Local opinon: A straw poll but no opinions

Last month, Tucsonans demonstrated against Juan Ciscomani, US House Representative for District 6, Donald Trump, the 47th President, and all the damage the two of them and numerous others are raining down on our community. Demonstrations were held at three Tucson locations on Presidents Day, Feb. 17. Protesters were stationed in front of Representative Ciscomani’s office, at a luncheon where he spoke and in the downtown area. While all of this was happening, Representative Ciscomani seems to be representing an imaginary district, immune to all the recent actions that will harm his constituents.

I have called Representative Ciscomani’s office every business day since January 30. I have called both the local office and the DC office. I have spoken to numerous staff and left recorded messages. If I ask a direct question about a particular position, the response is always, “I have not spoken to the Representative today about this issue, but I will be happy to take your name and number and pass along your question and concern.”

Then I ask, “When was the last time you did speak to the representative?” And the answer is always some vague version of “I don’t talk to the representative.” These young people tasked with answering the phones are never given any information, never given any authority, never give any job other than the clerical task of making a little hatch mark in the for or against column after the call. Then nothing happens. Yes, I receive the congressman’s newsletter, featuring the American Dream story and yes, the congressman has visited local schools and sometimes he even speaks to a select group of people, but always in a closed situation where no one can ask a pointed question. I guess I can’t blame him — who would want to defend what is going on in DC now with the Republican Party and then try to explain how this will be helpful and benefit District 6.

Congressman Ciscomani won reelection last fall by a little over 10,000 votes, heavily skewed to Cochise County and not the areas of Tucson he represents. I live in precinct 125 on the northeast side, where he lost by more votes this election than the last election. Yes, border security is important, but this is not a one-issue district. And sending out an emailed poll asking for our opinion on paper or plastic straws is not my idea of good constituent service. District 6 or reconfigured versions of it have been represented by congressional candidates willing to serve as moderates and represent the diversity of this district.

I hope the local Democratic Party assesses prospective candidates and is working to recruit a strong opponent for the 2026 election. This man should be easy to defeat in District 6 with the right opposition. Yes, I realize there will be excessive amounts of money poured into this race to support Juan Ciscomani, and call me naive, but candidates win by votes, not just dollars.

So, if you were one of those people demonstrating, most likely you voted in November. Now go out there and get 10 more votes for Ciscomani’s future opponent. Even better, get 50 more votes. We can do this.

In fact, we must. This is one seat in the US House that can be flipped. And I am all for flipping out Juan Ciscomani.