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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2010
Glassman Supported By Working Families
PHOENIX, Ariz. (March 30, 2010) Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman, exploring a run for U.S. Senate, has earned the endorsement of several labor organizations who represent hardworking families across Arizona:
- Arizona State Council of International Machinist and Aerospace Workers
- Communication Workers of America Local 7000
- International Union of Operating Engineers Local No. 428 Arizona
- Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 469 (Arizona statewide)
- Statewide Teamsters Local 104
Glassman has taken and will take the lead on issues that matter to Arizona families, and Glassman’s exploratory committee for U.S. Senate continues to gain widespread support across Arizona.
Linda Hatfield, the President of Communication Workers of America Local 7000, expressed appreciation for Glassman’s “continued support, ability to get things done, and passion for working for family issues time after time.”
“I am honored to receive the endorsements of these organizations that have continuously and tirelessly fought for hardworking Arizona families,” Glassman said.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2010
Two Arizona Political Giants Step Up for Glassman
Two of Arizona’s most prestigious Democrats have committed to serving as honorary campaign co-chairs should Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman announce in April that he will run for U.S. Senate.
Former U.S. Sen. Dennis DeConcini and former Gov. Rose Mofford have stepped forward and offered to serve as honorary co-chairs of the Glassman senate campaign.
In 1976 DeConcini was a little known statewide candidate from Tucson when a pair of high-profile Republicans went after each other in a senate primary. DeConcini defied the odds and won the election.
Mofford worked her way up through Arizona politics and helped restore Arizona’s image after Republican Gov. Evan Mecham was impeached and removed from office.
“I’m honored that two giants of Arizona politics have offered their help,” Glassman said. “I know folks have been waiting to know my intentions, and I promise a decision is coming soon.”
Glassman already has established a broader fundraising base than any other candidate who has challenged John McCain, and he has the support of every Democratic candidate currently running for statewide office in Arizona.
Glassman is exploring a run for U.S. Senate against Sen. John McCain, who has been in Washington for 28 years.
McCain is also being challenged in the Republican primary by former six-term Congressman J.D. Hayworth. Hayworth’s campaign is based on promising to serve a narrow constituency and ignoring the majority of voters. McCain, vowing to match Hayworth’s narrow ideology stripe for stripe, has vowed not to work on any further legislation that President Obama would sign. “There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year,” McCain said on a Phoenix radio show. “They have poisoned the well in what they have done and how they have done it.”
Glassman responded, “Arizona needs a seat at the table, and America must move forward. Leaders like DeConcini and Mofford recognize we have to work our way out of the economic crisis we inherited. We cannot pout our way out.”
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March 24, 2010
Statement from Rodney Glassman on John McCain Vowing to Stop Cooperating in the U.S. Senate
John McCain says he is taking his toys and going home. Angry today at the passage of health insurance reform, he vowed, “There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year. They have poisoned the well in what they’ve done and how they’ve done it.”
“McCain was elected to a six-year term. He spent the first four running for president, and now he’s pledging to spend the sixth on the sidelines. Arizonans deserve better than a hot-headed senator who stops representing his constituents when he doesn’t get his way. Arizonans deserve a voice who will do their job every day — not just when they are having good days.”
“McCain also wants to take a step backwards by repealing the right to health care for those with pre-existing conditions. He wants young adults to be kicked off their parents insurance. He wants permanent lifetime caps on insurance benefits. And he wants 32 million Americans who have insurance to go without.”
“Arizonans deserve a seat at the table. We deserve a full-time senator, who will help shape policy and ensure Arizona’s mainstream values are represented. I am “testing the waters” for a U.S. Senate run. If you want a fellow Arizonan to stand up for you in Washington, then I want to hear from you.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2010
McCain 2.0 Chooses Politics over Arizonans
Sen. John McCain 2.0 chose again to be part of the Washington problem rather than an American solution, proving his maverick days are relics of the days he still harbored failed presidential ambitions.
