Raúl Grijalva

Infobox Congressman
name =Raúl Grijalva


date of birth= birth date and age|1948|02|19
place of birth= Tucson, Arizona
death_date =
death_place =
state = Arizona
district = 7th
term_start = January 3, 2003
preceded = District created after 2000 census
succeeded = Incumbent
religion = Roman Catholic
party = Democratic
spouse = Ramona F. Grijalva
children = Adalita Grijalva
Raquel Grijalva
Marisa Grijalva
alma_mater=University of Arizona
residence=Tucson
occupation=college administrator

Raúl M. Grijalva (born February 19, 1948) is an American politician from Arizona. He is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003 and represents ushr|Arizona|7|. The district includes half of metro Tucson, all of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metro Phoenix.

Biography

Raúl Grijalva's father was a migrant worker from Mexico who entered the United States in 1945 through the Bracero Program and labored on southern Arizona ranches. [http://www.house.gov/grijalva/issues.html Congressman Raul Grijalva : Home ] ]

Raúl was born in Tucson, Arizona, and graduated from Sunnyside Magnet High School in 1967. Grijalva is a 2004 inductee to the Sunnyside High School Alumni Hall of Fame. He attended the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor's degree in Sociology. While at the university, he was a member of MEChA. [http://www.americanpatrol.com/FEATURES/021205-MECHISTA-REP-DOUGLAS/grijalva_11_26_02.mp3]

In 1974, he was elected to the Tucson Unified School District board and served as a school board member until 1986. Grijalva Elementary School in Tucson was named for him in 1987. [ [http://www.tusd.k12.az.us/CONTENTS/schools/detail.asp?searchby=school&searchfield=Grijalva%20Elementary%20School TUSD School ] ]

From 1975 to 1986, Grijalva was the director of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, and in 1987 he was Assistant Dean for Hispanic Student Affairs at the University of Arizona.

Grijalva was a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 2002, and served as chairman from 2000 to 2002.

After the 2000 United States Census, Arizona gained two congressional districts. The 2nd District, which had long been represented by Democrat Mo Udall, was renumbered as the 7th District. Ed Pastor, a Phoenix Democrat who had succeeded Udall in 1991, had his home drawn into the newly created 4th District and opted to run for election there, making the 7th District an open seat. Grijalva won a crowded seven-way Democratic primary, which was tantamount to election in this heavily Democratic, majority-Hispanic district. He has been reelected twice with no substantive Republican opposition. In 2006, he defeated Republican challenger Ron Drake.

He is married to Ramona F. Grijalva and together they have three daughters: Adelita, Raquel and Marisa.

Politics

In 2006, "National Journal" ranked him as the 21st most liberal member in the House of Representatives, based on his votes in 2005. [ [http://nationaljournal.com/voteratings/house/lib.htm?o1=lib_composite&o2=desc#vr NATIONAL JOURNAL: 2006 Vote Ratings (03/02/2007) ] ] Along with 25 other Democratic House members, he was ranked most liberal in economic policy votes; with 17 other Democrats he was most liberal on foreign policy. He ranked as more liberal than 84% of Representatives on social issues.

Environment

As member and later chairman of Pima County Board of Supervisors, Grijalva was widely regarded as the leading political supporter of the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan [ [http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=42757 Tucson Weekly : Currents : Beating Raúl ] ] , an ambitious and highly regarded county program for planned land-use and biodiversity conservation [ [http://www.pima.gov/CMO/SDCP/ Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan Home ] ] . He has consistently supported endangered species conservation and wilderness issues then and as a Congressman. [ [http://grijalva.house.gov/?sectionid=4&sectiontree=4 Congressman Raul Grijalva : Issues & Legislation ] ] .

