Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is well on her way to making her mark in the annals of Arizona history. She is only the third woman elected to Congress from Arizona — an honor she embraces.
As a third generation Arizonan, Giffords has a strong connection to southern Arizona. She worked as president and chief executive officer of her family’s tire business, El Campo Tire, Inc. in Tucson, for four years before being serving in the Arizona House of Representatives and then in the state Senate. The Democrat beat out GOP challenger Randy Graf for the 8th District seat vacated by the retiring Jim Kolbe, a Republican who served for 22 years.
The desire to serve her state came out of frustration. Arizona often ends up at the bottom of the lists gauging quality of life issues.
“I felt that in life you can either complain about something or you can try to do something about it,” she said.
Giffords serves on the following House committees: Armed Services, Science and Technology and Foreign Affairs.
She made her decision to enter politics in 2000 and hasn’t turned back. Friendly and full of energy, Arizona Capitol Times spoke with her by telephone from her Washington, D.C. office this week.
What are the main issues affecting your constituents in southern Arizona≠
Being one of 10 U.S. Mexico border districts, certainly the impacts of immigration are greatly important to the 8th Congressional District. We’re basically carrying the burden. We know it because of our first responders – issues in terms of law enforcement, also our hospitals and our schools. The federal government needs to step up and take responsibility. Immigration is a top priority for the district.
The district also has two very important military installations. Fort Huachuca, which houses the Army Intelligence Center, which is becoming increasingly important as we fight issues pertaining to international terrorism. We also have Davis-Monthan, a very large and important Air Force base. Southern Arizona is home to one of the largest veteran populations. We need to make sure that the men and women who sacrificed to serve our nation are taken care of. So that’s a big area of concern.
Also, I have to mention the University of Arizona — our economic driver, in terms of keeping global competitiveness at the forefront — making sure that we graduate engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and technical people that continue to help lead the United States into this 21st century and our global economy.
In an article in the Sierra Vista Herald recently, you mentioned that Representative Ike Skelton, a Missouri Democrat, and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, might visit Fort Huachuca. Is that a possibility≠
Absolutely! He said he would come. Congressman Duncan Hunter had visited Fort Huachuca not too long ago but it’s been many, many years since we’ve had a House Armed Services chairman at Davis-Monthan. The chairman of the Air and Land Subcommittee, on which I serve, Congressman Neil Abercrombie, has also agreed to come into the district and perhaps hold hearings.
There’s certainly interest in Washington for what we’re doing in southern Arizona and it’s important for other members of Congress to understand the importance of our military installation.
National Public Radio will be following you this year on “All Things Considered” as a newly elected member of Congress. Tell us how it feels to be chosen as the one to watch by such a reputable news organization.
I’m delighted and they’ve made it bipartisan. Not only are they shadowing me but they’re also shadowing Representative Peter Roskam from Illinois. A Republican trial lawyer matched with a Glock-carrying Democrat — that’s the way it’s billed. They’re going to follow us for a year. It’s kind of interesting because Robert Siegel interviewed my fiancé when he was up at the space station. So we have a connection there.
Do they check in with you periodically≠ How does that work≠
We’ve done three different interviews. One was me getting off the airplane and arriving and I think Representative Roskam was interviewed in the family van with his kids. On opening day we were interviewed as well and then after the State of the Union.
What was your reaction to the State of the Union address≠
Although it’s obviously led by the president, you can tell by the support or lack of support for certain ideas. You can see right there the checks and the balances of our great system. Some of the issues that the president talked about such as comprehensive immigration had strong bipartisan support. In certain areas it was more one party over the other. Some issues he talked about had partial support from one caucus and not from other parts of the same caucus.
Several pieces of legislation have passed in the House following the 100-hour legislative blitz. What do you consider the most important piece of legislation the House has passed so far in the session≠
They were all important. There are two I would bring up that are particularly influential. I think it was more than symbolic that the first piece of legislation dealt with ethics, lobbying reform, and earmark reform. If the American people do not feel confident that they have a better relationship with our representatives than a paid lobbyist, our system is not going to continue to be strong. Scandal after scandal in the last couple of years demanded that this Congress take a new approach in terms of ethics. That was a critical, critical vote and it had bipartisan support.
Another area was the passing of the recommendation of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission. This will make every single American safer and for Arizona that means 35 police and fire departments are going to have more emergency equipment.
What is it like serving with the first woman speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi≠
For the young girls and women, not just in my district but in the country, it’s phenomenal to finally see that the American people have a woman speaker. It’s important that every single person in our country has equal opportunity, whether it’s in the private sector or in the public sector or whether it’s in our representation or elected government. It was an historic vote and I was proud to be there.
Do you think the number of women in public office will continue to rise≠
Absolutely, Arizona is unique. We are the first state to have the first woman governor succeed another woman governor. We have one of the highest percentages of women serving in the Legislature. We have a woman majority city council in Tucson and now sending the third woman to Congress. We are making some gains.
You were recently appointed, as you mentioned, to the House Armed Services Committee. What would you like to see happen with the U.S. military in Iraq≠
I support a strategic redeployment plan. The president convened the Baker Hamilton bipartisan working group that set forth recommendations of how we should be dealing with the situation in Iraq. I believe that we should be following those recommendations.
I hope to travel to Iraq in the near future to have a chance to spend time with constituents, with not only folks from my district but the leadership to get a better understanding about the challenges we face. I also believe that we need to focus on Afghanistan. We are losing ground. The al Qaeda terrorists that attacked the United States were trained and had real ties to Afghanistan.
How is the political environment different from the one in Arizona≠
Oh, that’s a great question. In our caucus when I was last there, there were 12 Democrats and on the floor there were 30 senators. You really got to know people and you really had a chance to build relationships and understanding in areas people represented.
I’m in caucus now with 233 members out of a 435-member body and it’s very hard because there are so many people here. It’s hard to get to know everyone with the way the offices are laid out. You’ll speak to people if you’re sitting next to them in committee or sitting next to them in caucus or on the floor. There are very few comparisons between the Arizona Legislature and the U.S. Congress.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
It was nice talking to you. Take care.
Up closer
Favorite book≠ “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Victor Frankel
Most influential political figure≠ Governor Napolitano
Favorite Food≠ A good hamburger
Favorite hobby≠ Riding my motorcycle