Steve Farley accepts check for $63 million for Tucson's Streetcar from US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood  came to Tucson today to award us with $63 million from the federal Tiger Grants stimulus money to complete Tucson’s Modern Streetcar starter light rail system.  This is HUGE for Tucson!

I have been working hard for this day for the last nine years. The key was bringing our entire community together to prove that we can do anything when we are united.

Out of $56.5 BILLION in total requests, and a total pool of only $1.5 billion, we got nearly the entire request, more than any single project in California, and the third highest project grant in the country, behind one in NY and one in Illinois.

Work will start very soon, and that means hundreds of new good jobs this year, and thousands more when we open service in less than two years. Along with those jobs, the Streetcar will spur millions and millions of dollars worth of private development projects along the route, UofA expansion through Downtown and the Westside, another reason for the Gem Show to stay, and a new way of getting around town that will revolutionize our transportation system.

We finally have the missing link to jump-start Downtown as the economic engine for the region. No one can ever again call Tucson the city that can’t. We did it!

Special thanks to Congressman Grijalva for championing this project since the very earliest days, and to Congresswoman Giffords, U.S. Transportation Secretary La Hood, and President Obama for this huge boost for Tucson’s economy just when we need it.

I know that many of you have been working so hard for this — you’ve been by my side on our journey toward sustainable transportation improvements for a more livable community over nine long years of many obstacles. I am so grateful for your support and your work. Give yourself and everyone around you a huge high-five!

It is extremely gratifying and humbling that you have given me the privilege of serving our community. I want to continue to serve you. That is why I am running for re-election to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2010.

Global forces have sent our vulnerable Arizona economy into a tailspin, but things would be much better right now if it weren’t for a pattern of counterproductive actions by the Phoenix legislative majority.

To counter those forces, I have spent my last two terms in the Legislature constantly fighting for Tucson and fighting for plain ol’ common sense.

I have worked hard to create a better future for our state through investment in education at all levels, new scientific discoveries, a clean energy economy, and better transportation alternatives like the Tucson-Phoenix passenger rail line.

I have also reported back to you–my constituents–every Tuesday on all that I have seen as your Representative. I believe that it is a key duty to spread the word on what is really going on at the state capitol–the good, the bad and the ugly.

Only an informed citizenry can guarantee a healthy democracy and community. You are our best hope for a great future in Arizona, and I want to keep being your eyes, ears, and hands in our state’s leadership.

I would like to ask you to help me continue to serve you by honoring me with your vote, with your campaign contributions, and with your volunteer time.

Thanks again for your support through the years, and I look forward to serving you for many years more.

I am fortunate and humbled to be running unopposed this 2008 election cycle, so I am looking forward to representing you in the Arizona State Legislature for another two years. Thank you so much for our support and your confidence in me as we work together to help our state thrive in the 21st century.

Despite my lack of opposition in District 28, I will be working hard to help elect a Democratic majority in our state and in our country this year, and I encourage you to do the same. And above all else, get out and vote — we need each and every one of you at this point in our history to make a difference!

I am so grateful to the people of District 28 and you, my supporters, for giving us a great victory on November 7 as part of a tremendous day for Democrats all over this country. Thank you for all your hard work and support on behalf of Dave Bradley and me and so many other victorious candidates.

All your hard work produced the results we wanted. With 100% of the precincts reporting, the numbers are:

Steve Farley (D): 38.82%
David Bradley (D): 38.35%
Bill Phillips (R): 22.52%

Now it is my honor to serve you as your voice in that legislature. As I get my bearings up there, please let me know what issues you feel are most important to tackle, tell me how you think I am doing, and how I might do better. I know that we will work together to expand health insurance to all Arizonans, dramatically improve our public education system, and make Arizona the solar energy capital of the world. We will increase our seniors’ independence and security, conserve our precious environment, build real transportation alternatives, preserve the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and reduce poverty in this state. Yes, I have a long to-do list…

The session officially starts January 8. Come up and see me sometime!

