PRESS RELEASES / March 10, 2021

40+ AZ community organizations call on Sen. Sinema to eliminate the filibuster

February 16, 2021 

Contact: Emily Kirkland, emily@progressarizona.org, 646 623 5271

Arizona Organizers Release Letter to Senator Sinema Calling for the Elimination of the Filibuster

Phoenix, AZ—More than 40 Arizona community organizations have released an open letter calling on Senator Kyrsten Sinema to support the elimination of the filibuster as a first step towards the passage of federal legislation dealing with voting rights, labor protections, immigration reform, and other key priorities. 

The organizations include some of Arizona’s biggest progressive advocacy and labor groups, along with local, volunteer-led organizations across the state. 

Text of the letter:

Dear Senator Sinema, 

We are writing to you to ask you to support abolishing the filibuster. 

We are facing a moment of peril almost unparalleled in modern history: hundreds of thousands have died from COVID-19, unemployment is at record levels, and urgent action is needed on racial justice, immigration, climate change, inequality and other long-simmering crises. As organizations that represent people across Arizona, we hear everyday from families who are feeling the impact of this difficult moment and who are looking to the federal government for answers and support. 

With a trifecta in Washington, DC, Democrats have the opportunity to pass popular, common sense policies to meet this moment and improve the lives of millions.  And yet as long as the filibuster remains in place, it will be next to impossible to do so. With the filibuster in place, legislation related to the minimum wage, immigration, climate, policing, or voting rights would need 10 Republican votes to pass — something that is exceedingly unlikely in today’s political climate. 

The filibuster’s history is an ugly one: Southern segregationists were among the first to deploy the filibuster as we currently know it, and in its initial decades, it was used almost exclusively for blocking anti-lynching and civil rights bills. There is no reason to keep this Jim Crow relic in place — especially when it blocks progress on the issues that deeply affect our communities. We’ve seen repeatedly over the last few years that Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders are more than happy to ignore Senate norms and procedure when it suits them. There is no reason to think that keeping the filibuster in place now will protect Democrats next time we are in the minority. 

In 2018, volunteers, staff and members of our organizations went door-to-door talking to voters about why they should support your campaign for US Senate. We highlighted your support for immigration reform and environmental protection, your commitment to voting rights, and your desire to increase the minimum wage and make healthcare more affordable for Arizona families. 

As long as the filibuster remains in place, Arizonans are unlikely to see real progress on any of these issues — something that will be difficult to explain to voters who know that Democrats control the White House and both houses of Congress. 

Senator, please do the right thing. Abolish the filibuster and let’s get to work.

List of Signing Organizations

After the March Verde Valley

Arizona AFL – CIO

Arizona Advocacy Network

Arizona Blue Skies Indivisible

AZ CD8 Indivisible 

Black Phoenix Votes

Bullhead City Indivisible

Catch Fire Movement

Civic Engagement Beyond Voting Indivisible

Chispa Arizona

Dems of Trilogy

Desert Progressives Indivisible

For All

Fuerte Arts Movement

Indivisible Arizona

Indivisible East Valley AZ

Indivisible Phoenix

Indivisible Sedona

Indivisible Tohono 

Indivisible Valley of the Sun

Indivisible West Phx

Justice Alliance – Indivisible Southern Arizona

Living United for Change in Arizona – LUCHA

Northwest Valley Indivisible 

Our Voice, Our Vote Arizona

Prescott Indivisible

Progress Arizona

Progressive Democrats of America – Arizona

Roots Action

Stand Indivisible AZ

Stronger Together AZ

Sunrise Movement Tempe

The AZ Ground Game

The Arizona Progressive People’s Alliance

Together We Will, Northern Arizona

University Union of Northern Arizona – AFT

White Mountains Indivisible 

Working Families Party

Yavapai County Democrats

Yuma County Indivisible 

Yavapai County Democrats

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