Thread: Grijalva rescinds his call for convention boycott

Grijalva rescinds his call for convention boycott

by Dawn Gilbertson -
July 28, 2010 02:26 PM
The Arizona Republic

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, a Tucson Democrat whom hoteliers say started the tourism blacklisting of the state with his calls for a convention boycott to protest the new immigration law, today rescinded his call for a boycott.

Grijalva said the federal judge's preliminary injunction preventing several sections of Arizona's new immigration law from going into effect Thursday is a good time to "pause and see what the next step is."

As part of that pause, he said in a statement, "I am encouraging national groups to return their conventions and conferences to the state to help us change the political and economic climate."

In an interview, Grijalva said the pressure he hoped to exert with his April calls for economic sanctions - he takes issue with the term "boycott" - did not have the intended effect on Gov. Jan Brewer, State Sen. Russell Pearce and other supporters of the law.

"I'm convinced that Jan Brewer and Russell Pearce wouldn't care . . . if nobody from the outside came into the state," he said.

Grijalva, who had previously not responded to the industry's requests to rescind the boycott, said he will "lend a hand" to the tourism industry to get conventions to come to Arizona.

That doesn't mean he's going to do an about-face and be the poster child for boosting tourism, however.

"I'm not going to pander," he said. "I am not going to get a list from the visitors and convention bureau and start dialing each number."

Instead, he said, he will support the efforts of groups that are publicly opposed to the law. Those who "don't have the guts to take a position on the law" shouldn't expect a hand, he said.

Grijalva said the tourism industry has falsely blamed him for the backlash.

"The day it was signed is when the economic consequences began on this state," he said.

Debbie Johnson, chief executive officer of the Arizona Hotel & Lodging Association, called Grijalva's decision important.

"I'm happy to hear it," she said.

But it's unreasonable to expect that rescinding the boycott will "magically bring everybody back," she said.

The Sheraton Phoenix Downtown hotel alone has estimated it has lost up to $9 million in revenue over the next several years from canceled bookings and tentative bookings that never were finalized after the immigration bill was signed into law April 23. The figure excludes groups who simply won't consider Arizona as a meetings site anymore, which many see as the biggest tourism threat from the immigration law.

Johnson would like to see Grijalva take an active role in helping the industry with its planned efforts to launch a major national and possibly international advertising and marketing campaign to improve Arizona's bruised image.

"My hope is that he will now help us find a significant amount of money that it's going to take to help bring visitors and businesses back to Arizona," she said.

Brewer has given a new tourism task force $250,000 to help with the backlash, but Johnson said that's just a start. A significant campaign will cost between $10 million and $20 million, she said.

Brian Johnson, managing director of Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson, earlier this month criticized Grijalva for not responding to the industry's concerns.

Today, he said he's thankful for Grijalva's decision to publicly rescind the boycott, even if the congressman didn't use those words.

"I don't think it's ever too late to make an apology," Johnson said.

It's too early to say whether it will bring business back, he said.

"Whether we can start to turn this or not, only time's going to tell."

Reach the reporter at dawn.gilbertson@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8617.

http://www.azcentral.com/business/artic ... ycott.html

Raul "Traitor" grijalva now says that because 1070 cant be enforced all of a sudden thinks its okay for people to come to his state.
what a loser

Originally Posted by jamesw62

Raul "Traitor" grijalva now says that because 1070 cant be enforced all of a sudden thinks its okay for people to come to his state.
what a loser

Sadly the illegal voters will return this idiot for another term in Nov

Did the traitor Grijalva finally realize that he and his illegals are creating a Maywood AZ situation and will do so wherever they persist in this action?

Please tell traitor Grijalva that the only thing that will put this situation to rest is full gainful employment with career paths for all citizens first. I would love to present him with a comprehensive list of citizens of Mexican descent who cannot get jobs, cannot pay their student loans and cannot have a life because of people like him putting illegals first. What a loser idiot pathetic joke.

Please tell traitor Grijalva that the only thing that will put this situation to rest is full gainful employment with career paths for all citizens first. I would love to present him with a comprehensive list of citizens of Mexican descent who cannot get jobs, cannot pay their student loans and cannot have a life because of people like him putting illegals first. What a loser idiot pathetic joke.[/quote]

Point Blank.....We need more American Hispanics to step up and call this WH to honor the rule of law.

I'm not going to pander," he said. "I am not going to get a list from the visitors and convention bureau and start dialing each number

."

AHAHAHAHAHAHA He called it off because it was a huge FAIL!! Hotel revenues were UP with the boycott

He is such a pompous arrogant ILLEGAL LOVER. HE thinks he can snap his fingers, cry "Boycott", and then pat himself on the back because Now HE has decided that there should be no more boycott and everything is WONDERFUL!

Hopefully the voters in AZ. Dist. 7 will wake up and vote him OUT - that is if he hasn't already registered all his ILLEGAL cronies! The man is an embarrassment and HE IS NOT AN AMERICAN!!!


And, YES, hotel revenues were up even in the SUMMER!

keep your boycott in place , raul ... i'd rather our state be spit on and hated than given in to you ...

Wow. I am thinking about that KGB video I just watched about how to take over the US - that demoralization thing. Just yesterday I was reading an article (here I thought) that stated that the boycott is having little effect on AZ hotels. Now in this article it states some huge future losses. This is the disinformation/demoralization part. We don't know what the truth is. Are they suffering or are they not suffering? Has the boycott had effect or not?