Immigration

Grijalva has described current immigration laws as "cruel" and "unjust." He supports legalization for illegal aliens already present in the country, as well as increasing legal immigration. He voted against H.R. 4437 and against the Secure Fence Act. He opposed Arizona Proposition 200 in 2004, and he does not support a National Guard presence on the border. The American Patrol Report web site dedicates a page to oppose him. [ [http://www.americanpatrol.com/REFERENCE/Grijalva-Raul.html Raul Grijalva Watch - MEChA Boy In The Beltway ] ]

Gun control

He voted "no" on prohibiting suing gun-makers and sellers for gun misuse. (Apr 2003) He received an F rating from the National Rifle Association on gun issues. [ [http://votesmart.org/npat.php?can_id=28253#826 Project Vote Smart - Representative Raúl M. Grijalva - Issue Positions (Political Courage Test) ] ]

He is a cosponsor of the current Assault Weapon Ban, HR 1022. [ [http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:HR01022:@@@P Search Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress) ] ]

Animals

In 2005 the Humane Society gave Grijalva a score of 100% for his "advocacy on animal welfare issues considered by Congress in 2005." He opposed horse slaughter, animal fighting and puppy mills. [ [http://www.house.gov/grijalva/press/press_releases/pr_012006.html Congressman Raul Grijalva : Home ] ]

Native Americans

Grijalva is a strong supporter of sovereignty and government-to-government relationship [s] . [ [http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412943&na=2677 Grijalva: 'Tribes are at the table' : ICT [2006/05/08 ] ]

George W. Bush

Grijalva supported H.Res. 635 to censure President George W. Bush. [ [http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/video/player.php?file=032206grijalva3 TucsonCitizen.com - Video ] ]

He was one of 31 who voted in the House not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. [http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll007.xml]

Confrontation

Grijalva was involved in a confrontation with Garrett O'Hara, a conservative blogger for the Arizona Growler in 2006.

Committees and assignments

*Committee on Education and Labor
**Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
**Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities
*Committee on Natural Resources
**Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands (Chairman)
*Committee on Small Business
**Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight
*Co-Chair of the Congressional National Landscape Conservation System
*1st Vice Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus
*Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus

Party affiliation

According to an article in the alternative weekly newspaper "Tucson Weekly", Grijalva was a member of the short-lived Raza Unida Party, and registered as a Democrat in Pima County, Arizona in 1977, despite his claim to be a lifelong Democrat. [ [http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/2002-08-08/curr2.html Tucson Weekly: Short Memories? (August 8 - August 14, 2002) ] ]

Electoral history

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
+ ushr|Arizona|7|: Results 2002–2006cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/index.html |title=Election Statistics |accessdate=2008-01-10 |publisher=Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives ] !|Year!!|Democrat!|Votes!|Pct!!|Republican!|Votes!|Pct!!|3rd Party!|Party!|Votes!|Pct!
-
2002|
Party shading/Democratic |nowrap|Raúl M. Grijalva
Party shading/Democratic align="right" |61,256
Party shading/Democratic |59%|
Party shading/Republican |Ross Hieb
Party shading/Republican align="right" |38,474
Party shading/Republican |37%|
Party shading/Libertarian |John L. Nemeth
Party shading/Libertarian |Libertarian
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |4,088
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |4%|
-
2004|
Party shading/Democratic |Raúl M. Grijalva
Party shading/Democratic align="right" |108,868
Party shading/Democratic |62%|
Party shading/Republican |nowrap|Joseph Sweeney
Party shading/Republican align="right" |59,066
Party shading/Republican |34%|
Party shading/Libertarian |Dave Kaplan
Party shading/Libertarian |Libertarian
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |7,503
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |4%|
-
2006|
Party shading/Democratic |nowrap|Raúl M. Grijalva
Party shading/Democratic align="right" |80,354
Party shading/Democratic |61%|
Party shading/Republican |Ron Drake
Party shading/Republican align="right" |46,498
Party shading/Republican |35%|
Party shading/Libertarian |Joe Cobb
Party shading/Libertarian |Libertarian
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |4,673
Party shading/Libertarian align="right" |4%|
###@@@KEYEND@@@###

References

External links

* [http://www.house.gov/grijalva/ U.S. Congressman Raul Grijalva] , U.S. House site
* [http://www.grijalvaforcongress.com/ Raúl Grijalva for Congress] , Campaign site
* [http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/cgi-bin/membervotes.cgi?&lang=&member=AZ07&site=congressmerge&address=&city=&state=AZ&zipcode=&plusfour= Voting record] at CongressMerge
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Raul_Grijalva Profile] at SourceWatch Congresspedia
* [http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/video/player.php?file=032206grijalva1 Videos of Grijalva discussing various issues] "Tucson Citizen", March 22, 2006