Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick made a stop in Tucson on Friday morning, asking voters to back Proposition 206.
Flanked by local Democrats, labor leaders and several women who are making minimum wage, Kirkpatrick recalled saving up her money while waitressing to purchase the cowboy boots that have become a hallmark of her Senate campaign.
“Those boots represent the value of hard work, the value of a dollar and fighting for working families here in Arizona,” Kirkpatrick said.
The Flagstaff Democrat quickly turned her attention to her Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, noting that he has repeatedly voted against proposals to raise the federal minimum wage.
“You should know that John McCain has voted against the minimum wage more than 20 times,” Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick noted that she paid all of her employees at her law firm in Flagstaff a living wage.
“No one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty,”
Proposition 206 is a statewide proposition that would raise the minimum wage to $12 an hour by 2020.
McCain’s campaign spokesperson, Lorna Romero, confirmed McCain does not support Proposition 206. She added he doesn’t support drastically increasing the minimum wage as it does not address the income gap.
“John McCain believes in a gradual increase in the minimum wage, but does not support Proposition 206. As economists have warned, a mandated increase to $12.00 per hour by 2020 would harm small businesses and result in less minimum wage jobs for those entering the workplace,” Romero said.
