Have you ever thought about what policies you would like to see implemented in America? What you would do if you were in Congress? What you would do if you could be a voice for change within the system?
Of course you have, that's why you're here!
I learned early in this election season that the establishment darling in AZ-08 hasn't.
Last December, after celebrating the Democratic sweep in the city elections, I got an email from the Jeff Latas for congress campaign inviting me to meet Jeff. Not knowing much about him, I went to find out about him and evaluate him to see if I would volunteer for him. It was a small gathering at the Sam Lena Library in South Tucson. There were about 20 people there, not a very impressive show, but the people were of the most excellent quality. It impressed me that Latas already had a Media Coordinator, Field Coordinator and the Arizona Democratic Volunteer of the Year working for him.
I went to this meeting with the attitude of a cynic and the persona of a curmudgeon. When I was asked to introduce myself, I simply said, "...and I'm here to find out about you." It was rather informal, but Jeff spoke a bit and answered some questions. After the meeting I went up to him and asked rather harshly, "What are you going to do about immigration?" I knew that this would be one of the hardest questions he would face, so I wanted to ask it as harshly as I could.
Jeff was a bit taken aback, but recovered nicely and answered my question. I was impressed with how he handled himself in the face of a cynic, but I decided not to make up my mind until after I saw the other candidates. This was after Jim Kolbe decided to retire, so there was much buzz about others entering the race. Latas was the first one I'd heard about because he entered before Kolbe's retirement while the others jumped in when opportunity arose.
A couple weeks passed and I went to an event that Gabrielle Giffords was hosting. She was the only other serious contender in the race at that time as Patty Weiss jumped in in late January. There were a lot of people milling around and having a drink. I was asked to sign in, but chose not to because I was unconvinced. I didn't see Gabrielle anywhere. I saw a guy I knew, Don Martin, a wealthy business owner, and decided to ask him about why he was supporting Gabby. He essentially said that he'd known her for a long time and when I said I'd never met her, he offered to introduce me.
Don took me to another room where there was a long greeting line. He put me in line so I could greet her. When I got to the front I shook her hand and asked bruskly said "I don't know beans about you and I'm here to learn about you. What are you going to do about Immigration?" She told me to give my questions to one of her staffers and her they'd get back to me in early January. I never heard from them.
I refused to be pushed to the side like that. Gabby gave a short platitude filled speech and asked if anyone had questions. I was the only one raising my hand, so she reluctantly called on me. I said "Those were wonderful platitudes, but what are you going to do about Immigration?"
She said that she backed the McCain-Kennedy bill.
I then said "I know what McCain wants to do, but what will YOU do `Representative Giffords'?"
She couldn't answer me and after she stumbled for a couple seconds someone yelled out "How many signatures do you need?" She could answer that one. I left feeling that if she couldn't even answer a question from a Democratic partisan, the Republicans would eat her alive.
I gave the Giffords campaign some time to respond to me, but I never heard back from them. Then I called the Latas campaign and have been volunteering with them ever since. Jeff has consistently showed that he's the candidate with ideas, integrity and honesty. He knows how to answer questions and has the guts to stand up for what he believes. He speaks from a level of experience that is above and beyond that of any of his competitors and is always truthful. He tells people what the facts are, not what people want to hear. That is why every other candidate on the Democratic side has copied his platform.
I urge you to support Jeff Latas, a candidate with ideas, honesty, integrity and backbone. If you want to make calls for the campaign, please signup here and call from here, or otherwise volunteer here. You could also give a contribution here.