MEET RIVKO KNOX

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Rivko Knox is a first-generation American whose dad was an avid news watcher and community leader. He had his own voting block composed of other Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Neighbors would say to him, "tell us who to vote for, Velle!", to which he would reply, "I can explain to you what the candidates stand for, but no, the decision is yours." 

Rivko attended the University of Southern California on a full tuition scholarship and achieved a bachelor's degree in History. She was involved in the USC Democratic club and registered to vote on her 21st birthday. It was at this point she began her journey in Democratic politics.

In 1966, Rivko and her family left California for Arizona. Upon settling in the Valley of the Sun, it didn't take long to notice the billboard saying "Impeach Earl Warren" followed by a John Birch Society Book Store. In her words, "we moved to the wrong state!" She immediately got involved with the Arizona Democratic Party, the ACLU, and the League of Women Voters. One thing led to another, and she quickly became a PC, and State Committeeperson.

From there Rivko's seeds turned to sprouts and those turned to deep roots for our AZ democracy. She would go on to write the rules for the first 'democratic' Presidential primary, and ran for AZ State Senate in 1972, receiving more votes than McGovern and defeated by Sandra Day O'Connor.

Rivko is a legend in the community, not only for her party leadership, but her civic engagement having participated in multiple anti-war & pro-MLK marches. She became the President of the ACLU of AZ for 8 years and continued to serve on the Board for over four decades.

Once retiring from her non-partisan career, she immediately filed to be a PC again, and volunteered to be Secretary and serve on multiple (yes, multiple!) LD Executive Boards (9 to be exact!).

For those who have met Rivko, they know her stick-to-it-ness and grit; her dedication to preserving our democracy is unmatched. Her self-described combination of "intellectual pessimism and operational optimism" keeps her knocking on doors every Saturday morning, regardless of the outcome the weekends before.

Rivko and her husband, Ben, share the same political views and have been married for over 40 years. That's true love. She has two beautiful daughters who reside in AZ and four incredible grandchildren.

If you were to ask Rivko to explain her 'why', or purpose for serving with such dedication, this is her response:

"To me, politics is about morality (totally separated

from sex); it's about 'do unto others or do NOT do unto

others'. The Jewish concept of 'Tikkun Olum' i.e., to repair

the world, which is the responsibility of every

human being, in whatever way they can, with the work

never being finished, and each of us is responsible for

'our' part!! Voting is part of it, but it's just a small part.

Speak up, stand up, march, rally, donate, knock on doors --

keep pushing! We are all responsible for moving the marble that is democracy in the direction of greater justice for all -- while making sure that 'others' don't push it off the table, period."

Congratulations to the South-North Phoenix team who took the championship trophy home for LD Trivia! Despite some assistance from Janet Wilson, who hosted the game, the North-North Phoenix team struggled to compete against the powerhouse South team.

When we weren't playing games, we shared stories, enjoyed Duck and Decanter, and raised our glasses to our courageous volunteers, LD PCs, and legislative leaders.

The tradition will continue next year!

But wait...there's more!

We had holiday-inspired live music throughout the evening thanks to the incredible singer and songwriter, Joe Feldman.

A special thank you to PC Ron Owen & his husband Peter Rosenberg. Your home, the view, the decorations, everything - was magical and beautiful all around!

And many thanks to Diane Feldman Schoen who managed the event, coordinated everything, created a perfect experience, and more.

And lastly, we're thrilled to report that after this event, LD2 has contributed over 40 lbs of food to the PV Community Food Bank. Thanks to Chris Gehlker, our Dems Give Back Vice Chair, for leading this effort.

NEW LD2 BUSINESS CARDS & NAME BADGES

We’ve received inquiries from some of our active volunteers who are not PCs but want to take advantage of this opportunity. By all means, please feel free to purchase these items and wear/use them proudly! We validate the information before sending them to the printer. You can order LD2 business cards at $30/box of 100 cards & name badges at $15/badge.

Please use this link to submit and pay for your order: http://azld2dems.org/order/ 

The turnaround is pretty quick.

If you have any issues with ordering them, please contact Whit at whit@azld2dems.org