Thread: Ariz. Rep. Grijalva Leading Contender for Sec. of Interior

Just after being elected co-chair of the "Congressional Progressive Caucus",

Arizona congressman Raul Grijalva is leading contender for Interior

by Dennis Wagner - Nov. 21, 2008 07:43 PM
The Arizona Republic

Arizona could lose not one but two of its elected officials to President-elect Barack Obama's cabinet.

Just days after officials with Obama's transition team said Gov. Janet Napolitano is the top choice for Homeland Security secretary, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., has emerged as a leading contender for secretary of the Interior.

Grijalva, 60, is Tucson native and son of an immigrant Mexican farmworker. He served as Hispanic co-chair for Obama's presidential campaign and has been a fierce critic of the Bush administration's environmental policies. He serves on the House Committee on Natural Resources, and chairs the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee.

The Interior secretary traditionally comes from a Western state, where management of public lands is a key issue. The administration post oversees public lands and serves as a steward for the nation's Indian reservations.

On Friday, The Washington Post and the political Web site politico.com said Grijalva is a top contender for the post. Both cited transition officials as sources.

Grijalva could not be reached Friday, but spokeswoman Natalie Luna said the congressman has not received any word from Barack Obama's transition team. "He said he hasn't been contacted," Luna said, adding, "I think he would give it really good thought."

Luna said her boss has a "good rapport" with the president-elect. "I think he (Obama) knows the congressman's background, what he's interested in and passionate about," she added.

Last month, Grijalva issued a scathing report titled, The Bush Administration's Assaults on Our National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. The 23-page critique accuses the President of carrying out "a concerted strategy" of reducing the protections for federal properties, "opening up these lands for every type of private, commercial and extractive industry possible."

Rodolfo Espino, assistant professor of political science at Arizona State University, said such an appointment would make sense.

Grijalva is an up-and-comer who recently became co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Espino, sharing Obama's liberal vision on public land policy. He also carries little baggage as a politician, worked on the presidential campaign and hails from a Western state where land issues are crucial.

If appointed, Grijalva would be the third Interior secretary from Arizona, following in the footsteps of Stewart Udall (1961-69) and Bruce Babbitt (1993-2001).

The Interior Department manages about 500 million acres of federal land, or one-fifth of the United States. It oversees 67,000 employees in a bureaucracy that includes the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Service.

Environmental leaders were thrilled at the prospect of Grijalva assuming the secretariat. Mining, ranching and other land-use industry representatives expressed dismay.

"Talk about a 180 from where we are today," said Richard Mayol, communications director at the Grand Canyon Trust. "That is certainly something that we would love to get behind, something we would cheer."

By contrast, Basilio Aja, executive director for the Arizona Beef Council, said Grijalva has been "singularly focused on monument declarations," setting aside federal property so that it cannot be mined or grazed. Especially in tough economic times, he said, it will be critical to take advantage of federal grazing lands for food production.

Grijalva, serving his third term in Congressional District 7, was a Tucson schools trustee in the 1970s and '80s, then served on the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1988 to 2002.

He has long been regarded as an environmental advocate, leading efforts to regulate hard-rock mining and establish a National Landscape Conservation System. He recently told The Arizona Republic that Bush's administration sold away public resources to private interests, performing "more like real-estate agents than stewards of (public) lands."

Sandy Bahr, conservation director for the Sierra Club in Arizona, praised Grijalva's efforts to ban uranium mining near the Grand Canyon, calling him a "real leader."

"Obviously he knows the West and the importance of public lands," Bahr said. "Arizona has been well-served by him, particularly on the kinds of issues that the Department of Interior addresses."

