|
Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz., 8th District)
A Young Legislator on the Rise
October 10, 2006 In Arizona's 8th District, heated primaries culminated in early September in the nomination of two former state legislators as candidates for a seat in the U.S. House—a feminist who likes to ride motorcycles, and a right-winger who likes to golf. It goes without saying that NOW PAC chose to endorse feminist Gabrielle Giffords, a small business owner who at 32 was the youngest women ever elected to the Arizona State Senate. Unlike her opponent Randy Graf, Giffords has a track record as an advocate for people's needs and rights on all fronts.
Arizona-born Giffords entered state politics just a few years after completing her master's degree in regional planning at Cornell University. Between graduate school and election to the State House, Giffords worked briefly in New York City before returning to her hometown of Tucson to take over her family's business, El Campo Tire Service Centers.
Giffords' management of the business, which included improvements in customer service tailored to family needs (such as creating play areas for children in stores), combined with her accomplishments first in the State House and then in the State Senate, earned her several local awards, including Tucson Business Edge Woman of the Year and Arizona Planning Association Legislator of the Year in 2005.
During Giffords' tenure in the State Legislature from 2000-2005, she proved herself to be a champion of feminist issues. In 2002, she was a prime sponsor of a bill requiring health insurance to cover contraception, and was a persistent advocate for keeping state appropriations for low-income health care coverage.
Giffords also fought to raise the Arizona minimum wage, and continues this fight by collecting signatures for the current state ballot initiative "Raise the Minimum Wage for Working Arizonans Act." Additionally, Giffords has been on the forefront of initiatives to prohibit employment discrimination, in particular discrimination on the basis of gender and sexual orientation. On her campaign website, Giffords is one of those rare candidates who has no qualms declaring a commitment to achieving equal rights: "Nothing in the Constitution," she writes, "allows Congress or any other body of government to deny basic human rights based on race, gender or sexual orientation."
For her accomplishments and feminist advocacy, the Tucson NOW chapter awarded Giffords their Woman of Courage award in August 2006, and NOW PAC is proud to endorse her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives.
|
