Republicans, Democrats Have Different Goals for District 12. Did you read this January 16 article in AZ Central by Parker Leavitt about Legislative District 12? LD12 encompasses most of Gilbert and parts of Queen Creek. Parker interviewed both Republican Chairman Mickie Niland, as well as Democrat Chairman Christina Shelley. Mickie Niland was recently elected to represent Congressional District 5 as a "Member at Large" of the Arizona Republican Party.
Of special note is that District 12 is overwhelmingly Republican. There are about 25,000 registered Democrats in District12, compared with about 59,000 Republicans and 39,000 independents.
Before you jump for joy, this is not good. It is the result of the gerrymandering done by the AIRC (Arizona Independing Redistricting Commission). Gerrymandering divides election districts so as to give one political party an advantage over another. The AIRC drew the lines of Legislative District 12 in order to cram the Republicans together into one district, thereby diluting them in neighboring districts and giving those districts a Democratic advantage.
If you are on Facebook, go to the article written by Parker and read the comments by Paul Marchant, who makes reference to this issue.
So, how do you overcome this? You become a Precinct Committeeman in LD12 and join one of Chairman Niland’s committees. Many times, LD12 reaches out to neighboring districts to help them Get Out the Vote! You aren’t wearing handcuffs! Contact Mickie Niland here: Chairman@azld12.com
Here’s an interesting statement from the article made by the Democrat Second Vice Chairman Luis Heredia:
"It’s the voters, not necessarily the Republican politicians, whom the group hopes to win over, said Luis Heredia, second vice chair for the committee.They (the lawmakers) are not our enemy,” Heredia said. “The enemy is the voters who continue to put them in power.”
Republican voters are the enemy? Of what? Socialism. Violations of the U.S. Constitution, including infringing on the right to bear arms. Abortion. Efforts to remove God from American society. Illegal Immigration. Enormous debt passed on to our children and grand-children. Agenda 21. To name a few….