LD19 Monthly Meeting Details

LD19 meets on the third Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM at NANDO'S MEXICAN CAFE located at 6715 E. McDowell Road (just west of Power). If you want to order dinner or an appetizer, please arrive by 6:30.

Our next meeting is Thursday, January 19th. 6:00-7:00 Meet, Greet and Eat followed by Meeting at 7:00.

Upcoming Events:

The transition to LD25 starts NOW! Be sure to attend this meeting to find out what district YOU will be in and to start planning 2012. Community organizers, Joe & Patrick will be speaking to us about a plan for the upcoming election year. You don't want to miss this meeting!

To find out what district you will be in, click on this link www.AZRedistricting.org, click on maps on the left, then tentative final maps and then under Final Legislative Map click on Google Maps KMZ.

Mesa Food Bank Service Project:

Our United Food Bank Service Projects have been very successful. Please call or email Kathleen Rahn at kprahncox [dot] net or call 480.830-3891 if you want to help organize the January service project!

The East Valley Democrats Breakfast Club  will be meeting on Saturday, January 14th at Denny's on Rural and the 60 in Tempe at 7:30 a.m. Please contact Roman Ulman at 480.984.7747.

GEMDEMS & the Mesa YMCA have joined efforts on an exciting new project to get kids from Democratic families educated about our polictical process and they need our help! For all of the details please click here. If you are interested in helping financially or by volunteering your time, please contact Cathy Kladis at cdkladiscox [dot] net.

Current News: 

LD19 HAS A NEW LEGISLATIVE CANDIDATE!

Jessica Arner, a resident of Red Mountain Ranch, announced at our August meeting that she will be running for the Legislature in our district in 2012. This is very exciting news! If you are interested in working on her campaign, you can email her at jessica [dot] arnergmail [dot] com. Jessica's photo and bio are posted below.

Hello, my name is Jessica Arner, and I am interested in running for the state legislature for Legislative District 19 (LD19) for the upcoming election of 2012. I welcome the opportunity to bring many of my personal and diverse life experiences to share with the great state of Arizona as an elected official. I am 31 years old, married almost ten years to my wonderful, loving and very supportive husband, Brian, and have two little boys, Tristan, 8, and Toby, 4, who keep me very busy and enrich my life every day.
Although I was born up north in Michigan, my family moved when I was very young to Jacksonville, FL, and this is where I grew up. My years there were quite full, as I played recreational soccer, voluntarily completed well over 100 hours of community service, and actively participated and mentored in my church youth group organization. In 1998, I graduated from Bishop Kenny High School and attended Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee, FL on a full scholarship.
After a year, I decided that I was more interested in developing a career in naval aviation, and so, in 1999, I enlisted in the United States Navy. I attended training at the Naval Aviation Technical Training Center (NATTC) in Pensacola, FL, where I was also a member of the official US Navy performing units, Naval Aviation Vocal Team (NAVT). In 2000, I graduated second in my class as an Aviation Electronics Technician (AT). I went on to work as a plane captain on F/A-18 strike fighter aircraft based out of VFA-106 in NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA and attained the rank of Aviation Electronics Technician Petty Officer Third Class (AT3/E4).
In 2002, shortly after my discharge from active service and my fiancé’s completion of his first tour of duty overseas during Operation Enduring Freedom, I married my husband, relocated to Beaufort, SC, where he was stationed while on active duty at VFA-86, and welcomed my first child. During the next three years, my husband completed his second full tour of duty overseas during Operation Iraqi Freedom, while I attended classes full-time at the Technical College of the Lowcountry (TCL), completed various community service activities with my school’s chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, and maintained my personal role as a dedicated wife and mother. In December 2004, I graduated cum laude with my Associate of Science (AS) degree in General Science.
In 2005, my family and I transferred to San Diego, CA under permanent-change-of-station (PCS) orders from my husband’s career in the US Navy. During our years in San Diego, I attended San Diego State University (SDSU) full-time with an emphasis as a pre-medical hopeful, maintained at least part-time employment, and, in 2007, welcomed my second child. I also participated in various community service activities here, including coaching my son’s recreational soccer team and acting as a mentor in a program for troubled youth with the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In May 2008, I graduated from SDSU in the top 15% of my class with my Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Biology.
Although my husband left active service in 2006, I was accepted with a partial academic award to the full-time Master of Public Health (MPH) program at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia, PA. With that, my family and I relocated to Philadelphia in 2008 for the sole purpose of the completion of my higher education as an epidemiologist, a life-long dream of mine. During this time, I not only attended classes full-time, I also actively participated in graduate level research and worked part-time for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In June 2010, I completed my Community-Based Master’s Project (CBMP/master’s thesis) with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and graduated with my MPH degree with a concentration in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
In October 2010, my family and I moved to Arizona, so that I could assume a full-time position as an epidemiologist with the Tuberculosis Control Program for the Arizona state health department. I am now dedicating all of my personal time and attention to running for office and assisting the Democratic Party with the election of other qualified and respected Democratic candidates to their respective offices.
I look forward to the upcoming election and to serving the needs and interests of Legislative District 19 in the near future. I welcome feedback and comments, am eager to meet each one of my constituents and become an integral part of this community, and genuinely feel up to the challenge of meeting and exceeding the challenges and demands that will come with my position as an elected official. Thank you so much for your support…and get out the vote (GOTV)!!!
 

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