Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva's 'voice of conscience' will be hard to replace
I should have grasped the depth and inspirational mission of Raúl Grijalva sooner.
That feeling of regret came crashing down on March 26 as I watched the funeral Mass of the Southern Arizona congressman. He died on March 13 at 77.
I've known about his legislative work and his personal struggles or flaws, as political rivals would call them.
But it'll be Grijalva's essence, the cultural heritage that he personified and the causes he relentlessly pursued that will be hard to replace.
Whoever takes over his seat in Congress later this year will have a huge void to fill, not in the halls of Capitol Hill but in the hearts and minds of the people of this border region and beyond.
'We mourn the loss of a voice of conscience,' said Deb Haaland, secretary of the Interior under former President Joe Biden.
Haaland paid tribute to Grijalva as 'powerful advocate for tribal communities' and a fighter for environmental justice.
That was especially touching because the plight of Indigenous communities is often forgotten, at best, with few willing to spend political capital to stand with them.
Arizona has 22 federally recognized tribes, but it was clear that Grijalva's sympathy for Native Americans had no boundaries.
The son of Mexican immigrants first got into politics with the Raza Unida Party, part of the Chicano movement that sought political representation by staging boycotts, protests and walkouts. Some at the time called them violent, though Chicanos rejected that characterization.
Grijalva later toned down his most radical instincts, but the movement's political culture stayed with him and apparently guided him throughout his long career advocating for immigrants' rights, environmental protections, public education and expanded health care.
Grijalva, a Democrat, served 13 years on the Tucson Unified School District school board in the 1970s and '80s. He later served as a Pima County supervisor for 14 years, where he was instrumental in launching the county's Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
He began serving on Congress in 2003 and quickly aligned himself with the left wing of the Democratic Party, a stance he carried until his passing.
Grijalva was an unapologetic liberal who was never afraid to make 'good trouble' and 'necessary trouble,' as the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis used to say.
He wasn't afraid to call for an economic boycott against Arizona after the state implemented the anti-immigrant Senate Bill 1070 or to get arrested while protesting outside Trump Tower in New York in 2017.
His challenges included notorious alcohol use and an ethics complaint by a former female staffer over creating a hostile workplace, which ended with a $48,000-plus settlement.
None of that should minimize his lifelong work, which should be judged in its totality. Grijalva was an everyman in service, as my colleague E.J. Montini put it.
And he leaves a legacy of a mentor and tireless champion for the 'unseen and overlooked,' as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told those gathered at his funeral in Tucson.
Anyone charismatic enough to gain public support can go to Congress. But not everyone has the heart and affinity to put people first over their own financial and political ambitions.
Too many go to Washington to forge their own fortunes, quickly forgetting who sent them there and why.
The list is growing of those who are considering a bid to replace Grijalva. Gov. Katie Hobbs has set a special primary election for July 15 and the general election for Sept. 23 to fill the vacancy.
Opinion: Grijalva is brave and blunt about it: Biden has to go
The 7th Congressional District covers parts of Tucson and southwestern Arizona and cuts a bit into the West Valley.
Former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez has launched his candidacy, and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, also a Democrat, said he's strongly considering throwing his hat in the ring. Others are expected to compete for the seat.
The hardest part about Grijalva's death isn't filling his seat. Whoever wins surely will put up a fight in Washington to represent the predominantly Latino district.
What Southern Arizona lost with Grijalva is a sliver of the Chicano movement that grew out of the desperate need for representation and a fight for a sense of belonging.
We don't have to like the tactics of the movement that jump-started Grijalva's trajectory to appreciate the struggles and cultural contributions of Mexican Americans.
Grijalva leaves a void that I doubt anyone can fill.
Elvia Díaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or elvia.diaz@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, (formerly Twitter), @elviadiaz1.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Raul Grijalva fought for the underdog. We need more like him | Opinion
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