Not only is McCain supporting efforts to repeal the historical health insurance reform legislation just passed by Congress, McCain also vowed, “There will be no cooperation for the rest of the year. They have poisoned the well in what they’ve done and how they’ve done it.”
McCain has spent the last year saying ‘no’ to one in five of his constituents who currently do not have health insurance – a number that will jump to one in four after Arizona state budget cuts take effect. Now, if Senator John McCain and former Congressman J.D. Hayworth have their way on a proposed repeal, 1.3 million Arizonans would lose health care, the Medicare “donut hole” would reappear for 151,000 seniors, and 63,700 small business would lose tax credits.
Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman, who is “testing the waters” for the 2010 U.S. Senate race, expressed disappointment that McCain chose partisanship over leadership.
“Arizonans needs a U.S. Senator who will be at the table, shaping a bill for a better Arizona and the kind of America where the quality of health care does not depend on the size of the employer,” Glassman said. “John McCain chose to do nothing for Arizona families who are faced with soaring health care costs. He chose to do nothing for struggling small businesses who need to provide their employees with health care.
“John McCain 1.0 would have jumped across party lines and gotten into the thick of the fight, but John McCain 2.0, in the face of a right-wing primary challenge, runs from the tough political challenges facing our country.
“Now McCain wants to take a step backwards by repealing the right to health care for those with pre-existing conditions. He wants to young adults to be kicked off their parents insurance. He wants permanent lifetime caps on insurance benefits. And he wants 32 million Americans who have insurance to go without.
“It’s kind of sad,” Glassman said. “This isn’t the John McCain we thought we knew.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2010
Poll Shows GOP Ambivalence, As Voters Tire of Double Talk
While Arizona Republican voters are showing increasing division over which Washington insider they will settle for in the Arizona Republican U.S. Senate primary, Arizona Democrats are becoming more energized about Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman — a potential new voice for Arizona, who is “testing the waters” for a run for U.S. Senate.
A new Rasmussen poll shows vanquished six-term Congressman J.D. Hayworth pulling to within seven points of four-term Sen. John McCain. The poll shows McCain leading Hayworth 48 percent to 41 percent.
“McCain and Hayworth are counting on Arizona voters being distracted by foreclosures, layoffs, and the skyrocketing cost of medical care, but Arizona voters’ focus on these issues is why they are ambivalent about Washington insiders in the Republican primary,” Glassman said.
Both McCain and former six-term Congressman J.D. Hayworth are attempting a dubious ‘inside-out’ strategy, Glassman said. Bizarrely, both seem to be running ‘against Washington’ when McCain’s tenure in office spans three decades, and Hayworth spent a dozen years running up huge deficits while he was on the House Ways and Means Committee — the ultimate insider gig.
“No wonder Arizona Republicans are ambivalent about their two Republican candidates,” Glassman said. “Both are trying to create an image of something they are not. Both McCain and Hayworth would be better off if they owned up to their years in Washington and explain what they’d do with six more years in Washington.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 16, 2010
McCain May Get Wish: Fewer Arizona Children Insured
U.S. Sen. John McCain may finally get his health-care wish, which is less care for fewer of Arizona’s children.
The Arizona legislature voted to permanently end the state’s participation in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), 13 years after McCain voted against it and 3 years after leading the charge against reauthorizing the popular bi-partisan program.
McCain’s home state of Arizona is now the first and only state to ever opt out of SCHIP.
“Health care is like a musket on the frontier,” said Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman, who is exploring a run for the U.S. Senate, “Having it or not having it is a matter of life and death. While Congress contemplates taking a step forward, Arizona is following John McCain’s lead and taking a great leap backward. Our children will pay the price.”
Some 42,000 kids are now on SCHIP in Arizona but will lose their health care, along with another 376,000 Arizonans, on Jan 1. 2011 , if the governor signs the bill. Those people will, in turn, show up in emergency rooms, drive up costs for the insured and further drive more people off health insurance.
Additionally, this bill would kill tens of thousands of health care jobs, if the governor signs it.
