State Rep. Steve Farley is joining the race for the Democratic nomination in the newly-drawn Congressional District 2.
Farley is not a candidate in the special election in the existing Congressional District 8, but rather in the regular election in what will be CD2. The new district includes eastern Pima County and all of Cochise County.
Farley, a state representative since 2007 and small business owner for 21 years, made his expected candidacy official Wednesday with events in Tucson, Sahuarita and Sierra Vista.
Flanked by family, friends and supporters at the Tucson Botanical Garden, Farley touted his track record of working across party lines in the state legislature to address community issues and vowed to do the same in Congress.
“Growing our economy shouldn’t be partisan,” Farley said. “Protecting our veterans shouldn’t be partisan. Protecting our kids education shouldn't be partisan. It’s a matter of developing relationships, going there and not attacking people, but listening to people.”
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Farley, 49, becomes the fourth Democrat to join the race, following Sen. Sen. Paula Aboud, state Rep. Matt Heinz and Nomiki Konst, a former University of Arizona student who is new to politics.
Ron Barber, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' former district director, is the lone Democrat running in a special election triggered by Giffords’ resignation to focus on her recovery from being shot in the head on Jan. 8, 2011. Barber has not ruled out running for CD2.
On the Republican side, there are four running in the special election — Dave Sitton, Martha McSally, Frank Antenori and Jesse Kelly — and they’ve all vowed to run again in the new CD2. The primary for the special election is April 17. The general special election is June 12.
The winner of that election will only be in office until January 2012, when the winner of the CD2 election will take the seat. The primary for the general election is Aug. 28. The general election is Nov. 6.
Farley said Wednesday he’ll take what Tucson has learned in wake of the Jan. 8, 2011 tragedy, in which six people and 13 were shot and injured. Rep. Giffords was among those wounded, and she stepped down from Congress earlier this year to focus on her recovery.
“Congress needs to learn a thing or two from Tucson,” Farley said. “We Southern Arizonans did not react in a spirit of anger or revenge. Inspired by Gaby’s courage and that of the other heroes on Jan. 8, we came together in a spirit of hope and love. We moved forward with a new spirit of civility and understanding.”
Campaign materials for Farley feature a picture of him hugging Giffords, one of him at a memorial for the Jan. 8 victims and several screen shots of Farley being interviewed on national cable news after the shooting.
When asked if he anticipates an endorsement from Giffords, he said he doesn’t know. He said Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, are focused on getting Ron Barber elected in the CD8 special election.
“They are close friends and I have been in touch with them, but I don’t feel at liberty to talk about what we talked about,” Farley said. “They are going to make up their own mind and do what they think is best.”
Barber, Giffords’ former district director who entered the special election with her backing, has not ruled out a run in CD2 later this year. Farley, who is helping Barber in the special election, said he doesn’t know what he would do if Barber enters the race.
On border security and immigration, Farley said the country shouldn’t be posed with a false choice between securing the border and comprehensive immigration reform. Both should be, and can be done, at the same time, he said.
“We need to allow a path to legal residency so there’s no more demand to risk one’s life with cartel-controlled coyotes to cross the border,” Farley said.
Farley is in his third term in the Arizona legislature, and is the assistant minority leader for House Democrats. Farley spearheaded the effort behind Tucson’s modern streetcar project, which is set to be ready by 2013.
Farley is also an artist, and owner of Stephen Farley Design. He created the murals around the Broadway underpass in Tucson, gathering historic photos from the community and turning them into tile murals. More recently, he created the tiles for the meditation area at the trailhead named in honor of Gabe Zimmerman, a 30-year-old aide to U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who was killed in the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting.
Farley has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Williams College in Massachusetts. He is married to Kelly Paisley. He has two children: Amelia, 17, and Genevieve, 13.
Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com
