Raul Grijalva

Raul Grijalva
U.S. House, Arizona, District 3
Incumbent
In office
2003-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2015
Years in position	10
Party	Democratic
Predecessor	N/A
Compensation
Base salary	$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 5, 2002
Next election	November 4, 2014
Campaign $	$4,933,503
Term limits	N/A
Prior offices
Pima County Board of Supervisors
1989-2002
Tucson Unified School District Board
1975-1986
Education
Bachelor's	University of Arizona, 1986
Personal
Birthday	February 19, 1948
Place of birth	Tucson, AZ
Net worth	$168,002
Religion	Catholic
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

Raul Grijalva (b. February 19, 1948) is a Democratic member of the U.S. House representing Arizona's 3rd congressional district. Grijalva was first elected to the House in 2002.

Due to redistricting, Grijalva ran for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Arizona's 3rd District. He sought and won the Democratic nomination in the August 28, 2012 primary election and then prevailed in the November general election.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Grijalva is a "far-left Democrat".

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Grijalva's academic, professional and political career:

• 1986: Graduated from University of Arizona, Tucson with B.A.
• 1974-1986: Tucson Unified School Board
• 1989-2002: Supervisor, Pima County
• 2003-Present: U.S Representative from Arizona

Committee assignments

U.S. House

2013-2014

Grijalva serves on the following committees:

• Education and the Workforce Committee
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
• Natural Resources Committee
  • Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Ranking Member
  • Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources

2011-2012

• Education and the Workforce Committee
  • Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
• Natural Resources Committee
  • Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, Ranking Minority Member
  • Subcommittee on Water and Power

Issues

Rank in the House of Representatives

According to a special edition of National Journal, Grijalva -- who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus -- tied for most left-leaning member of the House in 2011 with other well-known liberal Democrats like Rep. Barbara Lee and fellow co-chair Rep. Keith Ellison. Grijalva has often made a point of highlighting his values even in close campaigns, saying after being narrowly re-elected in 2010, "We're not going back with a renewed sense of caution, we're going back with a new sense of purpose."

Specific votes

Previous Congresses

He voted against the economic package known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act offered after the U.S. economic crash in 2008, saying it created too little oversight of Wall Street and the banking industry.

He voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act -- usually called "health care reform" -- even though he prefers a single-payer health care system because he viewed the law as a step in the right direction.

He voted in favor of government intervention to stop GM and Chrysler from going bankrupt. The issue may play a role in the 2012 elections, especially given presidential candidate Mitt Romney's strong opposition to the federal government's decision to intervene. Romney, in his 2008 New York Times op-ed "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt," argued that "A managed bankruptcy" that "would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs [. . .] may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs," a position he has continued to promote on the 2012 campaign trail and encouraged other Republican candidates to adopt on free-market grounds. Supporters continue to argue the move helped the economy; as CNN Money noted on Feb. 16, "The hit to the economy would have been far worse than the $15 billion or so that the bailouts might end up costing taxpayers, considering the estimated 1.5 million additional job losses, the closure of GM, Chrysler and many of their suppliers and the shifting of much auto production overseas if the companies had failed."

He voted in favor of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The issue may come up in the 2012 campaign -- leading Republicans, such as Speaker of the House John Boehner, frequently argue the plan was a waste of money, and presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said "the only thing [it] produced is a series of broken promises." According to a February 2012 Congressional Budget Office report, as many as 2 million Americans owed their current employment to the Recovery Act in December 2011.

He voted for the Car Allowance Rebate System that allowed people to trade in older cars for newer, more fuel-efficient models. A University of Delaware study estimated the program cost $1.4 billion, a sum highlighted by opponents of the program. Separately, the Department of Transportation found a 58 percent average fuel efficiency improvement for families that traded in old cars for new ones. A University of Michigan study concluded that CARS improved the average fuel economy of all vehicles purchased by 0.6 mpg in July 2009 and by 0.7 mpg in August 2009.

He voted for the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, which would have limited the overall national emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and set regular ongoing reduction goals. The bill so far remains the only comprehensive House-passed bill designed to address global warming. The Senate did not take up the bill, and it has not subsequently been introduced.

112th Congress

Among Grijalva's notable votes and actions in the 112th Congress, he:

• Supported the Progressive Caucus Restore the American Dream for the 99% Act, which the Economic Policy Institute called "a package of near-term job-creation measures and budgetary policy reforms that would . . . increase nonfarm payroll employment by almost 2.3 million jobs in 2012 and almost 3.1 million jobs in 2013."
• Voted against the House majority's budget plans for 2011 and 2012 and voted in favor of the Congressional Progressive Caucus' alternative People's Budget in 2011 -- which would have eliminated the national budget deficit in 10 years, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute -- and the CPC's Budget for All in 2012.
• Voted in favor of the Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act to prevent Members of Congress from using inside information to profit on Wall Street.
• Announced opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act before it was shelved by the House of Representatives.