“I would hope this budget does not become law,” Glassman said. “This is the wrong time to force more Americans off of health care, and this is the wrong time to put more people out of work.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 9, 2010
Rep. Raul Grijalva Provides Support and Encouragement to Glassman
Tucson Vice Mayor Rodney Glassman’s Senate exploratory campaign continues to gather steam with the support and encouragement of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva.
Glassman plans to make an official decision on his Senate run in early April after he helps his colleagues on the Tucson City Council forward budget recommendations to the City Manager. He is the first Democratic challenger for McCain’s seat to gain the support of all of the statewide candidates in his party.
Grijalva, a proud firebrand liberal, acknowledged that he doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Glassman on every issue but knows Glassman will put Arizonans ahead of narrow political ideologies or the raw desire to hold onto an office.
“Rodney is focused on Arizona’s working families and would be better, by leaps and bounds, than John McCain who has a weak track record in serving our state’s interests,” Grijalva said. “Rodney has the unique and needed ability to work with diverse voices and give all sides a seat at the table.”
Glassman has worked for Grijalva, helping the southern Arizona Democrat build bridges with the business community. He also helped the Congressman on agricultural issues that came before Congress.
“I’m happy to get support from such a strong leader on issues he cares about,” Glassman said of the Grijalva statement. “We are going to keep traveling the state and listening to what voters want out of their elected public servants in Washington and I look forward to working with Grijalva and all of Arizona’s congressional delegation on issues that matter to Arizonans.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 4, 2010
Rodney Glassman Supported by Arizonans, Not DC Establishment
Despite Washington Democratic leaders desire for an establishment insider, Arizona Democratic activists and leaders are lining up behind potential U.S. Senate candidate Rodney Glassman.
“Recent comments by the DSCC only highlight the fact that, should I decide to run, I will not be an establishment candidate,” says Glassman in response to comments published today in the National Journal that Glassman may may not have sufficient Washington credentials. “Arizonans believe it’s time to send an Arizonan to Washington instead of letting Washingtonian insiders continue to represent us.”
Arizonans are showing their support for Glassman in a very tangible way: Even with his “exploratory” committee, Glassman already has more individual contributors than any candidate who has ever run against McCain. Glassman’s focus has been on $20 donations because he believes grassroots support is more important than establishment support as he “tests the waters.”
In addition to the strong grassroots support Glassman is garnering, prominent Arizona Democrats like Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and former senatorial candidate Jim Pederson, along with the entire slate of statewide Democratic candidates, are encouraging Glassman’s potential bid for U.S. Senate.
“Prominent Arizona Democrats like Jim Pedersen, Terry Goddard, and state party chair Don Bivens asked me to run against John McCain for U.S. Senate,” says Glassman, “but I believe this effort must be bottom-up not top-down. That’s why I believe that focusing on $20 donations is the right thing to do, and that’s why I invite the DSCC to come to Arizona to see for themselves what is building in Arizona as we explore the 2010 race.”
Glassman would be both the first Democratic elected official to challenge McCain in the U.S. Senate race and the first Democrat to run for this Senate seat who is encouraged and supported by every other candidate for statewide office in Arizona in nearly twenty years.
Goddard, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, said of Glassman, “Rodney Glassman has already brought energy, intelligence and enthusiasm to the race for U.S. Senate, and he is still in the exploratory phase. At a time when Arizonans are crying out for new leadership, Rodney’s innovative ideas and fresh perspective are what the U.S. Senate needs.”
With Arizona’s resign-to-run law, potential candidates who want to fulfill their obligations to current constituents are hamstrung. Glassman has promised to hang tough on the Tucson City Council until early April before making any official decisions, saying: “I will not abandon my responsibilities for political expediency in a time of crisis.”
“The Tucson City Council will forward their budget recommendations to the City Manager in just 5 weeks on April 6. I understand what it would take to win this race, and should I decide to run, I will be ready to run a grassroots campaign that will rival any beltway-insider campaign that John McCain or J.D. Hayworth can muster.”
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