Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva has passed away at the age of 77 after a long battle with cancer, his office said in a press release.
Grijalva served as the United States representative since 2003. He was a Democrat.
“The Office of the 7th District of Arizona is saddened to announce the passing of Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva. Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle,” his office said in a statement.
“He passed away this morning due to complications of his cancer treatments.”
According to his website, Grijalva began his public service career as a Tucson community organizer.
“From 1974 to 1986, Raúl served on the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board, including six years as Chairman,” his website bio says.
“In 1988, he was elected to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, where he served for the next 15 years, chairing the Board for two of those years. Raúl resigned his seat on the Board of Supervisors in 2002 to seek office in Arizona’s newly created Seventh Congressional District.”
He served as Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee during Trump administration’s final two years, and Biden administration’s first two.
He most recently served as Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, stepping down late last year, and was a standing member of the Education and Labor Committee.
He also was a long-standing member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Grijalva co-chaired the Progressive Caucus for 10 years.
His vacant seat in Arizona’s Congressional District 7 will be filled in an upcoming special election.
