The agency is proposing that the Mexican Gray Wolves in the Southwest remain protected as a separate subspecies.
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12-4-2013
Tobin's Role in Child Services Scandal
Phoenix, AZ--Try as he might, Andy Two-Faced Tobin can�t hide his complicity in the current scandal at Child Protective Services. More than 6,000 reported cases of suspected child abuse were not investigated and Tobin dares to call the problem systemic.

�Andy Tobin and the Republican super majority in the legislature blew a chance to prevent this tragedy from ever happening,� said State Senator Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix. �Was it a 'systemic' problem that kept Tobin from appointing legislators to a CPS oversight committee for more than a year as he was required to do by law?�
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12-4-2013
Kirkpatrick Attacked by Koch Brothers, TEA Party
Monthly Update from Congresswoman Kirkpatrick

Thank you for taking the time to read my monthly update. It has been quite a month. Not only do I have the Koch Brothers already attacking me on television, but we now have three Tea-Party opponents determined to unseat me!

Recently, we�ve seen Washington create mess and after mess, but thanks to you, I�ve stood strong by fighting against the nonsense. I�m not buying into the partisan games and political posturing plaguing the halls of Congress. Instead, I�m focused on creating jobs and opportunities for the working families in my district. That is why I was sent to Washington, and that is exactly what I am committed to doing.
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12-3-2013
Kirkpatrick bill would help rural veterans access mental health care
WASHINGTON � U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., has introduced a bill that would strengthen mental health services for rural veterans and their families. About 6.1 million veterans live in rural communities, according to federal estimates. Arizona�s mostly rural Congressional District One has more than 65,000 veterans.

�Simply because of where they live, rural veterans may lack access to quality mental healthcare through VA,� said Kirkpatrick, a member of the House Veterans� Affairs Committee. �These men and women have served our country, often in dangerous, faraway places, so it�s our duty to ensure they can get quality care when they come home.�
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11-21-2013
Whiteriver, Kayenta Help to Nominate DuVal, Kirkpatrick
Events in Whiteriver, Holbrook and Kayenta gathered more than 150 signatures to re-nominate Ann Kirkpatrick for Congress and nominate Fred DuVal for governor.

Events were held at the Safeway parking lot in Holbrook on Wednesday, Nov. 13; the shopping center parking lot in Whiteriver on Friday, Nov. 16 and at the flea market in Kayenta on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
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11-16-2013
Community Celebration Raises $5,453 for Meals on Wheels, Love Kitchen
A community celebration at Pinetop-Lakeside Town Hall raised $5,453 for Meals on Wheels and the Love Kitchen through donations and a silent auction.

The event, sponsored by the White Mountain Democrats for the third year, was held on Saturday, Nov. 16.

Meals on Wheels, which brings hot meals to people who often live alone and cannot travel, received $3,188 and the Love Kitchen, which serves meals and provides food boxes to community residents, received $2,265. Two barrels of canned goods were also collected for the Love Kitchen.
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11-14-2013
Tobin Proposes To Repeal Key American Freedoms
Andy Tobin, a candidate for the Republican nomination for Arizona�s first Congressional District, has proposed repealing the very words in the U.S. Constitution that make all Americans citizens regardless of race.

In a Graham County appearance, he recently proposed repealing the opening words of the 14th Amendment which say: �All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.�
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11-2-2013
White Mountain Dems Update From Congresswoman Kirkpatrick
Friends,

I was pleased to announce this week that our district offices have closed at least 360 constituent cases resulting in more than $1.1 million worth of savings and assistance! A few of the top categories with the most savings were Veterans� Affairs and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. If you or anyone you know needs assistance, please feel free to reach out to my Show Low office. We are always here to serve you!
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1-29-2013
Protect Your Right to Vote Effort Certified for Ballot
PHOENIX � Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett today certified that the Protect Your Right to Vote Committee�s referendum of House Bill 2305 will be on the 2014 ballot.

