Armando Ruiz Papers

The Armando Ruiz Papers are comprised of correspondence, notes, newsclippings, and other miscellaneous items relating to Proposition 106 and the Arizona English Coalition from 1987-1989. The bulk of the collection concerns the work of the Arizona English coalition and the efforts of Representative Ruiz to stop the English Only movement in Arizona and to defeat the passage of Proposition 106, known as the English Only Law.

The correspondence in this collection is composed of letters to Ruiz from prominent Democrats, local organizations and individuals in support of the Arizona English Coalition's attempts to defeat Proposition 106. The Arizona English coalition file includes correspondence, press releases, a statement of purpose, meeting agendas and minutes produced by the organization. The file also contains copies of a proposed Arizona constitutional amendment, house resolution and legislation as well as lists of speakers, panelists and participants at an Arizona English National Symposium.

The organizations file consists of correspondence, agendas, minutes, newsletters and position statements from a number of local groups such as Arizonans Against Constitutional Tampering and the No on 106 Committee, and national groups including English Plus and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The miscellaneous newspaper articles include clippings regarding Proposition 106 from newspapers in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Tucson and Globe. The miscellaneous notes file contains notes on a number of organizational meetings and lists of volunteers and supporters.

The miscellaneous documents include a case file on an English Only initiative in Florida, a resolution of the San Carlos Apache Tribe against Proposition 106 and a number of other documents in favor of and opposed to the Arizona initiative. The file also contains Ruiz' resolution proposed in the Arizona House of Representatives entitled Official Policy of English Literacy.