I am pleased and proud to announce that my wife, Marcia Smith, is running for the Arizona State House of Representatives as a Democrat in Legislative District One, which includes almost all of Yavapai County and a small Sedona-centric sliver of Coconino County.

Marcia is running as part of a three-person “Clean Slate” ticket, which includes fellow candidates Jay Ruby (State House of Representatives) and Mike Fogel (State Senate). The Citizens Clean Elections Committee works to limit corporate and lobbying influence over the candidates by specifically limiting campaign contributions, thereby ensuring the candidates are eligible for Arizona State funding for their campaigns. Marcia’s focal campaign issues will be healthcare (including reproductive rights), mental health, and affordable work-force housing. She and her Clean Slate compatriots will also work to bolster electoral turnout for up-ticket candidates, serving as champions for fair and open elections governed under the rule of law.

Marcia, Jay and Mike are in the early stages of their campaigns right now, and you can help them move forward in the following ways:

• For Arizona Legislative District One Residents: The Clean Slate candidates must acquire qualifying signatures on a petition, along with a number of $5.00 qualifying contributions to secure State matching funds. You can sign the petition and make the qualifying contributions to Marcia, Jay and Mike by clicking on their campaign logo below and then using the “Sign Petition” and “Make Qualifying Contribution” buttons for each of the three candidates. You will need your drivers license to confirm your residency within the legislative district.
• For U.S. Citizens Living Outside of Arizona Legislative District One: Each Clean Slate candidate may raise up to $5,293 in seed money before July 30, but individual contributions may not exceed $210 each. You can contribute up to $210 to each of the three Clean Slate candidates by clicking on their campaign logo below, and using the “Donate” buttons to support Marcia, Jay and Mike.

On Marcia’s behalf, I thank any and all of you who support these candidates for Arizona Legislative District One, and encourage you to bookmark their website (at the logo link below) to follow along with their campaign over the next 11 months. I will also provide updates here as the year and campaign move forward, with gratitude and respect for Marcia, Jay and Mike for their willingness to put themselves forward in the public eye as champions for causes near and dear to us, at a time when our collective social compact is as tattered and frayed as it has ever been in our Nation’s history.

2024 will be a watershed year, for better or for worse, in The United States’ history, and I applaud these and countless other committed quality candidates united in common respect for the laws of the land, hopefully precluding the lesser angels of our national natures from rushing untrammeled atop the rights, well-being, and dignity of so many of our country folk.

Click the Clean Slate logo to sign petitions, make qualifying gifts, and donate to the campaigns.