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May 4, 2001/Iyar 11, 5761, Vol. 53, No.31
'Engrossing' candidate makes impression
STAN BINDELL
Special to Jewish News
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, center, receives an engrossed plaque from congressional candidate Roger Hartstone, right. Also pictured is Edward Manuel, chairman of the Tohono O'Odham Tribe.
Photo by Stan Bindell |
Arizona Democratic Party leaders may not forget Roger Hartstone.
Hartstone, a Jewish congressional candidate from Northern Arizona, made an impression - thanks to his zeidie (grandfather) - with influential party leaders during the annual statewide Democratic fund-raising banquet April 16 at the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix.
Hartstone presented U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Democratic State Party Chairman Jim Pederson with engrossed copies of speeches by Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Engrossing is a specialized type of writing which includes the creation of artwork around the text.
"These gifts carry a great deal of family history," Hartstone says. "They were given to honor our ancestors and distinguished leaders. We should respect these words by our vigilant commitment to their principles."
Pederson noted that the Jefferson saying that he received from Hartstone was his favorite from that famous American.
Hartstone's zeide Joseph R. Rosen, who made his living as an engrosser of a series of famous American principles, was born in Brookline, Mass., three blocks from John F. Kennedy's birthplace. Since this annual Democratic fund raiser is named after Jefferson and Jackson because they helped to create the Democratic Party, Hartstone thought it would be appropriate to give party leaders his zeidie's work of the pair's sayings.
The Jackson speech is from his inaugural address on March 4, 1829. The Jefferson saying is not from a specific speech.
Hartstone presented Lieberman, the first Jew to run for the vice presidency, with a plaque of Jackson's inspirational words about liberty and the American government. He gave a plaque of Jefferson's work, which advised Americans to value education in a democracy to Pederson, the recently elected chairman for the Democratic Party in Arizona.
Hartstone, a resident of Flagstaff, says he's running for Congress because he believes that with a powerful voice that Northern Arizona can have its first local representative in Congress.
"This would give strength to issues that impact Northern Arizona's diversity, including our children and our magnificent natural resources," he says.
In the past, Northern Arizona has been in congressional districts that have been dominated by the Phoenix metropolitan's population. However, due to Arizona's gaining two new congressional seats because of an increase in population, political analysts believe that when the boundaries are redrawn by an independent commission within the next year, that one of the new seats will include everything from Black Canyon City through Northern Arizona. Each congressional district must have about 560,000 residents.
Hartstone ran for Congress in Congressional District 3 in Northern Arizona in 1990 and 1992, but had to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Bob Stump. Hartstone garnered 43.7 percent of the vote - the most that any Democrat has attained against Stump, but with the new redistricting Hartstone and many others believe that Stump will end up in a Phoenix metropolitan district, so Hartstone anticipates that he won't have to run against an incumbent.
There are no other announced candidates for the new congressional district that is forming in North Arizona.
Hartstone has made his living as an Internet retailer and auctioneer for the past 5 1/2 years. Previously, he was the publisher of scenic postcards and other consumer goods. He earned a law degree from Southwestern University in Los Angeles and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Hartstone is also a former campus organizer and a community activist.
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