With the State Superintendent of Public Instruction race serving as the single primary for blue candidates, the Pima County Democratic Party spent Tuesday night showing support for their fellow candidates.

Before the speeches kicked off at the JunXion Bar, Pima County Democratic Party Chairman Don Jorgensen spoke to the strength of the party throughout the state.

“It really is a testament to the quality of our candidates,” Jorgensen said. “{It’s such a critical year and it’s more important to get elected officials who will get Arizona back on the network news and off of Comedy Central. So we’re all rallying around these terrific candidates.”

Legislative District 9, Jorgensen said, remains a key focus for Democrats, who aim to unseat Republican Ethan Orr with Democrat Randall Friese. Jorgensen added that beating Orr after only a single term was key.

“Orr ran a good race last time, but folks didn’t really know his positions on anything,” Jorgensen said. “Now that he’s been exposed as someone who’s essentially pro-gun and anti-women’s rights, folks who voted for him, even Democrats two years ago, realize that’s not representative of that district.”

Victoria Steele, a Democrat, has held the other LD9 seat since 2012.

Raul Grijalva

Democratic mainstay Raul Grijalva from Congressional District 3 was among the first to take the stage.

“Today, I just want to tell you how important Pima County is going to be to the state of Arizona,” Grijalva said to a cheering crowd. “We’re going to work really hard to get a turnout that reflects what we need in this country. We have now gone a decade and a half with a Legislature that has turned its back on the people of Arizona, turned its back on the kids in our schools.”

Ron Barber

Congressional District 2 Rep. Ron Barber, speaking about Southern Arizona’s values, took 10 minutes to compare his own views with those of his most likely Republican opponent, Martha McSally. He also criticized endorsements, adding that her campaign was being heavily run from Washington by the likes of U.S. House Speaker John Boehner.

“We know this community, we love this community,” Barber said from the podium. “We know what matters to this community and we want to serve this community. “Unfortunately, we also have a broken Congress that just doesn’t understand our community, doesn’t understand our values. That’s particularly true of Speaker John Boehner, who has hand-picked somebody he wants to represent you.”

Barber’s criticism comes just more than a month before an election that will likely see a thin margin between him and his opponent. Moving forward, Barber said he plans to continue drawing clear distinctions his views and McSally’s.

“The Tea Party extreme views she held in 2012, she’s trying to run away from,” Barber said. “But we’ve got to hold her to what she represents, which is a very extreme point of view on women’s rights, on Medicare, which she would like to privatize, supporting a budget like Paul Ryan’s budget.”

Victoria Steele

Legislative District 9 Democrat Victoria Steele said she hopes to see a fellow Democrat oust Ethan Orr in November. Since 2012, Steele said, she’s had to “play defense” when it came to legislation, referencing laws that deregulated guns that Orr helped fight for.

“Right now it’s very frustrating when I sit on the board and I see bills passed simply because they’re Republican bills and they have the numbers to pass them,” she said. “We have to change the numbers so I can do more than kill bad bills.”

This article appears in Aug 21-27, 2014.

6 replies on “Democrats Stand Together at Primary Night’s Unity Party”

  1. LD 9 Race Objective Analysis

    Electing another Democrat State legislator from Pima County in place of ORR would only be a set back for our region! Dr. Freise and his Democratic Party handlers risk making the life of all citizens and elected officials in Southern Arizona (most of whom are dems) more challenging than it already is, when confronting State level issues with their goals. The reality is, it WILL BE, again, a republican controlled State House and Senate, thus Ethan Orr is the only elected legislator from the City of Tucson touching districts, actually in the room when the decisions are being made. The Democrats in their singular focus of winning, blindly sacrifice all of us along the way! Most, if not all, reasonable people who have business with the State, such as Pima County, COT, U of A, ordinary people etc. etc. have experienced the importance of Ethan Orr. Normal citizens who are not party ideologues will see through this regional mistake proposed by the Dems and the good intentioned Doctor will lose. Tucson is already marginalized at the capitol because of our one party nature let’s not make it worse. Furthermore, when Ethan Orr returns he is a committee chair, Freise, just another vote that lacks the influence to effect much at all. Independents, moderates and Tucsonans in general should/will support having Ethan’s voice working on our behalf, a voice that is RELEVANT, has common sense, is moderate in thought, thoughtful in action and MOST significantly within the majority caucus. Ethan represents a balanced approach to governance, he is a native of Tucson and a fellow Amphi Panther who has been in this community about 8 times as many years as Freise. He is courageous, fiscally accountable and takes a heartfelt approach to governance. Ethan, it seems like one party has a target on your back because you voted for the Medicaid expansion and one on your chest for their own reasons! LOVE IT! Keep up the good work, focus on right and wrong, focus on Tucson, focus on Independent thought, and let the petty party people be party people.

  2. LD 9 Objective Analysis, Lesson One Vote for candidates that reflect your views and values on issues. Lesson Two Don’t count your legislators before the election, three changes in the State Senate and guess who then controls that body. Lesson Three the decisions are not made in “the room” they are made when the leadership decides appointments to committees and assignment of legislation to committee. Ethan Orr won’t be in that closet, his brand of “independent thought” has very few fellow legislators trusting him. One good vote is not reason enough to send him to Phoenix again. Living in this community eight times as many years as Dr. Randy Friese won’t qualify Orr for any extra pay or vote on the House Floor, so? “Normal citizens are not party ideologues” and the current bunch of Republicans up in the Legislature are not? Time to raise the IQ of the Legislature and stop being the late night show jokes. The Speaker of the House who Orr voted for just lost his Congressional election attempt to a cowboy. Enough about who controls the Arizona Legislature. Leadership on the issues important to Tucson and Southern Arizona needs a fresh approach and a figuhter without fear of targets on his back from members of his own caucus. Watch as the Republican Legislator you adore so much twists in the wind as the ideologues of his party answer to the voters this election. Downing, issues count in your objective analysis which ones do you want to debate, school vouchers, funds for public education, closing state parks again?

  5. Hakeson? I want to respond in depth to your mischaracterizations and your analysis but first, who are you? I am asking because I find it better for honest dialogue when people put their real names behind their statements. I find people who espouse views with hoods or masks on usually have something less than truth on their side.

  6. DOWNING Open up the phone book and you will see I am a real person right here in Tucson. If you want to Google you could have found me also. Bring on your wild stuff! First would you like to be a member of the majority caucus? Come on now, share your experience with us and be honest, what’s a sane man like Orr going to do in that caucus now? You could come back to the Democrats and bring Orr with you. He’ll just be in time to run
    with the progressives, and be out from under that bunch. They should be hired as street sweepers, they know how to sweep!

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