By Jordan Gerard | State Affairs
U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly joined with local, state and congressional Democrats from Arizona and across the country to discuss the cost of living, income equality and how to build coalitions in communities.
Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, state Sen. Analise Ortiz and state Rep. Quantá Crews also participated in the forum. In addition, the forum featured Amber Morgan, a New Hampshire alderman-at-large; Preston Blakely, mayor of Fletcher, North Carolina; Deon Tedder, a state Senator in South Carolina; Sandra Jauregui, a member of the Nevada State Assembly; and Sam Park, a state representative from Georgia.
The Arizona Latino Arts and Cultural Center in downtown Phoenix hosted the forum.
Ortiz moderated the first panel, which focused on developing new ideas for how Democrats could build community, help voters understand the consequences of elections and engender trust within groups that feel excluded from the political process.
“We all have an interest in standing together in solidarity against these attacks that are trying to drag us into such a dark moment, and we know that when we have conversations like this, our light will shine brighter than the hate that is trying to take over,” Ortiz said. “That’s why it’s so important to have leaders from across the country who we can learn from, share ideas with and dream about the world that we really deserve to see.”