In addition to his votes in Congress, he vocally opposes Arizona's SB 1070 immigration crackdown law and led the filing of an amicus brief with the Supreme Court arguing that it should be overturned because it violated the supremacy clause of the Constitution. He is a co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting any discrimination on the basis of sex, a proposal formally titled House Joint Resolution 69 in the 112th Congress. The House Republican majority has not brought it up for a vote in the 112th Congress.

Fiscal Cliff

Grijalva voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.

Campaign themes

2012

Grijalva's campaign website listed the following issues:

• Jobs and Economy

Excerpt: "Raúl is an outspoken leader for a new middle class tax cut and more investments in new areas of job creation and economic growth. We need more, not less, of a focus on how we can get America working again."

• Education

Excerpt: "Raúl has always made improving our public education system at all levels a cornerstone of his time in Congress. He believes our nation’s long-term strength depends on an educated population. "

• Environment

Excerpt: "As Ranking Member on the National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands Subcommittee, Congressman Grijalva has fought to preserve our public lands and make sure their unique needs are considered in our legislative climate change efforts."

• Health Care

Excerpt: "Raúl voted in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the most significant overhaul of American health care policy in decades. He remains committed to fighting Republican attempts to repeal it or de-fund parts of the bill that improve health care delivery and affordability and ensure that peoples’ livelihoods are not undermined by excessive bottom-line thinking in the health insurance industry."

• Housing and Foreclosures

Excerpt: "The collapse of the U.S. housing market hit Arizona especially hard, and our state now has the highest rate of foreclosures per household of any in the country. Raúl is working to help keep more Americans in their homes and hold lenders and banks accountable."

Elections

2012

See also: Arizona's 3rd congressional district elections, 2012

Due to redistricting, Grijalva ran for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing Arizona's 3rd District. He defeated J. Manuel Arreguin and Amanda Aguirre in the Democratic primary on August 28, 2012. He then defeated Gabriela Saucedo Mercer (R) and Blanca Guerra (L) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

U.S. House, Arizona, District 3 General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Raul Grijalva	58.4%	98,468
	Republican	Gabriela Saucedo Mercer	37.1%	62,663
	Libertarian	Blanca Guerra	4.5%	7,567
Total Votes				168,698
Source: Arizona Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election"

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Raul Grijalva, click [show] to expand the section.

2010 On November 2, 2010, Raul Grijalva won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ruth McClung (R), Harley Meyer (I), and George Keane (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Arizona District 7 General Election, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Raul Grijalva incumbent 50.2% 79,935      Republican Ruth McClung 44.2% 70,385      Independent Harley Meyer 2.8% 4,506      Libertarian George Keane 2.7% 4,318 Total Votes 159,144 2008 On November 4, 2008, Raul Grijalva won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joseph Sweeney (R), Raymond Petrulsky (L), and Harley Meyer (Write-in) in the general election. U.S. House, Arizona District 7 General Election, 2008 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Raul Grijalva incumbent 63.3% 124,304      Republican Joseph Sweeney 32.8% 64,425      Libertarian Raymond Petrulsky 3.9% 7,755      Write-in Harley Meyer 0% 5 Total Votes 196,489 2006 On November 7, 2006, Raul Grijalva won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Ron Drake (R) and Joe Cobb (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Arizona District 7 General Election, 2006 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Raul Grijalva incumbent 61.1% 80,354      Republican Ron Drake 35.4% 46,498      Libertarian Joe Cobb 3.6% 4,673 Total Votes 131,525 2004 On November 2, 2004, Raul Grijalva won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joseph Sweeney (R) and Dave Kaplan (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Arizona District 7 General Election, 2004 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Raul Grijalva incumbent 62.1% 108,868      Republican Joseph Sweeney 33.7% 59,066      Libertarian Dave Kaplan 4.3% 7,503 Total Votes 175,437 2002 On November 5, 2002, Raul Grijalva won election to the United States House. He defeated Ross Hieb (R) and John Nemeth (L) in the general election. U.S. House, Arizona District 7 General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic Raul Grijalva 59% 61,256      Republican Ross Hieb 37.1% 38,474      Libertarian John Nemeth 3.9% 4,088 Total Votes 103,818

Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Grijalva is available dating back to 2002. Based on available campaign finance records, Grijalva raised a total of $4,933,503 during that time period. This information was last updated on March 22, 2013.