Thanks to all your hard work and support, we won a resounding victory in the District 28 State House Democratic Primary yesterday. Voter turnout was 52.7%, a bigger turnout that we have seen in an LD28 primary for at least ten years–and you helped turn out that vote.

Our dedicated Farley volunteers managed to cover on foot more than two-thirds of the precincts in the district in the last three weeks alone, making that personal voter contact that makes the difference.

The final official results are:

Steve Farley: 8715 votes (33.14%)
David Bradley: 8675 votes (32.99%)
Matt Heinz: 6075 votes (23.10%)
Ted Prezelski: 2758 votes (10.49%)

Since the two top vote-getters win the party nomination, that means that David Bradley and I will have the honor to represent the Democratic Party on the November 7 general election ballot.

I do want to congratulate Matt and Ted for having run a couple of very strong campaigns, and I hope both of them stay involved in Tucson politics. It was a distinct pleasure to run with three other people who are so intelligent, articulate, and passionate, and it was too bad that all four of us couldn’t win.

So now, on to November, and then on to make a real difference in the Arizona State Legislature, with your help.

The Tucson Weekly editorial board has officially endorsed in the LD28 State House race, and the news is good:

“We’re going with Steve Farley, for the same reasons we endorsed him in last year’s City Council race. Farley is a policy wonk who gives a lot of thought to the issues and comes up with imaginative solutions. And in his recent work with the Regional Transportation Authority, he showed he could work across the political aisle.”

Back in June, I took my daughters to see the Al Gore film, An Inconvenient Truth, the day it opened in Tucson. The girls and I were riveted by the message that we need to act NOW to slow global warming. Even my 7-year-old understood that this was her future Gore was talking about, and they both spoke of a personal need to take action to create a sustainable Arizona and preserve our world.

I want to take action in the Arizona Legislature, and I will be working closely with our state’s environmental organizations to make sure that our state (and world) will remain livable for humans and nature alike throughout my daughters’ lifetimes and that of their descendants.

It is for this reason that I’m extremely happy to have received the endorsement of the Arizona League of Conservation Voters today. The League states in their letter:

“You have received this endorsement in recognition of the strong pro-conservation record you have built as an activist in your community, as well as your comprehensive understanding of those issues we consider to be most crucial to Arizona’s future.

“The Arizona League of Conservation Voters urges District 28’s conservation-minded citizens to vote for you in the September 12th primary.”

The endorsements are rolling in. Today I received the endorsement of the Arizona Education Association. John Wright, AEA president, says in his letter:

“Our recommendation is based on your support for the students in our public schools and the public school employees who serve them.”

I feel very humbled by this endorsement because teachers and support staff have always been so important in my life, from my public-school-teacher parents to the dedicated teachers and staff at my daughters’ public schools.

We need to honor our children and our schools with higher pay for teachers, smaller class sizes for individualized attention, increased access to technology in the classrooms, continuing teacher training, and equalized funding for all public schools in all neighborhoods.

We don’t need to legislate curriculum; we need to respect our teachers and then get out of their way. We need to treat our teachers as the professionals they are, and let them use their skills to do what they know best–help every child become the best student he or she can be. That’s how we will nurture the brightest kids in the country.

I’m honored to have the AEA as a partner as we look ahead to the 2007 legislature.

I’m honored to have received the endorsement of the Arizona AFL-CIO for the LD28 primary. To quote the official letter from Executive Director Michael McGrath,

“The Arizona AFL-CIO General Board voted unanimously to endorse your candidacy on June 20, 2006 based on your commitment to the issues most important to working families.

“The official endorsement represents more than 145,000 union members and families here in Arizona. We are committed in our support and look forward to a successful campaign.”

This means a lot to me personally, as a union member myself (Graphic Artists Guild), as the son of two union-member public-school teachers, and as the grandson of a steelworker who had his pension fund and healthcare taken from him after his retirement.

I strongly believe that the economic well-being of working families is the foundation of a strong and healthy economy here in our state and across the country. I look forward to working with Arizona’s union members as a state representative to improve the lives of all of us.