Votebeat is a nonprofit news organization reporting on voting access and election administration across the U.S. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter to get the latest.
Callers to the Tucson office of Arizona’s 7th Congressional District hear a familiar voice on the automated greeting.
“Hello, this is Raúl Grijalva, thank you for calling the congressional office.”
The voice tells the callers that someone from his congressional office will return the call promptly.
That won’t happen.
The congressman died in March. His daughter, Adelita Grijalva, a Democrat like her father, won a special election on Sept. 23 to fill his seat, and became the representative-elect. But more than a month later, House Speaker Mike Johnson has not sworn her in. Johnson, a Republican, said he will not do so until the House is back in session, which he has tied to the federal government shutdown that began Oct. 1.
Until Grijalva is sworn in, she can’t access official resources, and the offices for Arizona’s 7th Congressional District will remain shuttered. Constituents calling in to the office for help won’t get anything more than a recorded message at the other end of the line.
Grijalva and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed suit Oct. 21, asking a federal court in Washington, D.C., to allow anyone who is authorized to administer oaths — in the United States, Washington, or Arizona — to swear her in if Johnson continues to refuse.
“I literally have no authority until I get sworn in,” Grijalva told Votebeat during an event in Tucson this month. “I have no letterhead. I can’t sign anything as a member of Congress.”
Constituents keep calling
Congressional offices typically advocate for constituents and help them solve problems with federal agencies like the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Medicare.
Grijalva told Votebeat in an Oct. 17 interview that her father had a good reputation for constituent services. But constituents are going to her father’s local offices in Tucson, and Somerton, only to find them closed. When they contact her campaign for help, she refers them to U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly or Ruben Gallego; other representatives can’t help, because their offices are permitted to spend official dollars only on their own constituents.
Natalia Cárdenas, a spokesperson for Kelly, said the office has received 3,914 constituent messages from the 7th Congressional District since Oct. 1, compared with 2,656 in the same period last year — a roughly 47% increase, although it’s unclear how much of an impact the government shutdown had on call volume.
Gallegos’ office said it has received a total of 7,000 constituent messages since Oct. 1 from Grijalva’s district.
Gallego’s office said in a prepared statement that 7th District constituents deserve uninterrupted services and support, and that it will continue helping them while Grijalva waits to be sworn in.
Cárdenas said Kelly’s office will hold virtual office hours especially for constituents from that district every two weeks until Grijalva is sworn in.
But the senators can’t fill every gap. For example, students seeking admission to one of the U.S. military service academies need a nomination from a U.S. representative, senator, or the vice president. The grueling application process runs from March until November, and congressional offices get around 200 to 250 applicants per year.
With the November deadline looming, Grijalva said she will make no nominations this year.
The office’s help ‘would make a huge difference’
Former U.S. Marine Michael O’Connell says he could use Grijalva’s help appealing a recent denial of his claim with the Veterans Affairs health system.
“Her office is really close and accessible to where I live, and I know former caseworkers (for her father), and I’ve just seen them be very helpful,” he said in an interview with Votebeat on Oct. 23, as a crowd of about 100 fellow veterans and supporters mingled after a veterans event at a Tucson labor-union hall.
O’Connell said he can probably figure out the appeals process himself, but it’s cumbersome, and a congressional caseworker’s expertise “would make a huge difference.”
“I know I could sit down with them. They would walk me through it” O’Connell said.
Grijalva sat in the front row at the veterans event, twisting in her seat toward the audience to listen to veterans, many of whom wore patches, T-shirts, and vests signaling their military service. They told their stories of VA nightmares and injustices.
Several speakers talked about Grijalva’s congressional office as a valuable resource for veterans. One Navy veteran said he was deported after his service, and the elder Grijalva helped him work through the process to return.
“Raúl was the only one who called me,” the man said, prompting Grijalva to leave her seat and embrace him.
Border city needs its advocate
It’s not just residents of the districts who rely on the help of their elected representatives.
Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado said Raúl Grijalva was a fierce advocate for the city and lobbied federal agencies on its behalf.
Right now, he said he could use Adelita Grijalva’s help.
The region’s cattle industry, key to the local economy, has been shut down for months because of a screwworm infestation in Mexican cattle.
The federal government is also conducting a feasibility study for major improvements to the 94-year-old DeConcini Land Port of Entry, where 2.5 million pedestrians and 7 million cars pass each year into Nogales from Mexico.
“Right now, Mr. Kelly and Gallego are trying to do what they can,” Maldonado said, “but the more voices we have, the better chances of having solutions.”
Contact Votebeat at az.tips@votebeat.org.