Reporter Ginger Richardson contributed to this story.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... va-ON.html

From "The Washington Times", 2006
http://www.washingtontimes.com/elections/candidate/232/
Scroll down to Biography,Profile,Campaigns

RAUL GRIJALVA (Dem)

Contact InformationTelephone: 928-343-7933 (Yuma Office)
Telephone: 520-622-6788 (Tuscon Office)
Telephone: 202-225-2435 (Longworth House Office)
Fax: 202-225-1541
E-mail: <raul.grijalva@mail.house.gov>
Website: http://www.house.gov/grijalva

Candidate BackgroundBirthdate: 1948-02-19
Birth place: Tucson, AZ
Residence: Tucson, AZ
Religion: Catholic
First Elected: 2002

CandidacyParty: Democratic
Office: House
State: AZ
District: District 7
Status: Incumbent
Next Election: 2008

Campaign Finance Totals As Of 2008-03-31Total Receipts: $320072
Ending Cash: $139670
Individual Contributions: $146770
PAC Contributions: $164509

Undergraduate Education: University of ArizonaMajor: Sociology
Degree: BA
Location: Tucson, AZ

BIOGRAPHY

Raul Grijalva was born in and resides in Tucson, Ariz. He graduated from Sunnyside High School and the University of Arizona with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

From 1974 to 1986, Grijalva was a member of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board, and from 1989 to 2002, a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors. In that time, he has won numerous awards from educators, including the naming of a Tucson elementary school in his honor.

He is the former director of El Pueblo Neighborhood Center and a former assistant dean for Hispanic Student Affairs at the University of Arizona.

He is married to Mona Grijalva and has three daughters.

PROFILE

By December 2005, Arizona senators and representatives had introduced 167 bills. Out of the 20 that passed, only two were signed into law. Regardless of where his political career could take him, Raul Grijalva takes pride in the fact that his bill was one of those two.

In August 2005, Grijalva's measure returned to Colorado River Indian Tribes a 25-square mile tract known as La Paz. What the late Sen. Barry Goldwater twice attempted to do, Grijalva accomplished with two years of gathering bi-partisan support.

"Sometimes when we do legislation we think in the abstract ... But then afterward, when you feel and when you sense and when you see the impact, you go, 'OK, this was a very good thing,'" he told the AP in December 2005.

With a district dominated with Hispanics and Democrats, re-election for a third term is almost a lock. Grijalva will concentrate on many of the issues from his first term, including environmental and immigrant issues.

Grijalva is still trying to gain support for a bill he introduced during his early days as a congressman. The two-term representative seeks to designate 84,500 acres of national forest as wilderness, close roads and prohibit motorized recreation in the area. Tucson Electric Power wants to build a $75 million, 66-mile power line from Sahuarita to Nogales through that space.

Early in his first term in 2002, Grijalva also introduced a bill called the Tohono O'odham Citizenship Act, which would grant U.S. citizenship to more than 8,000 members of the Tohono O'odham Nation. Grijalva still has hope this bill will move forward.

The border-state congressman would like to see a multi-tiered approach to immigration reform. He believes it is not a criminal issue, but a family issue — protecting the well-being of citizens and undocumented workers.

In the past, he has called for additional customs agents and adequate border infrastructure improvements. But he also wanted a federal inquiry into vigilante groups on the Mexican border. He fully supports the proposed McCain-Kennedy bill, which would allow undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. temporarily with an opportunity to apply for citizenship.

Grijalva supports proposed legislation that would protect poor communities and those of color from becoming dumping grounds for toxic emissions. He also rejects the Interior Department's initiatives to privatize national parks and preserves.

On education, Grijalva supports increasing federal resources for programs to train and retain the highest quality teaching force and reduced class sizes.

In 2004, Grijalva gave the formal nomination address for vice presidential candidate John Edwards at the Democratic National Convention in Boston. He called Edwards his friend and a compassionate man.

Grijalva is pro-choice, and he supports laws that prevent violence and harassment at reproductive health providers. He also supports enforcing pay equity for men and women doing equivalent work.

Grijalva supports Social Security, health plans that serve senior citizens and a Patient's Bill of Rights.

He serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee as well as the Resources and Small Business committees.

The American Conservative Union gave Grijalva's 2005 voting record 0 points out of 100. The liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him 100 points.

CAMPAIGNS

Raul Grijalva was first elected to the House in 2002, winning 59 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in 2004, defeating Republican Joseph Sweeney with 61 percent of the vote.

