a break from campaigning and answer our questions on September 17, 2018.

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

After a career that includes 30 years in law enforcement — 10 years as a police officer and 20 years in the FBI — an MBA and law degree, and owning a private investigation agency, I am now seeking to represent the people of Arizona’s Legislative District 1. My deep understanding of the law and history of meeting and interacting with people all along the socio-economic spectrum have informed my approach to common-sense and compassionate lawmaking. Continue reading →