AZ SB1507 - The Coming to Jesus Moment

AZ bad SB1507 will be back on the House floor tomorrow.  This is it.  Here's my latest letter to the House of Representatives.  Ugh.  Oh, and here's video from the press conference I pulled together in about 10 hours on April 17th in opposition to SB1507 along with the help of Sandy Bahr, Exec. Director of the Sierra Club.


Dear State Representatives,

I write to you yet again to urge you to please use your common sense when voting on SB1507.  The League of Arizona Cities and Towns opposes this bill, the Arizona Chamber opposes this bill, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton opposes this bill, and at least 574 people who have taken the time to sign this petition oppose this bill.  SB1507 has the ability to hurt our economy, our people and our environment.  It's really that simple, and deserves a NO vote from you, regardless of your party affiliation.

This bill has now been covered by msnbc, Huffington Post, Gawker, TriplePundit (my story), the AZ Republic, AZ Capitol Times, Tucson Citizen, and various well-read political and environmental blogs.  Can you please stop making a mockery of our state to the rest of the world by inflicting your extremist conspiracy theories held by a minority, on us, your constituents - the majority.  If I were a moderate Republican within the AZ State Legislature I would like to think I'd be embarrassed by these sorts of bills...

Let common sense rule your world for a moment as you step outside your box and view things from a human being perspective.  Do you not want clean air for your families to breathe?  Clean water to drink?  Less pollution and smog?  Less poverty?  Healthier buildings for our children to learn in?  Savings on your energy bills?  Healthier food to eat?  Progress in solar technologies?  More jobs in Arizona?  A decrease in healthcare costs?

If you answered "No, I don't want any of those things for my constituents who voted for me" then by all means go ahead and vote yes for this bad bill.  If on the other hand, you agree that the items listed above are at the very core of our future and survival as humans (which they are) a yes vote on this bill will be a testament for your complete and total disregard to the health and well-being of every constituent you serve, as well as the planet you call home, and I promise you all that I will do my best to make as many people as possible aware to the way you vote on this bill.  And I'm quite tenacious.

So again, please vote NO on SB1507.


Sincerely,

Stacey Champion

P.S. Teri Proud - Energize Phoenix is a program, not a company as you indicated in your constant contact blurb.  You also had several other facts wrong in that memo, and I would highly encourage you to fact check before flipping things out into the public in the future.  I can also promise you that the sustainability community will never force you to buy organic or ride a bike.  You have my word.

How To Get Your Vote On - Myth Busting and Mad Dash to the Phoenix Mayoral Election to Ensure Greg Stanton is Our Winner

It seems like this Phoenix Mayor race has been going on forevvver, because well, it kind of has been.  But here we are - FINALLY - down to the wire.  Back in June, I wrote a post about one of the debates I had attended which you can read HERE if you're interested.  I had personally endorsed Candidate Greg Stanton well before this debate, because I believe he is the best person for the job.

Phoenix, the 6th largest city in the U.S., (recently losing out to Philly for 5th) has a dismal voter turnout record (only about 15% of registered voters turned up to vote in the recent primary) which quite frankly just pisses me off.  So many people I've talked to, not just about this particular election but about voting in general, have an extremely blase' attitude about it.

It's become one of those rights that people seem to take for granted, and as a woman who will be forever grateful to my past soul sisters who fought for years for me to have this right - within the past 100 years mind you, I don't take it lightly.  Did you know women in Saudi Arabia still don't yet have the right to vote?  There should never be an excuse of "I'm just not informed." Or "I'm too busy."  That's just bullshit.

U.S. women suffragists demonstrating for the right to vote, February 1913

So in my many conversations I've been having, some things have come up that are concerning to me with regard to this Mayoral election that is now right around the corner.

I hope you can all help me spread this message, get out the facts, and in turn, GET OUT THE VOTES.

The job of Mayor for the 6th largest city in the U.S. is an important one, especially given the "hell in a hand basket" past few years we've had with our city and state politics, as well as some of our wretched legislation, our dismal unemployment rate, our lack of action to environmental quality concerns and our blatant disregard to the importance of quality education.  Arizona's reputation is in the gutter to the rest of the country.  (Unless of course you're having a beer with an extremist Neo-Nazi who owns 72 guns, thinks Sheriff Joe is the shit, knows that climate change is a hoax and owns a very large truck to compensate for his very small penis.)  Seriously though.  We look f*cking CRAZY to the rest of the world - which is going to prevent this state from putting our economy back on track because no one is going to want to come here.  Industry OR people.  We the (sane) people, need a leader in our corner for a change.  And for those of you who say you don't vote because politicians are politicians, I would say this: At the end of the day, we're all just humans, some nicer than others.  Take the time to do your homework and engage.  Get your candidate of choice to pinky promise you that they'll try their best to do a great job.  In my world, the pinky promise is golden...

Here are talking points to share beginning NOW so we can see Greg Stanton be elected Mayor of Phoenix, instead of a lobbyist.

• TODAY is your last chance to register to vote in this election if you need to do so.  You also need to re-register if you have moved or changed your name.  You can register to VOTE online.  Please ask everyone you encounter today who is a Phoenix resident if they are registered to vote, and if they're not, please show them how.
• If you voted for Stanton in the Primary election, that doesn't mean you don't need to vote again - YOU DO.  This is a very important message, as many people seem to be under the impression that he has already won.  You need to VOTE again by early ballot (if you're already signed up) or at the POLLS beginning on Nov. 5, 2011.
• Get involved.  Talk to your neighbors, talk to your customers.  Tell people who you're voting for and why.  Get neighbors to put out signs.  Knock on doors.  This election will be won with grass roots effort and determination. 

 We MUST be the change we wish to see.