Name: Democratic National Convention: Arizona teacher announced state's roll call vote, 3 other Arizonans featured in 2nd night
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Democratic National Convention: Arizona teacher announced state's roll call vote, 3 other Arizonans featured in 2nd night

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Arizona RepublicView CommentsSteve Gomez’s baby boy, Anthony, was born almost five years ago.Since then, there’s only been one day where his parents weren’t fighting for him.They didn’t know he was sick until the day after he was born.Born with a rare heart defect, Anthony had a heart transplant at 6 weeks old. Since then, his parents have fought every day for their little boy to have access to the medical therapies, devices and insurance coverage that have saved his life and kept him thriving.&nbsp;Gomez has become a vocal advocate for the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health care law that prohibited insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.&nbsp;In his short life, Anthony already has had millions of dollars worth of procedures performed. Gomez worries if President Donald Trump and Republicans are successful in their efforts to dismantle the health care law are successful, the nation will revert to the system that allowed insurance companies to cap lifetime medical expenditures.Gomez, along with health care activist Jeff Jeans&nbsp;of Sedona,&nbsp;was featured during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.Gomez and Jeans were among those featured in a pre-recorded conversation with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. In the discussion, Biden hears from everyday Americans about what the Affordable Care Act means to them, their health and their loved ones.&nbsp;“It’s definitely a big moment — I&nbsp;never dreamed we would still be fighting for this the way we are,” Gomez told The Arizona Republic.&nbsp;"You handsome boy," Biden said, greeting Anthony and his father on the recorded video. He tied his own&nbsp;family's health care experience with those featured in the conversation. After his son,&nbsp;Beau Biden, the former Delaware attorney general, was diagnosed with brain cancer, the Bidens grew concerned about the lifetime caps, he said. Beau Biden died in 2015.Biden told the panel he would maintain the Affordable Care Act while expanding access to health care through a public option.&nbsp;Ahead of the official programming, Democratic National&nbsp;Committee Chairman&nbsp;Tom Perez,&nbsp;former Housing and Urban Development secretary&nbsp;Julián Castro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer,&nbsp;Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada&nbsp;and Biden's campaign manager&nbsp;Jen O’Malley Dillon&nbsp;rallied Arizona's delegation virtually.Speaking from a control room of the convention's headquarters in&nbsp;Milwaukee​​​​, Perez highlighted Arizona's battleground status. He said it was because, in part, of the activism and Democratic leadership that ignited in the aftermath of the state's Senate Bill&nbsp;1070 and other hard-line immigration-enforcement efforts.&nbsp;Perez said the president's version of "law and order" is embodied in political figures such as former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, .Perez, who is well-known in Arizona because of his previous work in the Obama administration, said Tuesday's programming would highlight the unification around Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California.&nbsp;"We have to be on our game now, more than ever," Castro said. "... Be the loudest, proudest Democrats you can be."Whitmer, a frequent target of Trump's&nbsp;attacks during the coronavirus pandemic,&nbsp;addressed Arizona's delegation wearing a&nbsp;“That woman from Michigan” T-shirt."Here's something I know: Tough times don't last, but tough people do," Whitmer said. "... Arizona, the whole nation is counting on you to pick up a Senate seat. ... I just want you to know how much I appreciate the work you're doing."Firing up the delegates, O’Malley Dillon said the campaign is building a broad coalition of support in Biden's campaign to make the case that 2020 is a referendum on Trump."If we win Arizona, we will win the presidency," she told Arizona's delegates as she encouraged them to vote early."For Trump to be successful, he has to subtract from us," she added.Polling shows Trump trailing Biden in Arizona, and nationally, with the coronavirus&nbsp;pandemic and the economic fallout taking a toll on Trump's standing with voters.&nbsp;Speakers on the second night of the Democratic&nbsp;convention&nbsp;included political rising stars and longtime politicos, including&nbsp;Biden’s wife, Jill Biden, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., former President Bill Clinton, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.&nbsp;From Chappaqua, New York, Clinton hit Trump for denying responsibility&nbsp;for the COVID-19 crisis and shifting blame.&nbsp;"At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center. Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos," Clinton said.