Ady Barkan’s Be A Hero Fund Backs Tipirneni with $50K+ Ad Buy in AZ-8
Posted on April 19, 2018 by CPD Action
Ad comes as polls tighten in Arizona special election
04.19.2018
PHOENIX, AZ – With polls tightening in the Arizona 8th Congressional District special election scheduled for April 24th, Ady Barkan’s Be A Hero fund on Thursday announced a $50,000 TV ad campaign backed by the Working Families Party to run on April 19th and 20th. (The ad can be viewed here).
Barkan, a veteran political activist whose struggle with ALS has gained national attention, is supporting Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, a cancer research advocate and former emergency room physician who is committed to protecting the health of her constituents against Republican attacks.
“I'm losing my ability to speak, so I'm asking people to be my voice and vote for Dr. Hiral Tipirneni for Congress,” said Barkan. “She’ll protect my healthcare, and yours.”
A poll of AZ-8 voters released by Emerson College on Monday shows Democrat Tipirneni in a 46% to 45% statistical dead heat with GOP state senator Debbie Lesko, a right-wing supporter of President Trump, who earlier this week dodged Ady’s questions about Republican plans to undermine the federal health programs that are keeping him alive.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a fast-moving degenerative condition that is quickly paralyzing Barkan’s body. A vibrant, healthy young man just two years ago, Ady is now losing his ability to speak and to hold up his two-year-old son Carl. Ady’s doctors give him less than three years to live.
“Ady Barkan suffers from ALS, but he doesn't suffer fools or hypocrites,” EJ Montini, senior news columnist at the Arizona Republic, wrote this week. “That's why he came to Arizona.”
On Tuesday, Ady launched a major national campaign aimed at electing lawmakers who will fight to protect healthcare rights for Ady’s family and every American, including safeguarding programs now under threat from Trump’s Republican Congress.
The Be A Hero 2018 501(c)(4) nonprofit electoral campaign is a nationwide voter mobilization effort supported by The Center for Popular Democracy Action that aims to defeat lawmakers who voted for the Trump Republican tax bill, and to support candidates who will stand up and defend healthcare for all Americans.
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Media Contact: Asya Pikovsky, apikovsky@populardemocracy.org