Before seeking the U.S. House seat, Grijalva was a member of the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board from 1974 to 1986, and a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from 1989 to 2002.

Last Updated: 2006-10-26 13:00:00

I've been telling you about him for years. I think this leak is coming from the blowhard himself. He's not qualified at all. He's only got a Bachelors degree that he didn't get untill he was 48 years old. Unqualified!

Last month, Grijalva issued a scathing report titled, The Bush Administration's Assaults on Our National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. The 23-page critique accuses the President of carrying out "a concerted strategy" of reducing the protections for federal properties, "opening up these lands for every type of private, commercial and extractive industry possible."

Did he read the report that MEXICAN DRUG CARELS are growing crops of pot all over our National Parks? Maybe he needs to look at what the Mexican people are doing to Our Parks, Forests and Public Lands!

Oh great, what a wonderful choice. Just think of all the tons of trash from illegals that litters his state that he refuses to do anything about, the trash and the invading illegals.

And this clown chairs the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. He's doing such a great job protecting his own district's public lands, why wouldn't we want him to protect the rest? And of course, he greatly opposes the border fence.

Rep. Grijalva last year introduced H.R. 3287 to create a new Wilderness Area, the "Tamacacori Highlands Wilderness". A major problem is that "...the area is already a dreamscape for smugglers....". Further, a local article says that a "close reading" of Grijalva's companion bill, H.R. 2593, the "Borderlands Conservation and Security Act of 2007", reveals that Grijalva seems to believe that the real problem on the border is the Border Patrol! An intent of H.R. 2593 seemed to be to effectively destroy the effectiveness of the Secure Fence and Real I.D. Acts.

"Nature vs. Security
"...who's going to tell the Drug Dealers to take a Hike?"
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Curre ... oid=110370

A VERY Bad Omen
A Grave Threat to the Nation

American Patrol Report-- November 23

Grijalva tramples riparian area.

Barack Obama is considering Raul Grijalva, an Arizona Congressman, for Secretary of the Interior. Not only is Grijalva not qualified for the job, his main claim to fame is.... (please see source).

A year ago Grijalva showed his absolute disdain for the environment and the law when he and his entourage drove their vehicles into the San Pedro River Riparian area, ignoring signs saying it was prohibited. "Grijalva was there to stop the construction of the border fence," said Glenn Spencer of APR, "he didn't give a (edit) about the environment, he just didn't want anyone to interfere with the Mexican invasion of the United States."

Grijalva, who was a member of MEChA in college, once called Americans concerned with illegal border crossers "cockroaches."

Grijalva has fought against any attempt by the United States to protect itself from the invasion by Mexico. He once called Arizona Gov. Napolitano's plans for securing the border "an insult to Mexican-Americans."

"Mexicans are now overrunning our national parks to grow marijuana," Spencer said, "and I doubt very seriously that Grijalva would give a (edit)."

"If Barak Obama picks Grijalva to run Interior he would send a signal that Americans must become organized to defend against.... (please see source)," he added.

http://www.americanpatrol.com/

Grijalva's move could spark scramble
November 29th, 2008 @ 7:36am
by Associated Press

U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva's potential move to run the Interior Department could set off a mad scramble to replace him in Congress.

Grijalva, D-Ariz., has been mentioned since last week in various media reports as a contender for the Cabinet post.

To fill a vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, an election is required.

If Grijalva gets the Interior job and resigns his congressional seat, Gov. Janet Napolitano must call special primary and general elections within 72 hours of the resignation.

By state law, the primary must be held no more than 90 days later. The general election would follow no more than 60 days after the primary.

Candidates would have only 30 days to gather the necessary signatures, rather than the months candidates often take to pad their petitions.

The race would likely be settled during the primary because twice as many registered Democrats as Republicans live in the district.

Should Grijalva get the Cabinet post, some political observes say possible congressional replacement candidates could include Pima County Supervisor Richard Ellis, state Sen. Paula Aboud, Tucson City Council member Nina Trasoff; and state Reps. Linda Lopez and Steve Farley.

http://www.ktar.com/?nid=6&sid=999753