LD17 Tabling Team Update

Candidate Nomination Petitions: Signatures and Conversations

While we continue our regular tabling schedule at the Oro Valley Public Library, we’ve also started adding weekday pop-up “ironing board” tables around town. Our main goal right now is gathering signatures for candidate nomination petitions — and the process has created some great opportunities to talk with voters.

At the moment, we’re carrying petitions for 11 candidates, along with four newer contenders who joined the race a bit later. Because many people feel they only have time to sign two or three petitions, we often have to prioritize. We begin by showing a list so people can cross off candidates they may have already signed for on Arizona E‑Qual System — if they remember.

We’ve also learned that many voters aren’t sure which congressional district they live in. Our tables draw people from LD18, CD7, and even nearby Pinal County. So we sometimes start with a simple question: “Who’s your congressman?” When the response is a groan, an eye roll, and the name Juan Ciscomani, that’s our cue to pull out a petition for Jo Mendoza.

Almost no one arrives knowing about the candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission, which gives us a perfect teaching moment to explain why those races matter.

And sometimes the experience is simply inspiring. On Saturday, a frail elderly woman sat patiently in a chair beneath an umbrella — held by one of our new volunteers — and asked to sign every petition she was eligible for. Moments like that remind us why this grassroots work matters.