The following column is the opinion and analysis of the writer.
This August, I spent the district work period traveling to every corner of our great state to hear directly from hardworking Arizonans about the issues our communities are facing. From Page to Tucson, the concerns of Arizona families are vast and diverse, and I’m looking forward to bringing back what I learned from you to inform my work in Washington.
Over the course of five weeks, my team and I held four town halls, and have hosted a total of 24 this year. I also organized four open office hours and 14 mobile office hours to bring constituent services directly to rural residents who live farther from one of my three district offices. One of the most important tenets of our democracy is the ability citizens have to speak directly to their elected representatives; being accessible to my constituents is one of the most important facets of my job.
I personally met with over 45 Arizona businesses, organizations and advocacy groups across 21 different towns, cities and communities. Over the five weeks, I drove over 1,200 miles for official business and heard from Arizonans on an enormous range of important issues, including health care access and affordability, rural economic development, tribal issues, and reforming our broken Veterans Affairs. I’m looking forward to bringing those issues to the attention of Congress this fall.
Though I firmly believe that, as your elected representatives, we should spend the bulk of our time here in Washington meeting, debating and passing measures that aid our communities, I always value the time I spend on the ground in my district learning from you firsthand about how we can work together to find solutions to the problems facing our state and our nation.
My time in Arizona this August only reaffirmed my commitment to return to Washington to continue to work to pass good bills out of committee and reach across the aisle to identify bipartisan compromises. We have only weeks left to come together in both chambers to pass a budget or a continuing resolution to keep our government open and running smoothly. I’m working hard to make this a reality for Arizona families.
It is an honor to represent you in Congress. I have three physical offices in Arizona’s First Congressional District and one in Washington, DC; my door is always open to you. I encourage you to reach out to me with your thoughts or contact my office if you are having an issue.
