Democrats of the Red Rocks.

Democrats of the Red Rocks is a Democratic club that welcomes all independent-minded citizens.
Our mission is to elect Democrats by increasing voter turnout,
promoting Democratic party principles and educating the community.

DORR President's Newsletter March 2011

DORR keeps on keepin' on

It is hard to believe we are heading into March and springtime, especially when we can marvel at that beautiful white snow sprinkled on our red rocks. But the baseballs and bats are being warmed up in Phoenix and Tucson, and the deciduous trees here are beginning to show their buds. This normally makes me feel happy and optimistic. However, those thoughts are mired by the horrors being committed by those state legislators in Phoenix, and by those in Washington D.C. who wish to do away with Planned Parenthood and the beginnings of a universal healthcare system.

At last Democrats are beginning to find their collective voices, and are organizing. Demonstrations were planned in major cities February 26 (even in Phoenix) in support of our colleagues in Wisconsin.

And there is even a move to recall the "would be Governor", Mr. Russell Pearce. Our friends at the Coconino County Democratic Party are organizing car pools to go down to Mesa on March 5th to help collect signatures. Please contact Kelsey at Kelseyb@ccdem.org if you would like to help.

And little Sedona is also having its fair share of excitement. ADOT drew the line in the sand last year by giving Sedona an ultimatum -- accept a route transfer of SR89A or ADOT keeps the road and installs continuous lighting. I am sure all of you are aware of this very divisive debate. Although many of our members have been actively involved in this, especially regarding the lights and safety issues, DORR could not take a stance on the issue. However, we did encourage folks to educate themselves and make their voices heard. To that end, DORR hosted a city presentation regarding the route transfer, and placed a poll on our website, the results of which are below. These were presented to the Council during the first work session earlier this month. It seems there were a variety of opinions as to what made up "the will of the People" as regards this very complex issue. All I can say is kudos to the Council for doing an amazing job of reaching out, due diligence, and listening to everyone. Eighty-three people spoke at the February 23rd meeting, when the decision was made. Local control and safety won the day (or the night) and the Council voted 4-3 in favor of a route transfer. The Vice Mayor, Cliff Hamilton, has asked me to share information on the facts about the route transfer and how it will impact us. His information is now available on our website; click on "Events". Please take a look! I think you will be very happy, for the most part, with this decision. I do want to take a moment to express my thanks to Lindsay Bell, Chair of Yavapai County Democratic Party and former Prescott City Councilor, who came, at a moment’s notice, to testify at the meeting about Prescott’s route transfer of Highway 89, which runs through the centre of Prescott, 14 years ago. The City has never looked back and has been very happy with the outcome. They did not receive $15 million to help pay for the upkeep either -- no monies were given at that time.

Looking forward to March, we welcome the start of our Movie Nights. On Thursday, March 3rd, DORR will be showing: "TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE", which received the 2007 Academy Award for best documentary. We will be starting at 6:00pm at the Sedona Public Library, and afterwards there will be a chance to stay and discuss this very gripping film about the abuse of human rights under the Bush/Cheney regime.

Our breakfast will be held on Thursday, March 17th at 8:00am at The Olde Sedona Bar and Grill. We are proud to welcome our guest speaker TERRY GREEN STERLING, renowned journalist and former investigative reporter for the Phoenix New Times. She will be talking on the subject of illegal immigration -- "ILLEGAL -- Life and Death in Arizona's Immigration War Zone". Maybe we should invite Russell Pearce?

Joking apart ... I am also pleased to let you know that we have an additional speaker for you! Julie Ayers, County Administrator, will be coming from Prescott to present a slide show and short discussion on the Yavapai County redistricting process. This is very important as Yavapai County will be adding two more districts this year, involving two more County Supervisors. The County wants YOUR feedback as regards how the divisions should be made and where you would like to see Sedona and VOC. Apologies to our Coconino members (you can get seconds at the buffet!). We do plan on starting early, so please be at the restaurant by 8:00am.

It is an unsettling world. Our State is in a mess, and is unfortunately governed by bigots and legislators who do not seem to care about the people, about women’s rights, about students, about health care, about the environment and, of course, about dark skinned immigrants. Our country is being waylaid by folks who believe in the free market economy, no government (I am OK, so why can’t you manage?), power to the wealthy and the corporations, and union bashing. And now we have a democratic uprising in the Middle East which is taking lives, but finally bringing into question the dictatorships which have taken advantage of the people for decades, run up their own wealth and rejected populist demands. We shall see how this pans out.

In the meantime, we thank YOU for your support, hope you will come to our meetings, and give us YOUR input as to what activities you would like. Let us know! Call us at (928) 203-5858, or email us at info@democratsoftheredrocks.org. Click the “Forum” tab and our blog site on the Home page. And finally, join our Writer’s Group, which now has over 20 members, and is prolific in its letter writing. I have lost count of all the letters which have been published! The group meets the first Thursday of every month at the home of Emma Carpini. Please email her at emmajc@q.com if you are interested in learning more. One more way to get our message out!

Thank you -- as always-
Angela LeFevre
DORR President