Raul Grijalva's Campaign Contribution History
Year	Office	Result	Contributions
2012	US House (Arizona, District 3)		$908,543
2010	US House (Arizona, District 7)		$1,470,861
2008	US House (Arizona, District 7)		$708,514
2006	US House (Arizona, District 7)		$623,493
2004	US House (Arizona, District 7)		$667,936
2002	US House (Arizona, District 7)		$554,156
Grand Total Raised			$4,933,503

2012

Breakdown of the source of Grijalva's campaign funds before the 2012 election.

Grijalva won re-election to the U.S. House in 2012. During that election cycle, Grijalva's campaign committee raised a total of $908,543 and spent $930,949.

U.S. House, Arizona District 3, 2012 - Raul Grijalva Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$908,543
Total Spent	$930,949
Total Raised by Election Runner-up	$242,590
Total Spent by Election Runner-up	$228,934
Top contributors to Raul Grijalva's campaign committee
American Federation of Teachers	$10,000
American Postal Workers Union	$10,000
Committee for Hispanic Causes-BOLD PAC	$10,000
Communications Workers of America	$10,000
Credit Union National Assn	$10,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Public Sector Unions	$51,500
Retired	$50,500
Casinos/Gambling	$46,941
Industrial Unions	$38,000
Misc Unions	$32,000

2010

Breakdown of the source of Grijalva's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Grijalva won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, Grijalva's campaign committee raised a total of $1,470,861 and spent $1,463,648.

His top 5 contributors between 2009-2010 were:

U.S. House, Arizona District 7, 2010 - Raul Grijalva Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$1,470,861
Total Spent	$1,463,648
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$744,066
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$677,458
Top contributors to Raul Grijalva's campaign committee
JStreetPAC	$13,733
University of Arizona	$13,200
Service Employees International Union	$10,200
Air Line Pilots Assn	$10,000
American Assn for Justice	$10,000
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Leadership PACs	$93,400
Candidate Committees	$65,925
Lobbyists	$62,050
Public Sector Unions	$59,000
Retired	$58,560

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Grijalva missed 446 of 7,661 roll call votes from January 2003 to March 2013. This amounts to 5.8%, which is worse than the median of 2.2% among current congressional representatives as of March 2013.

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Grijalva paid his congressional staff a total of $1,058,447 in 2011. He ranked 108th on the list of the lowest paid Democratic Representative Staff Salaries and he ranked 328th overall of the lowest paid Representative Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Arizona ranked 47th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Grijalva's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $81,005 and $255,000. That averages to $168,002, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2011 of $5,107,874. His average net worth increased by 2.75% from 2010.

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Grijalva's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $37,010 and $289,999. That averages to $163,504.50, which is lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Grijalva ranked 24th in the liberal rankings in 2012.

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Grijalva is 1 of 19 members of congress who ranked 1st in the liberal rankings.

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of their party in the same chamber. According to the website, Grijalva votes with the Democratic Party 93% of the time.

Personal

Grijalva and his wife, Ramona, have three children.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Raul + Grijalva + Arizona + House

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Raul Grijalva News Feed

• Peter DeFazio vying for Ed Markey committee slots - Politico
• Inspiring Each Other Forward - Huffington Post
• Grijalva hosting forum about new health law - Arizona Daily Star - Arizona Daily Star (blog)
• Plan to allow copper mine near Superior clears a congressional hurdle - Arizona Republic
• Saguaro National Park has plans to expand, and willing sellers may make it ... - Arizona Daily Star
• Copper exec says ex-congressman issued land-swap threat - USA Today - USA TODAY
• Phoenix-area casino bill denounced as biased - AZCentral.com - Arizona Republic
• Los Angeles goes after Deutsche Bank - Deutsche Welle
• GOP's Saucedo Mercer to run again in CD3 - Fox 10 - MyFox Phoenix
• Raul Grijalva criticizes 'path to citizenship' as too long - KJZZ

External links

• Campaign website

• Social media:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
• Biographies:
  • U.S. Congress
  • NNDB
  • Wikipedia
• Political profiles:
  • GovTrack
  • OpenCongress
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Roll Call
  • CongressMerge
• Financial:
  • FEC
  • OpenSecrets.org
  • LegiStorm.com
• Interest group ratings:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions:
  • On The Issues
  • Project Vote Smart
• Legislation:
  • Congress.gov
• Public statements:
  • Project Vote Smart
• Voting record:
  • Project Vote Smart
  • Washington Post
• Media appearances:
  • C-SPAN
  • IMDb
• Media coverage:
  • New York Times
  • Washington Post

References

Political offices
Preceded by New district	U.S. House - Arizona District 3 2003-Present	Succeeded by -