Bennett confirmed that the Committee gathered just under 111,000 valid signatures -- far eclipsing the necessary 86,405 to qualify -- and that the Committee�s validity rate was an astounding 80 percent. A broad and diverse coalition of more than 25 non-profit civic engagement organizations worked to gather the signatures in just three months after the Legislature narrowly passed the controversial effort to get tough on voters in June.
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10-24-2013
Navajo County Dems Help Force Referendum on Bad Law
Navajo County Democrats turned in a surprisingly accurate set of petitions to force a referendum on a Republican-sponsored law aimed at voter suppression.

Statewide, more than 146,000 signatures were turned in to meet the legal requirement of 86,000.

Of the total, 30 were sent to the Navajo County Recorder for spot checking. Of those, 28 were valid for an amazing 93% success rate.
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10-16-2013
Rep. Kirkpatrick Pleased To Avert Default, Deeply Concerned
Washington, D.C. � U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., released the following statement about the upcoming House votes to reopen the government and to avert a debt-ceiling default:

�I look forward to a bipartisan vote tonight to finally reopen the government and to avert a debt-ceiling default. And while I hope this signals the end of recklessness and the start of responsible leadership, there is reason to be deeply concerned. With just a few months until the next budget and debt-ceiling deadlines, this Congress is flailing from crisis to crisis � with barely a stitch of common sense or concern about the economic damage.

"Having a Cabinet position will make your needs a priority by getting the attention they deserve and the manpower to see that those needs are dealt with," he said.�"And this is how it should be if, together, we are to undertake such enormous problems. Also, because of my ties at the highest levels of the Federal Government, another commitment I make to you is that I can, and will, press the White House and Administration to keep their commitments, to be fair, and look to how we work to change laws that so many layers of make bureaucracy on Dine lands so difficult."
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8-10-2013
Navajo County Dems Take Early Lead On Voting Rights Petition
The successful drives to collect signatures in Kayenta and Whiteriver have given Navajo County Democrats an early lead in the petition drive for a Referendum on HB 2305, according to the state party office.

The bill, enacted by the Republican Legislature, would purge early voting lists, make it harder for the elderly and disabled to turn in their ballots and limit the constitutional rights of Initiative, Referendum and Recall.

In addition to the two events, a number of individuals are circulating petitions.
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8-2-2013
White Mountain Democrats Work To Protect Voting Rights

Sheryl Eaton, president of the White Mountain Democrats, collects signatures in Whiteriver on Friday to help protect voting rights.

The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted an omnibus voting suppression measure called HB 2305. Democrats are collecting signatures to force a referendum that would allow for repeal of the measure.
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8-1-2013
Kayenta Area Residents Petition to Protect Voting Rights

KAYENTA � Navajo County Democrats helped more than 100 residents of the Kayenta area signed petitions to overturn a recent attempt by the Arizona Legislature to limit voting rights.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a portion of the Voting Rights Act, the Arizona Legislature took the opportunity to quickly lump a number of changes into HB 2305 and pass it during the closing days of the legislative session.

The drive Wednesday in Kayenta, which obtained 108 signatures, was one of the largest so far in the statewide Referendum petition effort to block the new law until it is placed on the ballot in the November 2014 election.
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7-21-2013
First They Came for the Libertarians
First they came for the Libertarians. The Arizona Legislature has decided to suppress the Arizona Libertarian Party, a small group that has contributed to the national political debate since 1971.

By using tricky editing in their new HB 2305 voter law, the Legislature changed the number of required signatures for statewide Libertarian candidates from 250 to more than 10,000. The base was changed for calculating their signature requirements from the Libertarians own 25,000 members to the entire 3.2 million registered voters in Arizona.
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5-11-2013
Democrats Raise $1,077 for McNary Library

LAKESIDE White Mountain Democrats sponsored a community celebration of frybread at the Larson Library in Lakeside, raising more than $1,000 to help re-open the McNary Library.

The festivities, which included frybread cooks, showing the movie More Than Frybread and a talk by actor Isaiah Lee, raised $1,077. The event was held on May 11.
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1-23-2013
Building on 2012 Strength to Elect Democratic Governor
With the second inauguration of President Obama, Navajo County Democrats have much to be thankful for: a strong Democratic president, a Democratic Congresswoman and good Democratic leadership in the key posts of county government. We will need to build on that strength to elect a Democratic governor and Democratic Legislature in 2014.