&nbsp;In Biden, Democrats are offering an alternate&nbsp;choice who would extend opportunities for people of color, families and workers caring for the sick, elderly and those with disabilities, Clinton said."He’ll work to make sure that your paycheck reflects your contribution to, and your stake in, a growing economy," Clinton said. "In this job interview, the difference is stark. You know what Donald Trump will do with four more years: blame, bully, and belittle. And you know what Joe Biden will do: build back better."During their official convention business, Democrats&nbsp;held&nbsp;their reimagined roll call vote.Over&nbsp;30 minutes, the roll call process&nbsp;took&nbsp;viewers to all American states and territories, where Democrats&nbsp;shared stories about people “overcoming the chaos and crisis of Donald Trump and fighting for a better America,” according to the DNC.&nbsp;The roll call showcased&nbsp;parents, teachers, small business owners, essential workers, activists and elected leaders as they cast votes to nominate Biden.&nbsp;Marisol Garcia, a social studies teacher with the&nbsp;Isaac Elementary School District, appeared&nbsp;in a 29-second pre-recorded video filmed at South Mountain&nbsp;to officially report&nbsp;the Arizona delegates pledged&nbsp;to Biden and&nbsp;Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from Vermont.&nbsp;Arizona’s 80-member delegation split 51 for Biden, who won the state’s&nbsp;March 17&nbsp;Democratic presidential-preference election, and 29 for Sanders."It was just the&nbsp;most amazing honor as a Latina, as a mom, and as an educator and union leader in Arizona to be chosen to do this for the state," Garcia, 47, of south Phoenix, told The Republic. "Especially right now, when educators need to feel important and need to feel respected."&nbsp;After he reached the threshold of 1,991 votes to clinch the nomination, Biden, surrounded by his family and red, white, and blue balloons, thanked the delegates from what appeared to be a library."It means the world to my family, and I’ll see you on Thursday," he said, smiling. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."Tuesday night’s keynote speech was split between 17 of the “next generation of party leaders.”&nbsp;Among them&nbsp;was&nbsp;Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, who was elected to the office in 2018. The Navajo Nation was among the country's hardest hit areas&nbsp;during the coronavirus pandemic. The prime-time platform gives Nez a broader platform&nbsp;to talk to Americans about the unmet needs of tribal populations.&nbsp;Nez was featured in an opening montage of videos where leaders from Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and elsewhere weighed in on a pre-recorded presentation centered on the issues of health care, climate change, jobs and manufacturing, tax cuts, education, racial justice, and infrastructure.&nbsp;“Joe has a major plan to invest in clean energy jobs and infrastructure,” Nez said, against a backdrop of northern Arizona’s red rock. For Jeans, a Republican-turned-Democrat&nbsp;who survived throat cancer and lived to meet his three grandchildren, being a part of pre-recorded health care conversation with Biden is an extension of his advocacy with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.&nbsp;After surviving cancer, a diagnosis that came when he was 49 years old, he dedicated his life to advocating for access to affordable and quality health care, and the ACA, which allowed him to get treatment.&nbsp;“We thought I was going to die at 49 and when my wife came in and told me I had insurance coverage and that i was going to be getting treated&nbsp; … I sat in my hospital bed and I cried,” Jeans, 58, said in his raspy voice, crying as he relived the experience. “I had been wrong and my perceptions had been wrong about health care for so long, and you know, to think that people had the compassion for me to save my life when I lacked that compassion for others, was just, it was just a life-changing experience.”Have news to share about Arizona's U.S. senators or national politics?&nbsp;Reach the reporter on and . Contact her at and 602-444-4712.Support local journalism.&nbsp;.Subscribe for free to The Gaggle&nbsp;political podcast on , , or wherever you listen to audio content.View Comments

Arizona RepublicView CommentsSteve Gomez’s baby boy, Anthony, was born almost five years ago.Since then, there’s only been one day where his parents weren’t fighting for him.They didn’t know he was sick until the day after he was born.Born with a rare heart defect, Anthony had a heart transplant at 6 weeks old. Since then, his parents have fought every day for their little boy to have access to the medical therapies, devices and insurance coverage that have saved his life and kept him thriving.&nbsp;Gomez has become a vocal advocate for the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s...

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Democratic National Convention: Arizona teacher announced state's roll call vote, 3 other Arizonans featured in 2nd night

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