Councilwoman Trinity Donovan, a true Public Servant

As Chandler, Arizona's City Councilwoman Trinity Donovan wraps up her first year in office, those of us that supported her are ecstatic to find that our faith in her as a demonstrated public servant was well deserved. She has exemplified sincere, thoughtful public service for many, many years and her past year in elected office follows that same trend. She is widely known for her constituent support, comity and insight into the needs of our community.

The Arizona Republic, having endorsed her campaign, is also experiencing the same pleased satisfaction as they consider Councilwoman' Donovan's first year in office. Furthermore, they want to hear from you folks, too. From their site:

Donovan does a good job staying in touch with constituents

Chandler City Councilwoman Trinity Donovan is an advocate for the people, and that earned our support in both the 2006 primary and general elections.

A year later, The Republic's Southeast Valley Editorial Board, still a proponent of Donovan, wants to hear from the people she represents through an online forum at eastvalleyopinions.azcentral.com.

Read the article, it's pretty good (and spot-on accurate, too). And then leave a note telling how Councilwoman Donovan has impressed you this past year.

Harry Mitchell appearance tomorrow; puts education first

Harry Mitchell (AZ CD-5) will be meeting at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, Aug 15th, with Arizona Legislative District 20 (LD20) Democrats for the LD20's monthly "Democrats and Donuts" get-together. Harry will be giving an update on the latest from his work in Washington D.C., representing us here in CD-5, as well as answering questions from his constituents.

(Instead of meeting at the Ahwatukee Fire Station, the meeting will be held at Clarion Hotel at 5121 E La Puente Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85044. The hotel is northwest of I-10 and Elliot, off of 51st St.)

And since I didn't mention it, let me now recall Harry's excellent vote in July in favor of the College Cost Reduction Act. When I and my colleagues traveled to Washington this Spring, we met with Harry's legislative assistant and with Harry himself. This legislation was a major focus of our lobbying efforts with Representative Mitchell and our other elected representatives. It's great to see a true educator like Harry Mitchell voting on this issue to put education first.

From the AFL-CIO's July newsletter:

Mitchell Votes to Make Historic Investment in Higher Education - Continues Commitment to Make College More Affordable

U.S. Rep. Harry Mitchell today voted in favor of the College Cost Reduction Act - the single largest investment in student aid since the GI Bill -boosting federal financial aid available to students at Arizona colleges and universities by a total of $714 million over the next five years.

"As a former teacher, I'll always value the role of education in our communities and economy," said Mitchell. "The cost of attending college continues to rise in Arizona and across the country. This is an important and historic step toward making sure that qualified students are never denied a degree because of a lack of financial aid."

H.R. 2669, which passed the House by a vote of 273-149, would boost college financial aid by about $18 billion over the next five years at no cost to taxpayers. The College Cost Reduction Act pays for itself by reducing excessive federal subsidies paid to college loan lenders by $19 billion. The additional $1 billion goes toward reducing the federal budget deficit.

Similar to the College Student Relief Act of 2007, which the House passed earlier this year, the College Cost Reduction Act would cut interest rates from 6.8 percent to 3.4 percent in equal steps over the next five years. The rate cut would save Arizonans an estimated $4,730 over the life of the loan at a four-year school.

Mitchell's vote raises the maximum value of the Pell Grant scholarship by $500 over the next five years. More than 33,000 Arizona students take out need-based loans each year at four-year public schools.

Arizona State University, which is located in the Fifth District, with an enrollment of more than 63,000, is one of the nation's largest universities. The district also includes Mesa, Scottsdale and Rio Salado community colleges.