I am especially proud of the strength and unity shown by the White Mountain Apaches who voted 94% for Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick and provided her with nearly half of her overall margin of victory of 7,000 votes. Having just moved from a leadership role in the White Mountain Democrats to the position of county chairman, I look forward to having more opportunity to work with our Navajo and Hopi neighbors in the next election.
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12-23-2012
Message from New White Mountain Democrats President
Dear White Mountain Democrats,

Thanks to Holly Hanson and Dave Berry, especially, and to all who attended and brought wonderful food and beverages to the party last Saturday. It was fun! Thanks also for showing your confidence in me (Sheryl Eaton) by electing me President of the Club. Others elected members of the Board were Holly Hanson, Barbara Teague, David Widmaier, and Don Wise. Jan Newton continues as Vice President and Ginny Dotson as Secretary, both members of the Board. Eric Kramer, Past President, continues as a member of the Board, and Eduardo Coronado continues as a member of the Board. We are thinking of creating a new position, Financial Coordinator. If that position is created, someone will be either appointed or elected to it.
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12-9-2012
Navajo Dems Emphasize Native Empowerment, Education, Environment and Jobs

Navajo County Democrats considered a draft plan for the coming year that emphasizes native empowerment, education, environmental issues and economic development as they elected new officers.

Eric Kramer or Pinetop was elected chairman, while current chairman Eli Blake of Joseph City was selected as vice chairman. Eduardo Coronado of Pinedale was named treasurer while Brenda Manthei of Winslow will continue as secretary.

In addition to those officers, the Navajo County delegation to the State Committee will include Allan Affeldt of Winslow, Robert Bumgardner of Pinetop, Sheryl Eaton of Lakeside, Holly Hanson of Lakeside, Jerome Helm of Pinetop and Prescott Winslow of Winslow.

The group, meeting in Show Low on Sunday, also discussed finances and success and failures from the recent campaign.

Gift certificates for local restaurants were extremely popular at the silent auction, often going for a premium to their face value. They included Cafe Bocado, Los Corrales, Lotus Garden, Moose Henri's, Red Devil and Pizzeria Venti.
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1-1-2009
White Mountain Democrat Work Pays Off In Big Wins

Hard work by the members of the White Mountain Democrats paid off in big wins on election day. Not only did Dawnafe Whitesinger win the county supervisor seat for southern Navajo County, but her candidacy helped significantly to return Ann Kirkpatrick to Congress representing our area.

Dawnafe won in all seven precincts in her districts, running up substantial margins in Pinetop and Lakeside and taking approximately 99% of the vote in Cibecue, Hondah and Whiteriver. Her strong performance, and the work of White Mountain Democrats, helped to deliver more than 94% of the reservation vote for Ann Kirkpatrick, 2,371 to 132. That margin of nearly 2,250 votes was a very significant share of Ann's overall margin of victory.

Strong turnout on the reservation also helped Democrats to win all the countywide offices. This is a significant accomplishment in a year when the Republican communities of the county were buoyed by LDS candidates both for President and Senate.

The post card project supported by White Mountain Democrats contributed to the victory of President Obama. The cards written by our local members were mailed to voters in key swing states, contributing materially to the victory.

We were not as successful in partnering with our colleagues from central Navajo County. We were not able to sway the Legislative races in District 6 which takes in Snowflake, Holbrook and Flagstaff.

Arizona is turning blue. We will need your help and support to make that happen as quickly as possible. Holly will be sending out an invite soon to our organizational meeting in December. Again, thank you for your help and support that brought significant results.
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10-22-2012
White Mountain Democrats Position on Propositions

114 People committing crimes could not sue. No, unneeded tampering with state Constitution

115 Increases role of governor in appointing judges. No, undermines current system.

116 Decreases taxes for large businesses. No, Legislature has already eroded the tax base in favor of large business in Arizona.

