Congressman Ed Pastor announces retirement (original) (raw)

Rebekah L. Sanders

U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., the first Hispanic from Arizona elected to Congress and the senior member of the state's House delegation, announced Thursday that he will retire after completing 23 years in Washington.

The race for his safe Democratic seat is expected to become a free-for-all, drawing a host of candidates who have been preparing for his retirement for years. Minutes after Pastor's announcement, state Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, announced on Twitter he would enter the race.

In addition, Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox told a Republic reporter that she was in a meeting with advisors and would make a decision shortly on whether to jump into the race. Democratic Rep. Steve Gallardo also told members of the media he was officially a candidate, though he let them do the talking for him on Twitter, by simply retweeted their tweets.

The 7th Congressional District encompasses much of south and central Phoenix, including the Arizona Capitol, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Phoenix City Hal. It also stretches into the communities of Glendale Guadalupe and Tolleson.

Alfredo Gutierrez, a former state lawmaker who grew up with Pastor in the eastern Arizona mining town of Miami, said he believes there is a strong likelihood that Pastor's Congressional District 7 will be represented by a Latino candidate.

According to Pastor's Congressional website, the district is 65.9 percent Hispanic.

Pastor, 70, the son of a miner from a small town in eastern Arizona and the first in his family to graduate from college, has represented parts of Phoenix and the West Valley in Congress for more than two decades.

Pastor is known for bringing earmarks back to his district and helping constituents, many of whom were low-income and Hispanic, with issues such as immigration and social services. A pedestrian bridge spanning McDowell Road near 35th Avenue was renamed after him in 2012, in honor of the work he put in to secure federal funding for the project.

Pastor began his career as a high-school chemistry teacher, moved into non-profit work, earned a law degree and then joined former Arizona Gov. Raul Castro's staff enforcing workers' rights under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

In 1976, he was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, where he served three terms. He won his race for Congress in 1991, replacing retiring Congressman Morris "Mo" Udall, and was re-elected handily in every race afterward until his retirement this year.

Pastor was criticized after The Arizona Republic revealed in 2007 that he had steered millions in federal dollars to a scholarship program for at-risk high-school students headed by his daughter.

He also took heat when the New York Times showed in 2012 that in his two decades in office, he had gone from having a middle-class net worth to becoming a millionaire, joining nearly half the members of Congress who are millionaires.

Pastor did not elaborate on why he decided to retire. Spokeswoman Maura Cordova said she did not have additional details and could not say whether he would stay involved in politics.

"I've been in public office for 39 years and it's been a pleasure to serve the people of Arizona," Pastor said in a written statement. "After 23 years in Congress, I feel it's time for me to seek out a new endeavor. It's been a great honor, a great experience and a great joy for me to serve in Congress. I think it's time for me to do something else."

Gutierrez said that, as a Congressman, Pastor was a powerful member of the House Appropriations Committee. He added that Pastor also was a strong supporter of immigration reform, though he has been criticized by some Latinos for not taking a more vocal stance on such issues. Gutierrez cited Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's immigration sweeps and persuading President Barack Obama to suspend deportations until Congress passes an immigration reform bill as examples.

"He's supportive" of those issues, Gutierrez said, but "not outspoken."

Shortly after Pastor made his announcement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a statement praising Pastor and his work in Congress.

"Congressman Ed Pastor is a trailblazer who has dedicated his life to serving the families of Arizona," Pelosi said. "Throughout his four decades in public service and his 12 terms in Congress, Ed Pastor never forgot his roots, and always worked to build a brighter future for the children of our nation, championing key investments in education, infrastructure, and small businesses."

Pelosi added: "His insight and passion will be missed by friends and colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and we wish him, his wife Verma, and the rest of his beautiful family all the best in their next steps."

Stay tuned for updates.

Republic reporter r Michelle Ye Hee Lee contributed to this article.