Political Notebook: The wait for representation in CD 7 goes on and on

Forgive the people of Southern Arizona’s Congressional District 7 if they are getting angry about the delay in seating their newly elected member, Adelita Grijalva.

They’ve gone without active representation in the U.S. House of Representatives for a long time.

Cancer-stricken former Rep. Raúl Grijalva only cast a handful of votes from the end of February 2024 until he died on March 13, 2025. So, from March 2024 to now, that congressional seat, representing half the Tucson area and parts of six counties across Southern Arizona, has largely been empty.

Then there was the long wait for the primary and general special elections, dictated by inflexible state laws. The elections weren’t completed until Sept. 23.

Now, with Grijalva’s daughter Adelita poised to be sworn in, politics are dragging out the wait even longer. Speaker Mike Johnson could easily swear Grijalva in — the preliminary general-election results are conclusive, and early swearing-ins have happened this year.

But this is a give-no-ground moment. Grijalva represents the decisive 218th vote to force House consideration of a petition to vote on releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Once Grijalva is sworn in, that vote will pass, creating an awkward political situation for President Trump.

As this goes on, Grijalva is unable to hire staff or occupy her office — her father’s former office. Johnson could have sworn her in this week, and he has said he will do it next week, but as it stands, he could hold out until mid-October.

After the six counties that form part of CD7 approve the canvass of the election Oct. 9, the statewide canvass is scheduled to occur Oct. 14.

The documentation will be sent to the Speaker of the House that day, said Aaron Thacker, spokesman for the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office. Only when that happens will Johnson be compelled to seat Grijalva, ending the wait, so much longer than outsiders recognize.

City campaign finance blackout

This would be a really good time to learn who has been financially supporting our Tucson City Council candidates.

They are charging into the final turn of the campaign, with ballots scheduled to be mailed out Oct. 8. But as it stands, the deadline to file the latest campaign-finance disclosure is not until Oct. 15, deep into the voting period.

That means there’s a crucial, nearly three-month gap between filings. The last one was due July 26. The next one after Oct. 15 is due Oct. 20.

These nonsensical dates are set by state law, city clerk Suzanne Mesich said. The only ones set by the city are for those running with public matching funds. Those dates are July 26, Aug. 15 and Oct. 15, still leaving a two-month gap in a crucial time.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

What would be so wrong with simply requiring monthly reports?

Pro-RTA group forms

Now that Tucson-area jurisdictions have approved a new Regional Transportation Authority election, a group has formed to support passing the tax.

The group, called Connect Pima, filed paperwork to form a Political Action Committee on Sept. 30. The chair of the committee is Mimi Coomler, CEO of Tucson Medical Center.

Co-chairs include a litany of local leaders:

• Tucson Mayor Regina Romero
• Marana Mayor Jon Post
• David Cohen, of BeachFleischman accounting
• Paloma Santiago, of Junior Achievement of Southern Arizona
• Alejandro Angel, director of engineering at Psomas
• Carolyn Campbell, of the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection
• Chris Bridges, of ACEC Arizona, an engineering industry group.

The Regional Transportation Authority began life in 2006, after voters passed a countywide, half-cent sales tax to benefit transportation and transit projects. That tax expires at the end of June.

Now, the RTA board and local jurisdictions are proposing a new 20-year plan, extending the existing tax. The election is scheduled for March 10.

Unacknowledged shutdown victims

Spare a thought, while contemplating the effects of this latest federal government shutdown, for the 120 attorneys in the Tucson area who do criminal-defense work on contract for the federal government.

These Criminal Justice Act attorneys work in federal court, defending accused criminals in cases not taken by the defendants’ private attorney or by the Federal Public Defender’s Office.

As reported in a July column, the money to pay these attorneys ran out that month. The expectation was that they would be made whole for any work done between then and Sept. 30 after the fiscal year began Oct. 1. But then the shutdown occurred.

Unlike the many federal workers who haven’t missed a check yet, these attorneys have missed them for months, with no promise of when they will be paid back for work they’ve already done.