Democratic U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva has now logged 131 days in office — just over four months — after winning her seat 181 days ago in a special election.
Grijalva has slipped into the role quickly — first by moving into her dad's digs (yes, it’s the same office as the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva), and now by representing Congressional District 7.
Despite only being in office a few months, the Democrat has racked up plenty of wins — and she’s making sure constituents know about them as she heads for reelection in November.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva in her Washington, D.C. office.
On the national stage, she’s known for forcing a vote to release the Epstein files. But back home, she’s known for being pepper-sprayed while confronting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — don’t worry, we asked her about it.
Grijalva has made her rounds from Arizona to Washington, returning home to oppose ICE facilities in the state, hear from constituents in her district and see her family in Tucson.
Grijalva carved time out of her busy schedule for a sit-down Q&A with former Agenda intern turned D.C. correspondent, Alysa! The Q&A was a peek behind the curtain of her new job (and a touch on the women from the Housewives franchise), so let’s get into it:
What part of the job has taken the most adjustment?
The pace and being away from my kids has been a really hard one and then, you know, like my son's birthday, his 15th birthday, was yesterday. I was not in a good headspace and then I got to meet some of the Real Housewives. It was so fun. But I have to balance it out, because they're my responsibility number one. And so I just want to make sure that they know that I know that and they feel that.
How is it for your kids in Arizona to watch all the work you’re doing in Washington?
Their day-to-day hasn't changed very much. I mean, I think my kids are really cool, and that they are really, truly unfazed by most of this. I was 29, almost 30, when my dad came to Congress. So I was already grown — all of us were. It was really cool for us that first year, when we came for his swearing-in and stuff.
How have you made D.C. your home away from home?
My dad and my mom have a condo here, and so I was able to just sort of move in. We moved around some of his things, and that was rough. But I'm rarely there. I go home at 8:30 p.m. and then I'm back here at 9 a.m.
Notes from constituents outside Grijalva’s Washington, D.C. office.
What's been your proudest moment in Congress so far?
Just being able to sit here — it's the whole gamut of emotions.
How are you managing the balance of running for reelection while still navigating your first six months in Congress?
I'm just trying to navigate both and make sure that I keep both of them separate, but it is, you know, fundraising and running for office. My understanding from anyone who's been here for any period of time is that you're just doing it all the time. So it becomes like second nature. It's not second nature for me yet, so I'm working on it.
What has been the most effective way you have found to advocate for Arizona-specific issues in a national space?
Anytime I have an opportunity to speak publicly, I remind people, this is where I'm from. I try to weave in stories of what's happening in real time in my district.
How are you finding a work-life balance?
This space in Congress is difficult. I'm on education and workforce and natural resources, and when I am in a committee and I'm hearing about the dismantling of the Department of Education on a regular basis, just sort of like chipping away at protections that we fought for for generations. And when I'm at natural resources and they're talking about NEPA, dismantling programs, dismantling permitting, not consulting with our sovereign nations, those are really hard for me to sit through. And people keep reminding me, this is not normal. ‘Don't judge Congress by what's happening right now,’ because it is just a very difficult time to be here. Republicans have a hard time right now governing, and so there's no real, meaningful action to going to benefit Arizona... So I think, regardless of party, there is a level of frustration with this administration right now.
Does pepper spray taste more like hot sauce or fascism?
Oh, my God, fascism. I mean, there wasn't a taste. It was a burn. It's stifling, the environment that this administration is trying to create in our communities. And I feel that every opportunity we have to fight against that, we need to.
Can we have a tour of your office?
Bad news for Nanos: Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has yet another challenge on the horizon. After failing to solve Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance and failing to be truthful on his resume, Nanos is now facing a recall campaign, Nick Rommel reports for Arizona Public Media. Daniel Butierez, the Republican who keeps running for the seat in Congressional District 7, is leading the recall effort, along with Aaron Cross, a sergeant who has long been a thorn in Nanos’ side. They face a steep climb. To start, they need to gather 120,000 signatures in just four months.
Not giving up: Guthrie went missing nearly two months ago, but Nanos says it’s “not even close” to being a cold case, per the Arizona Daily Star’s Charles Borla. The sheriff’s department is still working with the FBI and forensics teams, while going through thousands of hours of video footage. Meanwhile, Guthrie’s family sent a new message to Tucsonans over the weekend, asking city residents not to forget about Nancy and urging them to come forward with any information that might help find her, per KVOA.
“We miss our mom with every breath and we cannot be in peace until she is home. We cannot grieve; we can only ache and wonder. Our focus is solely on finding her and bringing her home. We want to celebrate her beautiful and courageous life. But we cannot do that until she is brought to a final place of rest,” the family said in the message to Tucsonans.
Watching the watchers: The planned immigration detention center in Marana is raising big questions as deaths in immigration detention reach record levels. It’s not clear who would be able to rein in any abuse inside the Marana facility, considering federal civil rights offices are shells of their former selves and local officials don’t have much say, Yana Kunichoff reports for the Arizona Luminaria. At a facility in Florence, inmates disputed ICE’s account of the days leading up to the death of Emmanuel Damas, a Haitian asylum seeker who died from an infected tooth, KJZZ’s Camryn Sanchez reports. Democratic U.S. Rep. Yassamin Ansari visited the detention center and said inmates told her they had to stand in front of Damas’ cell and demand he be treated before medical staff took his complaints seriously.
Bad press might be the only consequence that officials at these facilities ever get. Support local journalism.
Fall from grace: Local officials are dealing with the fallout from the New York Times revealing a long history of sexual abuse by César Chávez, the famed labor leader and co-founder of United Farm Workers. Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, whose parents participated in UFW organizing as farm workers near Yuma, said “we’ve got to bring down that name” and announced the city will take down or cover up public mentions of Chávez, Mia Kortright reports for the Tucson Sentinel. That includes not using his name for the March 30 paid city holiday, although the city will keep using Dolores Huerta’s name for the holiday. At Pima County, Supervisors Andrés Cano and Jen Allen said they want to start removing Chávez’s name from county property, the Star’s Borla reports. At the University of Arizona, where a building is named after Chávez, officials said the reports of abuse are “deeply troubling” and they’re trying to figure out the “appropriate next steps,” per the Star’s Prerana Sannappanavar.
Uncertain future: In light of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Iranian soccer team, which is scheduled to train at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, may not play in this year’s World Cup. Iranian officials are negotiating with FIFA to see if the team could play its matches in Mexico, instead of the United States, but FIFA officials say they want all teams to stick to the schedule announced in December, AZPM’s Thatcher Warrick Hess reports.
Here are the top events this week for those who want a front-row seat to local politics.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday at 9 a.m. at 130 W. Congress St. (**Agenda. Live stream.**)
The Pima County Republican Club meets on Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m. at The Kettle just west of I-10 on 22nd St.
The Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) board will meet on Thursday at noon at 1 E. Broadway Blvd. (Agenda. Live stream.)
There are several "No Kings" rallies planned for Saturday in Southern Arizona, part of a larger nationwide network of protests against the Trump administration.
Did we miss an event? Email Joe to get it on our radar.
This little moment from last week’s Tucson City Council meeting stuck with us, probably because it’s nice when someone tries to break up the hours of spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations and politically charged speeches.
Picture this: Councilman Kevin Dahl sitting on the dais showing a fluffy stuffed rabbit toy to the crowd.
Don’t worry, it was a bit of harmless theater, not Dahl needing an emotional support bunny for the extra-long meetings. He was talking about the city’s Parks and Recreation Department’s “Eggstravaganza” egg hunt on March 28.
