Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Az-01)
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LEGISLATOR US Representative ANN KIRKPATRICK (D-AZ-01) IN OFFICE CONTACT Running for U.S. Senate Email Contact Form http://kirkpatrick.house.gov/ 2nd Term contact Re-elected in 2014 Web kirkpatrick.house.gov http://kirkpatrick.house.gov Twitter @RepKirkpatrick http://twitter.com/ RepKirkpatrick Facebook View on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ RepKirkpatrick DC Office 201 Cannon House Office Building BGOV BIOGRAPHY By Greg Giroux and Brian Faler Ann Kirkpatrick is a political survivor who's serving her second stint in the House. Washed out of office after just one term in 2010, Kirkpatrick won back her Arizona swing district in 2012 and bucked another Republican wave in 2014 to win re- election. Her second act in the House will be brief, though. In May 2015, Kirkpatrick announced that she would forgo re-election in 2016 and instead seek to unseat Republican Senator John McCain. ``I respect John McCain's service to our nation,'' Kirkpatrick said in declaring her Senate bid. ``I just believe our state's changing. Arizonans should have a real choice who they send to the United States Senate.'' A Senate campaign will require Kirkpatrick to travel extensively around Arizona, something she's used to as the representative of a district that covers more than 55,000 square miles, including the Grand Canyon and the cities of Flagstaff and Oro Valley. Kirkpatrick's district, bigger than Wisconsin, is the largest of any district held by a Democrat. Kirkpatrick is among just five House Democrats in the 114th Congress from districts that President Barack Obama didn't win in the 2012 presidential election. That has tested her political dexterity, and Kirkpatrick keeps the national party at arm's length from time to time. In March 2015, Kirkpatrick was among 22 Democrats who voted against her party's alternative budget blueprint. Mindful of her district's four coal-fired power plants, Kirkpatrick looks askance at Environmental Protection Agency regulations. As a rare rural Democratic House member, she opposes restrictions on gun owners' rights, a stance that puts her at odds with urban-district Democrats. During her first term in office, Kirkpatrick opposed Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's cap-and-trade measure and the Dodd- Frank financial regulatory law. Her 2010 votes put her near the middle of the chamber, according to an analysis by National Journal. © 2015 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All Rights Reserved National Journal. Arizona's 1st District is ``extremely diverse, and anyone who toes the party line can't represent that district well,'' Kirkpatrick said during the 2014 campaign. Yet Kirkpatrick also has sided with some of the Obama administration's key domestic initiatives, including the 2009 economic stimulus and the 2010 health-care overhaul. Kirkpatrick said the health-care law reauthorized Indian health services, important to a district that's about one-fourth American Indian. Of the five Democrats from districts that didn't back Obama in 2012, Kirkpatrick was the only one who voted in January 2015 against a Republican bill that would have changed the law's employer mandate to a 40-hour workweek from 30 hours. ``I talk to people almost on a daily basis who now have coverage who never had it before,'' Kirkpatrick said in 2014. One of her priorities in the 114th Congress is diversifying a district economy that's long been too susceptible to the boom- and-bust cycle. Her position is informed by the decline of the timber industry in her birthplace of McNary in eastern Arizona. ``I saw firsthand what happened in McNary when we lost the timber industry and what happened to those families when they were without jobs,'' Kirkpatrick said in 2014. Kirkpatrick serves on the Agriculture Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure committee. In the 113th Congress, Kirkpatrick served on the Veterans Affairs Committee. A 2013 defense authorization law included a Kirkpatrick amendment to address a backlog of claims at VA facilities. Kirkpatrick supports investing in education and job training and protecting Medicare and Social Security. Other legislative goals include fighting global climate change and developing alternative energy sources in greater Arizona. On immigration, Kirkpatrick supports more funding for border security and the Dream Act, which would allow legal status for young people brought into the country as children who are pursuing higher education or are serving in the military. Early Years Kirkpatrick's mother was a teacher on the White Mountain Apache Nation and came from a Republican ranching family. Her father ran a general store and came from a family of Democratic business owners, so ``we always had lively discussions and debates,'' Kirkpatrick said in 2014. She used some money she earned from waitressing to buy a pair of boots. Kirkpatrick shows off her boots to call attention to her Arizona roots. Kirkpatrick took her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Arizona. In 2004, Kirkpatrick