by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
 |
| People leave flowers and candles outside the Tucson office of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot during an event in front of a Safeway grocery store January 8, 2011 in Tuscon, Arizona. U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was shot in the head at a public event entitled 'Congress on your Corner' when a gunman opened fire outside a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Arizona. It was reported that eighteen people were shot, including members of Giffords' staff, and six are dead, including one young child. One suspect is in custody. |
The three-term congresswoman from Arizona’s 8th district was holding a public event outside of a Safeway grocery store when a gunman shot her point-blank and at least five others, including three staff members.
Gabrielle Giffords born on June 8, 1970 was the U.S. Representative for Arizona's 8th congressional district from 2007 until her death in 2011. She served in the Arizona Senate from 2003 to 2005. She was a member of the Democratic Party.
Giffords was first sworn in as a congresswoman on January 3, 2007. She was the third woman in Arizona's history to be elected to serve in the U.S. Congress. In her inaugural speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Giffords said a comprehensive immigration reform package needs to include modern technology to secure the border, more border patrol agents, tough employer sanctions for businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants, and a guest-worker program. In her first month in office, Congresswoman Giffords voted to support increased federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research, raising the minimum wage, endorsing the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, and supporting new rules for the House of Representatives targeting ethical issues. Giffords also voted to repeal subsidies to big oil companies and invest the savings in renewable energy. "We put our national security at risk by relying on oil from unstable regimes in the Middle East and Latin America," Giffords told her colleagues in a speech on the House floor during debate on the Clean Energy Act. The act repeals $14 billion in subsidies given to oil companies and establishes a Strategic Renewable Energy Reserve to increase research in clean renewable energy, to develop greater energy efficiency, and to improve energy conservation.
 |
| Gabrielle Giffords, right, the Democrat representative for Arizona’s 8th district, in Washington last week. Photograph: Susan Walsh/AP |
Giffords is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition. She is the only member of the U.S. Congress whose spouse, astronaut Mark E. Kelly, is an active duty member of the U.S. military. She is also known as a strong proponent of solar energy as well as for her work to secure the border with Mexico.
Giffords launched her first candidacy for the U.S. Congress on January 24, 2006. The campaign received national attention early on as a likely pick-up for the Democratic Party. Prominent Democrats endorsed Giffords including Tom Daschle, Robert Reich, Janet Napolitano, and Bill Clinton. EMILY's List endorsed Giffords early in the campaign cycle. The Sierra Club and the Arizona Education Association also endorsed her. On September 12, 2006, Giffords won her party's nomination in the primary election.
Her Republican opponent in the general election was Randy Graf, a conservative former state senator known for his enforcement-only position on immigration and illegal aliens. Graf had run against Jim Kolbe in the 2004 GOP primary and had announced his candidacy in 2006 before Kolbe announced his retirement. The Republican establishment was somewhat cool toward Graf, believing he may be too conservative for the district. The national GOP took the unusual step of endorsing one of the more moderate candidates in the primary; but Graf won anyway, helped by a split in the Republican moderate vote between two candidates.
Not long after the primary, Congressional Quarterly changed its rating of the race to "Leans Democrat." By late September, the national GOP had pulled most of its funding, effectively conceding the seat to Giffords.
Giffords won the race on November 7, 2006, with 54 percent of the vote. Graf received 42 percent. The rest of the vote went to minor candidates.
Graf's candidacy was mentioned frequently in the national media as a test case of voters' feelings toward immigration issues, and Giffords' victory was portrayed as evidence that Americans are accepting towards comprehensive immigration reform. Graf did not even carry a majority in Cochise County, a border region where illegal immigration is an important local issue. Nonetheless, Arizona's continuing interest in the issue is evidenced by the fact that all propositions in the general election relating to restricting benefits to illegal aliens did pass by wide margins.
Giffords began her political career as a legislator in the Arizona House of Representatives, where she served from 2001 to 2003.
Giffords was elected to the Arizona Senate in the fall of 2002 and is the youngest woman ever elected to this body. She took office in January 2003 and was re-elected in 2004. She resigned from the Arizona Senate on December 1, 2005, in preparation for her congressional campaign.
In early 2005, Giffords said of the Arizona Legislature: "The previous two legislatures enjoyed the benefits of a working coalition consisting of Democrats and middle-of-the-road Republicans. Due to a lack of competitive legislative districts and low voter turnout during GOP primaries, a fairly large crop of mostly conservative Republicans will dominate the House and Senate in 2005." Giffords' concerns played out as an increasingly conservative legislature combined with a Democratic governor, led to increased polarity in Arizona politics.
Expanding health care access was an issue of interest for Giffords when she served in the legislature. She also pushed for bills related to mental health and was named by the Mental Health Association of Arizona as the 2004 Legislator of the Year. Giffords also earned the Sierra Club's Most Valuable Player award.
In the legislature, Giffords worked on the bipartisan Children’s Caucus, which sought to improve education and health care for Arizona’s children. Critics of this plan argued that it amounted to taxpayer funded daycare. She worked with Arizona's Governor Janet Napolitano to promote all-day kindergarten. Giffords supported raising more money for schools "through sponsorship of supplemental state aid through bonds and tax credits that could be used for school supplies." She was awarded Arizona Family Literacy’s Outstanding Legislator for 2003.
Giffords worked as an associate for regional economic development at Price Waterhouse in New York City.
In 1996, she became president and CEO of El Campo Tire Warehouses. El Campo was a local automotive chain founded by her grandfather. In 2000, she oversaw the sale of the company to Goodyear Tire. At the time of the sale she commented on the difficulties local businesses face when competing against large national firms. Giffords said "I’m really proud of being able to return to Arizona and help my family and take over a tire business that had serious challenges."
I strongly condemn this barbaric assassination of Gabby Giffords and pray for the salvation of her departed soul. I would also like to express my deepest condolence of the family members of constituents of Gabby Giffords.
, who wa...){kind=link}
Post a Comment