Mike Nickerson, Chair, SaddleBrooke Democratic Club
The SaddleBrooke Democratic Club met on Oct. 12 in the SaddleBrooke One Activities Center. It was great to be meeting back together again in person. Other members and interested people joined the meeting via Zoom. The hybrid meeting format seems to be working well.
Our October presenters were Charlie Kemp, Pinal County Project 15/30 organizer, and Lauren Burson, Pima County Project 15/30 coordinator. Project 15/30 was named for our 15 counties in Arizona and 30 legislative districts. Its purpose is to ensure that all Arizona citizens have equal access to voting and all our elections are fair and represent the complete will of the people of Arizona. The discussion centered around the new draft maps from the Arizona Redistricting Commission. They emphasized that the maps will have a major effect on voting for the next 10 years. The Project 15/30 stance is that the commission should make all legislative and Congressional districts as purple as possible, with neither Democratic nor Republican large majorities, so that every vote counts. This needs to be done within the concepts laid down for the commission of compactness and keeping political entities (cities, counties, etc.) intact. They also covered other efforts of Project 15/30 to inform our communities on how to help others in voting, as well as publicizing service opportunities in our communities.
Next month, our speaker will be Crystle Nehrmeyer, the superintendent of the Oracle School District, of which SaddleBrooke is a part. SaddleBrooke Community Outreach works closely with the district to help improve the K-12 education of the children in our area.
We also discussed the upcoming annual Democratic Gala, to be held on Jan. 30, 2022, in the SaddleBrooke TWO Ballroom. Frank Figliuzzi, news commentator and former assistant director of the FBI, will be our speaker. Tickets are still available for $65 per person. We are looking forward to an enjoyable and informative evening.
To learn more about the SaddleBrooke Democratic Club, go to saddlebrookedemocrats.org. Specific information on the gala will be found under the events heading.