was elected to the state House, where she served one term. In 2008, a good Democratic year, Kirkpatrick was easily elected to Congress after Republican Rick Renzi declined to seek re-election under an ethical cloud. She lost her seat to Paul Gosar in the 2010 Republican upswing. Two years later, she won back the seat after Gosar chose to run in a different district that had a stronger Republican lean. Updated June 3, 2015 BIO FROM REPRESENTATIVE'S WEBSITE From the Representative's Website Arizona born and raised, Ann Kirkpatrick resides in Flagstaff, and her earliest roots are found in Eastern Arizona in McNary on the White Mountain Apache Nation. Her father ran a general store and her mother was a schoolteacher. Ann graduated from Blue Ridge High School in the White Mountains and then worked her way through the University of Arizona, earning a bachelor's degree and then a law degree there. After earning her law degree, Ann served the people of Greater Arizona in a variety of positions. In 1980, she became Coconino County's first female Deputy County Attorney, cracking down on criminals and protecting neighborhoods and families in Northern Arizona. She later served as Sedona's City Attorney. In November 2004, Ann's neighbors elected her to the Arizona House of Representatives to represent Legislative District 2, which included Flagstaff and the Havasupai, Hopi, Hualapai, Navajo, and San Juan Southern Paiute Nations. At the state Capitol, Ann championed fiscal responsibility and quality education. During her 2008-10 term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ann's results stood out in Congress, seeing more of her bills and amendments signed into law than almost any other freshman representative. Ann's hard work created jobs, helped small businesses, hired more border patrol agents, and protected veterans and seniors in Greater Arizona. © 2015 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All Rights Reserved In November 2012, Ann was elected to once again represent the people of Arizona's Congressional District 1. She currently serves on the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the 113th Congress. PERSONAL PROFILE COMMITTEES Birthdate 03/24/1950 PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS House Committee on Agriculture Birthplace McNary, AZ Education House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Political Party Democratic Party University of Arizona CAUCUSES Bachelor's Degree 1972 Religion Roman Catholic Congressional Small Business Caucus Arizona State Univ Coll of Law JD 1979 New Democrat Coalition House Small Brewers Caucus 2005 - 2007 State Representative, (AZ)House of Representatives 01-03-2009 - 01-03-2011 Representative:Arizona, (US)House of Representatives 01-03-2013 - Present Representative:Arizona, (US)House of Representatives STAFF INFORMATION Office Staff Washington, DC 201 Cannon House Office Building Carmen Maioriello-Gallus Kenneth G. Montoya Washington, DC 20515 Chief of Staff Legislative Director [email protected] [email protected] Phone (202) 225-3361 Issues: Economics and Public Finance, Energy, Environmental Fax (202) 225-3462 Protection, Labor and Employment, Native Americans, Public Lands and Natural Resources, Social Welfare, Taxation, Transportation and Public Works Molly R. Brown Christian K. Walker Legislative Assistant Legislative Assistant [email protected] [email protected] Issues: Abortion, Agriculture and Issues: Appropriations, Crime and Food, Animals, Appropriations, Law Enforcement, Foreign Trade Armed Forces and National and International Finance, Security, Arts, Culture and Religion, Government Operations and Civil Rights and Liberties, Minority Politics, Housing and Community Issues, Commerce, Education, Development Emergency Management, Families, © 2015 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All Rights Reserved Emergency Management, Families, Finance and Financial Sector, Guns, Health, Immigration, International Affairs, Law, Science and Technology, Telecommunications, Veterans Affairs, Women's Issues Makenzie Paige Mastrud Jennifer Johnson Scheduler Senior Adviser, Communication [email protected]. [email protected] gov Office Staff Casa Grande, AZ 211 N. Florence St. Blanca Rubio-Varela Daniel B. Mitchell Suite 1 Deputy District Director Deputy Communications Director Casa Grande, AZ 85122 [email protected] [email protected] Phone (520) 316-0839 Palmer R. Miller Fax (520) 316-0842 Veterans' Caseworker [email protected] Office Staff Flagstaff, AZ 405 N. Beaver St. Ronald S. Lee Judy Irene Burns-Sulltrop Suite 6 District Director Casework Manager Flagstaff, AZ 86001 [email protected] [email protected] Phone (928) 213-9977 Fax (928) 213-9981 Office Staff Globe, AZ 1400 E. Ash St. Cathy R. Melvin Globe, AZ 85501 Community Outreach Representative/Grants Specialist Phone (928) 425-3231 [email protected] Fax (928) 402-4363 Office Staff Marana, AZ 11555 W. Civic Center Drive Zakary J. Royse Suite 104A Caseworker/Outreach Coordinator Marana, AZ 85653 [email protected] © 2015 Bloomberg Finance L.P. All Rights Reserved Phone (520) 382-2663 Fax (520) 382-2664 Office Staff Show Low, AZ 550 N.