Emerging Democrats
Dana Kennedy, co-chairwoman of Emerge Arizona, announces legislative and school board candidates supported by Emerge, which provides political training for Democratic women. Behind her is Stephanie Rimmer, running for the House in District 8.

Candidates from a group formed to train Democrat women on how to run for office said their arrival onto Arizona’s political scene is a victory for women alienated by the social conservative agenda of the current Legislature.
“They do not care about guns in bars, bestiality laws and whether women can sell their eggs,” said District 4 House candidate Debra Boehlke on the Capitol lawn Sept. 6. “They care about traffic, congestion,” and other “common sense” issues.
The eight legislative and two school board candidates are part of Emerge Arizona, a group advised by Democratic political figures such as Governor Napolitano, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, and House Assistant Minority Leader Linda Lopez.
The group hopes to maximize the political power of women Democrats in the state by training potential candidates on public policy, conducting media interviews and campaigning with money provided by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission, said Dana Kennedy, the group’s co-chair.
According to a press release, Emerge Arizona developed as an apparatus to the San Francisco-based Emerge, which committed itself to reversing declining numbers of female candidates brought on by term limits.
Emerge Arizona’s 2006 candidates include District 7 Senate candidate Lisa Black; House candidates Stephanie Rimmer, District 8; Sheri Van Horsen, District 9; Angie Crouse, District 17; Krista Pacion, District 23; Pat Fleming, District 25; Lena Saradnik, District 26; and school board candidates for the Creighton and Phoenix Union High School districts, Tiffany Troidl and Amy Kobeta.
All of the legislative candidates have qualified for public funding, said Ms. Kennedy, also a spokeswoman for the Arizona AFL-CIO.