Alisa Moore
The final meeting of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club for 2022 demonstrated the exuberance that comes from a job well done—members celebrated having two Democratic senators and Democrats winning the governor’s office as well as those of the secretary of state and attorney general for the first time in at least six decades with high fives and broad smiles. In addition, there were reasons to celebrate in the initiative results, because by more than 70% margin, Arizonans agreed to finally shine some light on the dark money that funds politics through the dark money initiative that Terry Goddard has pushed for more than a decade; for non-citizen immigrants to get financial aid and in-state tuition at our colleges and universities; and we killed an effort to give the Legislature more power over the initiative process, as well as another one that would make it harder to vote in Arizona. We stayed even in the state legislature. All those hours distributing voter guides, canvassing, making phone calls and sending messages, writing postcards, and hosting fundraisers proved well worth the work.
The evening’s speakers were the creators and writers of the Arizona Agenda, two longtime local journalists, Rachel Leingang and Hank Stephenson. The Arizona Agenda is a daily political insider newsletter for political outsiders, and the two provided the audience with some unique insights. Then they opened the floor to questions from the members, which showed their specific concerns about the election processes and results here.
Members enjoyed a full holiday season for the first time in two years, with the Winter Wonderland dinner dance on Dec. 15, the Ladies Luncheon at the Yard House on Dec. 21, and the singles event on Dec. 28. 2023 will be an exciting year—plans are already being laid: scheduled January events include attending the Drifters concert and dinner with members on the 14th, a Ladies Brunch on the 16th, the Men’s Breakfast and Saturday morning breakfasts, Mexican Train game nights, and more events to be announced.
The club has not forgotten those in the community who are struggling. Our members continued to give cash to Agua Fria Food and Clothing Bank ($2,600 in November) as well as clothing and housewares donations to the Phoenix Mission, Hope’s Closet and Dress for Success, and the Homeless Youth Connection.
Our membership continues to grow. New leadership will be elected at the Jan. 4 meeting at Tuscany Falls, and everyone whose dues are paid is eligible to vote. The speaker for the Jan. 4 meeting is Joe Pizzillo, the mayor of Goodyear, so everyone is welcome to attend to learn what we can expect from all the activity in our community. The social hour starts at 6 p.m. and the business meeting and speaker begin at 7 p.m. The meeting is open and all are welcome. Please join us. For more information, please visit pcdemclub.org. We hope you have a wonderful New Year!