By
Maya Schechter
Arizona Daily Wildcat
University is in his 'blood,' Downing says
Among all the commotion on the UA Mall - cell phone companies promising the best deals and Madonna blasting from the KAMP radio booth - Demitri Downing joins the Young Democrats on campus to register students to vote.
Downing, a 28-year-old candidate for State Representative District 14, graduated from the University of Arizona Law School in December 1999.
Downing said he is proud that his family is very involved with the UA - his father Ted is a professor, his mother Carmen works for the rural health department, and his brother Yuri graduated from UA in 1996 and was involved in the Delta Chi fraternity.
"The UA is in our blood, it is very important in our family history, and it is an honor to represent this institution," Downing said.
The district Downing is hoping to represent encompasses the entire UA campus - including all the residence halls and fraternity and sorority houses.
"I've lived in the UA area my whole life, and it's my favorite part of town, so I wanted to run for District 14," Downing said.
Downing was unopposed in the Sept. 12 primary elections and said that if the students will go out and vote in the Nov. 7 election, he thinks he will win.
"To me, the UA is the social, economic and spiritual heart of Tucson," Downing said.
The state House has control over funding for education systems, Downing said, so he hopes at least 50 percent of the students vote.
Downing is trying to reach out to the UA community by meeting weekly with the Young Democrats and assisting them in registering voters, which they do every day on the UA Mall, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Young Democrats also provided information about other candidates -George Cunnigham, who is running for a seat in U.S. Congress, and Vice President Al Gore.
"We are here to encourage students to vote, and we ask them for their support for the Democrats," he said.
Downing said he was very lucky to have found his campaign manager, Elena Picha, who graduated from the UA in May with degrees in communication and political science.
"I wish I would have been more involved with the Young Democrats while I was here, so now, I am encouraging other students to become involved," Picha said.
Picha said she met Downing through a mutual friend and thinks that his campaign has been "going really well."
"Right now, we are working on getting literature out about (Downing) so we can focus on name recognition," Picha said.
Since his graduation from the UA, he has been planning his campaign and working as a domestic violence prosecutor for the Tohono O'odham Nation.
"They are a sovereign nation, and they are not under Arizona law, so I had to learn their unique code when I began," Downing said.
Downing said he thinks he will be a good representative for the UA students because he is "young and accessible" and will be able to speak with them in terms they understand.
"I represent the generations between Led Zeppelin and Eminem," Downing said.
