Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords earns Arizona Daily Star endorsement
October 26, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact: Eric Swedlund
Communications Director
Giffords for Congress
520-512-0012
CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS EARNS ARIZONA DAILY STAR ENDORSEMENT
Frequency and quality of constituent contact among the best in Congress, newspaper says
TUCSON—Calling her an accessible and effective representative for Southern Arizona, the Arizona Daily Star has endorsed Gabrielle Giffords for a second term in Congress.
“Few congressional representatives can claim Giffords’ frequency or quality of constituent interaction,” the newspaper said, describing the congresswoman’s commitment to returning to the district nearly every weekend. She has held more than 340 public meetings in the district, including 15 Congress on Your Corner events.
The Star said that Giffords has the right priorities – fiscal responsibility, expanding health care, advocating for renewable energy and reforming immigration laws – and that she has been hard at work since “the moment she took office.”
“Giffords brings intelligence, abounding energy, a commitment to public service and bipartisan idealism — not strict ideology — to the job. She has been a good steward for her district and we endorse Giffords’ return to the House of Representatives from Congressional District 8,” the Star said.
The Star, the second largest newspaper in Arizona, is the fifth major newspaper to endorse Giffords’ re-election, following the Arizona Republic, Sierra Vista Herald, Tucson Citizen and Tucson Weekly.
The Arizona Daily Star’s full endorsement is below:
The Star endorses Democrat Gabrielle Giffords for a second term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
Giffords has been an accessible, effective representative for Southern Arizona and should be given time to continue her work, especially in bringing fiscal responsibility to the federal government, expanding health care, advocating for solar energy and reforming immigration laws.
Giffords faces Republican Tim Bee, the Arizona Senate president, from Corona de Tucson, and Libertarian Paul Davis of Sierra Vista.
Bee has been a formidable leader in the state Senate. He bucked the Republican tradition and fired longtime staff members because they had too much influence on policy-making. He pulled Democrats into the budget process in 2007 and has the ability to build consensus.
We appreciate and respect Bee and his service to Southern Arizona. We hope he will continue in public life as a reasoned voice of his party.
Moderate Giffords was at work from the moment she took office in January 2007. The freshman requested assignments to committees critical to Arizona: Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Science and Technology.
Few congressional representatives can claim Giffords’ frequency or quality of constituent interaction. Returning to Tucson almost every weekend, in less than two years in Congress she’s had more than 340 public meetings in the district and 15 “Congress on your Corner” events at grocery stores and other public places, where more than 1,700 people have lined up to talk to her one to one.
A member of the Blue Dog Democrats, a group of fiscal conservatives, Giffords is among those who try to keep to the pay-as-you-go rules, adopted in 2007, to balance the budget by 2012. We believe requiring the federal government to live within its means and balance the budget is essential.
Giffords voted for the second version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. While she decried some of the Senate additions as ridiculous, she said sitting on the sidelines and risking major economic collapse would have been irresponsible and negligent. We agree. She said the second version helps taxpayers.
She told the Star’s editorial board earlier this month: “There were a lot of really important parts to that legislation — 127,000 constituents in the 8th District take a property-tax credit. That’s included in the legislation. Fifty-three thousand constituents in the 8th District take a child tax credit. That was included in this legislation.”
This legislation is far from ideal, but we agree with Giffords that doing nothing was not a viable option. We also agree that Southern Arizona’s economy will benefit from some of the bill’s measures, such as an eight-year extension of the residential and commercial solar tax credits.
Health care is a domestic priority for Giffords. “We have 47 million Americans right now that have no health insurance. We have kids in this state, about 200,000, that have no health insurance. . . . I will fall on the side that I believe all Americans should have access to affordable health care. But when it comes to kids, that is not a debate,” she said.
We support the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP, the federal program states use to cover children whose families make too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford private health insurance. We look forward to discussion and creative solutions that will make insurance and health care accessible and affordable for more Americans.
An avid supporter of solar energy, Giffords sponsored the Solar Energy Research and Advancement Act and voted for the Comprehensive American Energy Security & Consumer Protection Act, which includes additional monitored offshore drilling and an extension of solar-investment tax credits. She said she hopes solar energy will spark innovation and excitement in the classroom. She secured about $1 million for solar research at the University of Arizona.
Our area receives about 350 days of sunshine every year. We encourage solar energy development and implementation as a partial solution to some of our nation’s energy woes. We believe our nation and our state require a diverse portfolio of energy resources, of which solar is integral.
The 8th district includes approximately 114 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border. Giffords favors comprehensive immigration reform, as do we, and using all options available to stop the flow of illegal activity over the border.
Among border-related legislation she has supported were bills to: extend the federal E-Verify system for five years; return federal tax dollars to Arizona to reimburse the state for the costs of emergency health care to undocumented immigrants; and ensure criminal prosecution of smugglers who tunnel into the United States. These measures strengthen border security and help our state deal with illegal immigration.
Giffords brings intelligence, abounding energy, a commitment to public service and bipartisan idealism — not strict ideology — to the job. She has been a good steward for her district and we endorse Giffords’ return to the House of Representatives from Congressional District 8.
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