The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Fmr. Congressman Ron Barber
Four years ago, I was a Congressional District Director and could not publicly endorse any candidate. As a private citizen, though, I believed in what Laura Conover wanted to achieve as Pima County Attorney, and she won my vote.
Four years later, I am endorsing her based on her record, and I have joined Nina Trasoff as co-chair of Laura’s re-election campaign.
What County Attorney Conover walked into in January of 2021, at the height of COVID and a violent crime spike, would have defeated a lesser person. Faced with a backlog of 144 unresolved homicides going back to 2017 and an exhausted workforce, she confronted the backlog, addressed the needs of victims, and began to rebuild morale in the office. Securing the agency’s first office-wide pay raise since 1997 certainly helped.
Addressing a key critical community need, she reestablished the office’s first fraud unit in 20 years and delivered $1 million in restitution to victims in the first year alone.
She kept her promise to not seek the death penalty despite enormous pressure. She is a woman of her word.
When Roe v Wade fell, she took on then-Attorney General Brnovich and won the reproductive healthcare protection statewide that is still in place today.
She reached out to nine senior attorneys with a combined 117 years of felony trial experience, who had left under her predecessor., They returned because she encourages attorneys to Do the Right Thing instead of the old Win at All Costs. And the right people have lined up with her, including retired Court of Appeals Judge Bill Brammer, who now leads her Appeals Unit.
When I speak of aligning with her, Congressman Raul Grijalva is pleased with the risk he took to support her in 2019. She was relatively unknown, but he believed in her commitment to reforms and still does. Because of her leadership at the state level on reproductive health and voter intimidation, the Attorney General and the Secretary of State have endorsed her.
Her testimony at the state Legislature as Southern Arizona’s top law enforcement officer has garnered her the support of our local Democratic state legislators, Congressman Ruben Gallego, and her mentors, including Terry Goddard, Nina Trasoff, Grady Scott and dozens more, like our mayor, who believe in her as she works long hours in service of justice for us all.
The neighborhood associations, care centers, shelters, and nonprofits that she checks in on during nights and weekends are the backbone of her support. Her vision for the Office is in line with what our community wants.
Pursuing justice is hard, especially in these complex times, and I’m glad we have a thoughtful, dedicated, and ethical leader at the helm.
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