PC Dem Club President Vicki Barber introduces Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to the membership and visitors at the Club’s October 7 meeting.
Alisa Moore
The final meeting of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club before the November Midterm Election was a buzz of activity. The huge turnout of members and guests milled around, discussing the numerous ways available to support our candidates, including signing up to participate in phone and text banking, to be a poll observer, and to help out with voter guide drops. They also welcomed back those members who were gone for the Arizona summer. But when the meeting was called to order, they quickly took their seats because there was so much on the agenda.
President Vicki Barber led the crowd through the summary of upcoming fun social and community charitable events, introduced new members and visiting dignitaries, and addressed other club matters. She thanked everyone who assisted in putting on the Sept. 19 West Valley Democratic Candidate Political Rally, which the club hosted. The event filled the ballroom with more than 400 attendees there to listen to candidates from up and down the ballot, ask them questions, and pick up campaign materials and voter guides.
Kathleen Harris, the political director for the Maricopa County Democratic Party, explained the contents of the Voter Guide being distributed to thousands of homes and encouraged everyone to pick up extra Guides to share with friends, family, and neighbors.
But the star of the evening was Adrian Fontes, Secretary of State and candidate for reelection to that post, an incredibly exciting speaker. An Arizona native who grew up on his family’s ranch in Nogales, Adrian served on active duty with the Marines for four years, then graduated with honors from ASU. He went on to law school, graduating from the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. He has served as a prosecutor and with the International Prosecution Unit at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, before being elected Maricopa County Recorder in 2016. He was elected Secretary of State in 2022.
Mr. Fontes did more than just encourage the crowd to get out and vote. He is a staunch protector of democracy, of protecting American’s right to vote, and of defending the rule of law. Voting is a right and voting by mail is a proper and legal way to vote, as he detailed in explaining the process and how protected it is here. He encouraged everyone to vote early and to thoroughly educate themselves on the numerous candidates and range of issues on the ballot, in order to help protect democracy, which is under challenge. It is every American’s responsibility to do so, in his view. Those ten little words? “If it is to be, it is up to me.”
The PebbleCreek Democratic Club meets the first Wednesday of the month, usually at the Tuscany Falls Ballroom, with the social hour at 6 p.m. and the meeting at 6:45 p.m. The meetings are open and all are welcome. For more information, please visit pcdemclub.org.