117 Cap on property valuation increases. No, shifts property tax burden to homeowners in poorer neighborhoods.

118 Equalization of payments from school lands. Yes, allows for better budgeting by school districts.

119 Increases exchanges of school lands. Yes, allows for better conservation management of school lands.

120 Bizarre claim to state ownership of federal lands. No, would result in pointless litigation to seize lands the state is not equipped to manage.

121 Open primary. No, would exclude some candidates from some parties from advancing to the general election.

204 Extend the current 1 percent sales tax for education. Yes, schools need the money which will be better protected from the Legislature.
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10-10-2012
Kirkpatrick, Paton criss-cross state vying to win CD1

Reporter: Marcelino Benito

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - Congressional District one stretches 55-thousand square miles. It's one of the largest districts in the country and two candidates are busy criss-crossing the state vying for your vote.

They're also slamming each other on the TV screen, but once the political ads die down and dim who will constituents vote for, Ann Kirkpatrick or Jonathan Paton?

"Independents want someone who won't be a rubber stamp for whoever the president is, they want a check and a balance, and that's what I plan to be in the race," Paton said.

"I was listed as one of the most rebellious congressmen," Kirkpatrick countered. "I'm not afraid to stand up for my district, to stand up to leadership. I always put my district first."
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10-7-2012
Fact Check: Flake

FLAKED ISSUE: Congressman Flake�s campaign ad titled �What�s Missing from Richard Carmona�s Bio?�

FLAKED AD CLAIM: �What Carmona�s bio doesn�t say is that while he ran the Pima County Health System their debt ran up to $46 million, a jump of 28% in one year. Carmona was forced to resign. Rich Carmona. Another Obama big spender.�

THE TRUTH:

Rich Carmona was director of Kino Community Hospital, the Pima County public hospital responsible for providing indigent care in a low-income area and to many individuals without health insurance.
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9-10-2012
Fact Check: Paton needs checkup on Medicare ad

For the full article in the Daily Sun, go to: http://azdailysun.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/fact-check-paton-needs-checkup-on-medicare-ad/article_1d9a3bac-6d37-5544-981b-c9ac23d37372.html

The claim: "Ann Kirkpatrick raided Medicare to pay for Obamacare."-- Republican congressional candidate Jonathan Paton, in press releases and ads.

The facts: Ann Kirkpatrick did vote for the Affordable Care Act (sometimes called "Obamacare") in March 2010.

The questions: Does Obamacare cut funding to Medicare, and, if so, in what ways? And how, if at all, does Paton propose to rein in Medicare spending?

The context: About 60 percent of the $585 billion spent on Medicare last year came from general taxes -- i.e., not from payroll taxes paid by employees and businesses. That percentage is not expected to go up in the next decade, but overall spending is projected to rise by several hundred billion dollars a year as Baby Boomers age, according to the most recent long-term budget projection by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Here's what nonpartisan, nonprofit Factcheck.org, of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, states on the matter:
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9-9-2012
Payson Man Lines Up To See Candidate Who Saved His Life

PAYSON ROUNDUP

By Pete Aleshire

September 7, 2012

Lots of folks show up at campaign events to meet a candidate who wants to save taxpayers money.

But Payson resident Chris Walker showed up on Sunday to meet the candidate who saved his life.

In a reunion campaign strategists can only dream about, Walker showed up at Sunday�s Payson reception for U.S. Senate candidate Dr. Rich Carmona to swap recollections about the day Carmona brought Walker back from the dead by cracking open his chest, stitching up major vessels torn by a bullet, bypassing Walker�s heart and removing his shredded liver.

The former U.S. Surgeon General, war hero and Tucson trauma surgeon recently sewed up the Democratic nomination and over the weekend opened his general election campaign against Republican nominee Rep. Jeff Flake, who has Rim Country hometown advantages in the form of numerous relatives from his deeply rooted pioneering Mormon family.

But Carmona won the hometown edge on Sunday, thanks to the dramatic reunion with the local fellow Carmona saved from a bullet through the heart.
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