Kevin Volk, candidate for the LD 17 House seat
Karla Trippe
In February the SaddleBrooke Democratic Club held its annual sold-out dinner on Feb. 4, which featured Adrian Fontes as the keynote speaker. Fontes, the current Secretary of State, spoke about voting rights in Arizona. The state leads the nation in the number of election interference bills introduced since 2022, including provisions to limit the availability of mail ballot drop boxes, tighten voter ID rules, and expand voter purge practices.
At the February club meeting, Kirsten Engel, candidate for Congressional District 6, spoke to members. Engel filed an amicus brief in the first case in which the U.S. Supreme Court recognized greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change. She helped force paint manufacturers to include warning labels about the hazards of exposure to lead paint dust, and she oversaw a brownfield renovation program to clean up and restore contaminated waste sites.
Engel discussed critical issues facing Arizona voters, including drought problems, utility bills, drug costs, reproductive health care, border security, and gun safety laws.
At the club meeting in March, scheduled for March 12 at 3:30 p.m. at the SaddleBrooke One Activity Center, the club will feature one candidate running for office: Kevin Volk, candidate for the LD 17 House seat.
Kevin Volk was born and raised in Tucson. He attended public elementary and middle school in Northeastern Tucson, then attended Salpointe High School. After graduation, he graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a degree in economics. Volk served as a fifth-grade public school teacher in the East Side of San Jose, Calif.; interned for Representative Gabby Giffords; and worked as an English language educator in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on a Fulbright scholarship. Volk is focused on bringing living costs down, investing in public education, securing Arizona’s water future, and restoring reproductive rights. To learn more about Volk, visit his website www.kevinvolkaz.com.
Maureen Borland, club chair, announced that Arizona for Abortion Access has already collected more than 250,000 signatures since launching its paid and volunteer petition-gathering efforts in late September. This figure demonstrates strong support for the ballot initiative campaign, which must collect 383,923 valid signatures from Arizona voters by July 3, 2024. Anyone wishing to sign the petition or train to gather petition signatures should contact [email protected].
The club also announced the launch of its new website and encouraged anyone interested in learning about the issues and candidates to visit the website saddlebrookedemocrats.org/sbprogress.