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Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (/rɑːˈuːl ɡrɪˈhælvə/ rah-OOL grih-HAL-və; February 19, 1948 – March 13, 2025) was an American politician and activist who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona from 2003 until his death in 2025. As member of the Democratic Party, Grijalva represented Arizona's 7th congressional district from 2003 to 2013, Arizona's 3rd congressional district from 2013 to 2023, and the 7th district again from 2023 to 2025. The two districts included the western third of Tucson, part of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metropolitan Phoenix.
In October 2024, Grijalva announced that he would not run for re-election in 2026, amid treatments for lung cancer, but died before he could complete his final term. The 2025 Arizona's 7th congressional district special election was held on September 23, 2025, in which Adelita Grijalva, his daughter, was elected to serve the remainder of his term.
Grijalva was born on February 19, 1948, in Canoa Ranch, 30 mi (50 km) south of Tucson, the son of Rafaela and Raúl Grijalva. His father was a migrant worker from Mexico who entered the United States in 1945 through the Bracero Program and labored on southern Arizona ranches. He graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1967 and was a 2004 inductee to the Sunnyside High School Alumni Hall of Fame. He attended the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Grijalva was an Arizona leader of the Raza Unida Party. According to Armando Navarro's history of the party, "Grijalva was so militant that he alienated some members of Tucson's Mexican-American community. After losing his first bid for elective office, a 1972 run for a seat on the school board, he began cultivating a less radical image."
In 1974, Grijalva was elected to the Tucson Unified School District board and served until 1986. Grijalva Elementary School in Tucson was named for him in 1987. From 1975 to 1986, Grijalva was the director of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, and in 1987, he was Assistant Dean for Hispanic Student Affairs at the University of Arizona. Grijalva was a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from the 5th district from January 1, 1989 to February 6, 2002 and served as chair from 2000 to 2002. He resigned as a supervisor in 2002 to run for Congress.
Grijalva was elected as a Democrat to the 108th Congress in 2002, representing Arizona's seventh congressional district. As a freshman congressman, the first bill he sponsored was H.R. 731, the Tohono O'odham Citizenship Act of 2003. Although the bill was not passed into law, it sought to grant American citizenship to all members of the Tohono Oʼodham. This federally recognized tribe has land that stretches from their reservation in Arizona across the U.S.–Mexico border into the Mexican state of Sonora, resulting in some of its members not being U.S. citizens.
In 2015, Grijalva settled a complaint accusing him of drunkenness and a "hostile workplace environment" with a female staffer who had been at her job for three months. The $48,000 payment was made from House of Representatives funds.
For his tenure as the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee in the 116th Congress, Grijalva earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.
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Raúl Grijalva
Raúl Manuel Grijalva (/rɑːˈuːl ɡrɪˈhælvə/ rah-OOL grih-HAL-və; February 19, 1948 – March 13, 2025) was an American politician and activist who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona from 2003 until his death in 2025. As member of the Democratic Party, Grijalva represented Arizona's 7th congressional district from 2003 to 2013, Arizona's 3rd congressional district from 2013 to 2023, and the 7th district again from 2023 to 2025. The two districts included the western third of Tucson, part of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metropolitan Phoenix.
In October 2024, Grijalva announced that he would not run for re-election in 2026, amid treatments for lung cancer, but died before he could complete his final term. The 2025 Arizona's 7th congressional district special election was held on September 23, 2025, in which Adelita Grijalva, his daughter, was elected to serve the remainder of his term.
Grijalva was born on February 19, 1948, in Canoa Ranch, 30 mi (50 km) south of Tucson, the son of Rafaela and Raúl Grijalva. His father was a migrant worker from Mexico who entered the United States in 1945 through the Bracero Program and labored on southern Arizona ranches. He graduated from Sunnyside High School in 1967 and was a 2004 inductee to the Sunnyside High School Alumni Hall of Fame. He attended the University of Arizona and earned a bachelor's degree in sociology.
Grijalva was an Arizona leader of the Raza Unida Party. According to Armando Navarro's history of the party, "Grijalva was so militant that he alienated some members of Tucson's Mexican-American community. After losing his first bid for elective office, a 1972 run for a seat on the school board, he began cultivating a less radical image."
In 1974, Grijalva was elected to the Tucson Unified School District board and served until 1986. Grijalva Elementary School in Tucson was named for him in 1987. From 1975 to 1986, Grijalva was the director of the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center, and in 1987, he was Assistant Dean for Hispanic Student Affairs at the University of Arizona. Grijalva was a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors from the 5th district from January 1, 1989 to February 6, 2002 and served as chair from 2000 to 2002. He resigned as a supervisor in 2002 to run for Congress.
Grijalva was elected as a Democrat to the 108th Congress in 2002, representing Arizona's seventh congressional district. As a freshman congressman, the first bill he sponsored was H.R. 731, the Tohono O'odham Citizenship Act of 2003. Although the bill was not passed into law, it sought to grant American citizenship to all members of the Tohono Oʼodham. This federally recognized tribe has land that stretches from their reservation in Arizona across the U.S.–Mexico border into the Mexican state of Sonora, resulting in some of its members not being U.S. citizens.
In 2015, Grijalva settled a complaint accusing him of drunkenness and a "hostile workplace environment" with a female staffer who had been at her job for three months. The $48,000 payment was made from House of Representatives funds.
For his tenure as the chair of the House Natural Resources Committee in the 116th Congress, Grijalva earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.