Meet Our Candidates: Lauren Kuby for Tempe City Council

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Elizabeth Hannah

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. The Tempe general election will be held on March 13, 2018, with ballots mailed to registered voters on February 14. Make your voice heard in 2018!

[I]n the upcoming Tempe special election, there are six candidates vying for three open City Council seats. Tempe residents will also cast their votes for three separate ballot initiatives. For the first time in the city’s history, all registered voters will receive their ballots by mail. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona (PPAA) has endorsed two Tempe City Council candidates: Genevieve Vega and Lauren Kuby.

“I’m a woman who turns words into action!”

Lauren Kuby is running for reelection to the City Council in order to continue building a sustainable future for Tempe. During her tenure in office, Ms. Kuby has advocated for policies ranging from equal pay to environmental protection to campaign finance reform. In 2012, the Arizona Republic named Ms. Kuby one of five “Tempe newsmakers” who impacted the city over the course of the year. If reelected to the City Council, Ms. Kuby will continue fighting for her vision of Tempe as a “compassionate,” “diverse,” and “innovative” community.

On February 19, 2018, Ms. Kuby took the time to be interviewed by PPAA, offering insight into her background and the motivations behind her candidacy.

Tell us a little about your background.

My family always told me that I was bound for a life of community service. I trace that path back to 1958, when my parents were volunteering for JFK’s senate campaign in small-town Massachusetts. One day, JFK unexpectedly visited, with no entourage, our local campaign office. He asked for coffee, and my dad raced home to percolate a cup, leaving 8-month-old me and my mom alone with the family hero. “Your baby makes me miss my Caroline. Can I hold her?” The story of JFK rocking me as a baby became family lore and a large part of my identity.
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Meet Our Candidates: Genevieve Vega for Tempe City Council

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Elizabeth Hannah

“I knew I could be a strong advocate for families like mine.”

As a small business owner and consultant, Genevieve Vega has spent her adult life serving the city of Tempe. In addition to working as a professional business consultant, Ms. Vega serves on the Tempe Community Council and the Phoenix Suns Charities 88 Board of Directors. She is “unapologetically pro-choice,” and she is proud to have received endorsements from both PPAA and Arizona List. Ms. Vega has also been endorsed by Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell; current council members Lauren Kuby, David Schapira, and Randy Keating; and a host of other community leaders. If elected, Ms. Vega will be the first Asian-American council member to represent Tempe.

On February 11, 2018, Ms. Vega took the time to be interviewed by PPAA, offering insight into her background and the motivations behind her candidacy.

Tell us a little about your background.

Service is core to who I am. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a Green Beret, who in the Vietnam War rescued a wounded and orphaned Vietnamese girl. He decided to adopt that girl, the first Vietnamese adopted in the U.S., who graduated from ASU. She’s my mom, and raised me as a single mom until I was 9. She and my stepdad live in Tempe today. My husband Dave and I chose Tempe as the place to raise our family — we have a special-needs second grader and a freshman in public schools. I’m a two-time Sun Devil with an executive MBA and I run my own consulting business helping businesses with training and development for growth. Continue reading →

Ron Barber Takes a Stand for Women’s Health

Posted on June 5, 2012 by Malinda B.

Editor’s Note: What follows is our unedited, exclusive interview with Ron Barber, the candidate who is running to complete Gabrielle Giffords’ term in Congressional District 8. Barber has worked with Giffords since she was elected to Congress in 2006, after which he became the head of her Tucson office. He is endorsed by both Giffords and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. Prior to his work with Giffords, he navigated bureaucratic red tape as head of the Southern Arizona branch of the state’s Division of Developmental Disabilities, advocating for vulnerable members of the community. With strong bipartisan support, and strong roots in Southern Arizona, Barber will stand for CD8 in Washington — but first, he needs your vote. The election will be held on June 12, 2012; you can also vote by early ballot.

“Our federal and state budgets should reflect our values and not the extreme positions of a few legislators.”

Please give me a little background on yourself: where you grew up, your education, how long you’ve lived in Tucson.

I have lived here in Southern Arizona most of my life, running a small business with my wife, Nancy, and helping solve community problems — whether it was heading up Congresswoman Giffords’ district operations to help people get results by cutting through federal agency red tape, or working for 35 years to look out for people with disabilities.

I was born in England, but went to high school in Tucson, where I met my wife, Nancy. We were high school sweethearts — we first started dating in 1960 and have been together ever since. I went to the University of Arizona, here in Tucson, and received a bachelor’s degree. I’ve lived in Tucson for over 50 years — my children and grandchildren all live here as well.

What women’s health care issues do you see will need to be addressed in the remainder of this legislative term and in the next?

Access to basic care is still a major issue for women’s health. We must ensure that regardless of state laws on abortions or funding, Planned Parenthood and other clinics continue to receive funds to provide basic health care to women — from cancer screenings to mammograms. Continue reading →

Special Election on June 12: Ron Barber Stands with Planned Parenthood

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Malinda B.

It’s pretty safe to say that nearly all of the political advertisements and newspaper articles covering the Congressional District 8 race between Ron Barber and Jesse Kelly have focused on Social Security and Medicare. But, the issue of women’s health care is also critical — and one that hasn’t received much attention.

Jesse Kelly is an avowed anti-choice candidate and has received support from the National Right to Life Political Action Committee. Barber, when asked about his position on choice and women’s health care, said he has always been pro-choice and believes women’s health care decisions must be made between women and their doctors.

Ron Barber is running to finish Gabrielle Giffords’ term in the June 12, 2012, special election. Early voting starts on May 17.

“There has been too much political debate about limiting our freedoms,” he told us. “Women have the right to make their own choices about contraception and any interference from the government or employers is an affront to personal liberty.”

The debate on women’s health care used to center on abortion. It has now expanded to include the availability of contraception and the “right to refusal” — so-called consciousness clauses that allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, employers to opt out of providing insurance coverage for birth control, and health care providers to refuse emergency care for pregnant women. Barber, as do most Americans, believes that the “availability of contraception was an issue we settled 50 years ago” and employers, insurance companies, and pharmacists should not put themselves between a woman and her doctor. Continue reading →