Ed Pastor | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2007 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona | |
| In office October 3, 1991 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Mo Udall |
| Succeeded by | Ruben Gallego |
| Constituency | 2nd district (1991–2003) 4th district (2003–2013) 7th district (2013-2015) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Lopez Pastor (1943-06-28)June 28, 1943 |
| Died | November 27, 2018(2018-11-27) (aged 75) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Arizona State University, Tempe (BA,JD) |
Pastor defends his earmark for the Achieving a College Education (ACE) Program. Recorded July 17, 2007 | |
Edward Lopez Pastor (/pæˈstɔːr/; June 28, 1943 – November 27, 2018) was anAmerican politician who served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromArizona from 1991 to 2015. A member of theDemocratic Party, he representedArizona's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 2003, its4th district from 2003 to 2013, and its7th district from 2013 to 2015, all of which were anchored in downtownPhoenix.
Pastor was born inClaypool, Arizona, as the oldest of three children.[1] After high school, he earned hisBachelor of Arts degree in chemistry fromArizona State University (ASU).[2] He became a chemistry teacher atNorth High School in Phoenix and later went on to work as deputy director of the community service group Guadalupe Organization Inc.[3]
After returning to ASU to earn aJ.D. degree, he became an assistant to Arizona GovernorRaúl Héctor Castro.[4] In 1976, Pastor was elected to theMaricopa County Board of Supervisors, and he served three terms in that role as a county executive.[5]
In 1991, Pastor entered a special election to succeed retiring 30-year incumbent DemocratMo Udall in the 2nd District, which then comprised the southwestern part of Arizona, including half of Tucson and portions of southern Phoenix.[6] Pastor won a narrow victory in the four-way Democratic primary, defeating his closest challenger, Tucson mayorTom Volgy, by 1,800 votes.[7] He was the only major candidate from the Phoenix share of the district.
He then won the special election a month later with 55 percent of the vote to become the first Latino to represent Arizona in Congress.[6] He was reelected four times without substantiveRepublican opposition, never dropping below 60% of the vote.[8]
Pastor's former territory was renumbered as the7th District following the2000 census, but his home in Phoenix was drawn into the newly created 4th District.[9] Rather than move to the Phoenix portion of the reconfigured 7th, he opted to run in the 4th.[6] The newly created district was heavily Democratic and majority-Latino, with Democrats having a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in registration, similar to his old district.[10] He was reelected six times against nominal Republican opposition.[11]
Pastor was one of the nine Chief Deputy Whips for the Democratic Caucus.[12] Following in Udall's footsteps, his voting record was decidedly liberal; for most of his tenure, he was the most liberal member of the Arizona congressional delegation.[13] He was well-respected by members of both parties, and had a reputation for bipartisanship.[6]
He was a founding member of theCongressional Progressive Caucus, was pro-choice, and in 2006 supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 100 percent, according to their records.[14] In 2006, NARAL Pro-Choice America-Endorsements endorsed Representative Pastor.[15] He voted against the 2002Iraq Resolution that started theIraq War.[16]
In 2011, Pastor voted against the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.[17] He also voted against several bills that would encourage trade between countries such as Panama.[17] Furthermore, he voted to encourage the display of "In God We Trust" in public buildings and schools.[17][failed verification]
In 2009–2010, Pastor was backed by the National Farmers Union. However, he was not supported by the National Council of Agricultural Employers.[17]
Pastor was supported by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund,[18] which works to protect native wildlife and wild areas.[18][failed verification]
Around the mid-1990s, Pastor was backed by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund.[17] However, since then, their support has dwindled somewhat.[17]
Pastor had a strong stance on civil rights regarding sexual orientation and race.[19] For example, in 2007, he voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and, in 2006, he voted against defining marriage as one man-one woman.[19] Finally, in 2004, he voted against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.[19] In 2002, the ACLU rated Pastor at 93% for a pro-civil rights voting record.[19]
In February 2014, Pastor announced that he would not seek reelection and would instead retire upon the completion of his term.[20]
Multiple schools, parks and other institutions have been established in his honor.
The Ed Pastor Center for Politics and Public Service was founded in 2015 as part of theCollege of Public Service & Community Solutions atArizona State University. The Center serves as a dynamic, student-centric hub of activity that promotes, publicizes, and encourages political engagement and public service among ASU students and the broader community.[22]
A section ofLoop 202 in the Phoenix area was named in his honor.
Pastor has been credited with inspiring multiple generations of people dedicated to public service including Arizona State House Democratic LeaderCharlene Fernandez.
Pastor was married to Verma Mendez for 53 years and had two daughters, Yvonne and Laura.[23] He died on November 27, 2018, following a heart attack inPhoenix at the age of 75.[24]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Ed Pastor | 32,289 | 55.54% | Pat Conner | 25,814 | 44.40% | Bruce A. Friedemann | Independent | 33 | 0.06% | |||||||||
| 1992 | Ed Pastor* | 90,693 | 66.02% | Don Shooter | 41,257 | 30.03% | Dan Detaranto | Libertarian | 5,423 | 3.95% | |||||||||
| 1994 | Ed Pastor* | 62,589 | 62.31% | Robert MacDonald | 32,797 | 32.65% | James Bertrand | Libertarian | 5,060 | 5.04% | |||||||||
| 1996 | Ed Pastor | 81,982 | 65.01% | Jim Buster | 38,786 | 30.76% | Alice Bangle | Libertarian | 5,333 | 4.23% | |||||||||
| 1998 | Ed Pastor* | 57,178 | 67.78% | Ed Barron | 23,628 | 28.01% | Rick Duncan | Libertarian | 2,646 | 3.14% | Gregory R. Schultz | Reform | 911 | 1.08% | |||||
| 2000 | Ed Pastor* | 84,034 | 68.54% | Bill Barenholtz | 32,990 | 26.91% | Geoffrey Weber | Libertarian | 3,169 | 2.59% | Barbara Shelor | Natural Law | 2,412 | 1.97% |
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Ed Pastor | 44,517 | 67.38% | Jonathan Barnert | 18,381 | 27.82% | Amy Gibbons | Libertarian | 3,167 | 4.79% | |||||||||
| 2004 | Ed Pastor* | 77,150 | 70.12% | Don Karg | 28,238 | 25.67% | Gary Fallon | Libertarian | 4,639 | 4.22% | |||||||||
| 2006 | Ed Pastor* | 56,464 | 72.86% | Don Karg | 18,627 | 23.57% | Ronald Harders | Libertarian | 2,770 | 3.57% | |||||||||
| 2008 | Ed Pastor* | 89,721 | 72.11% | Don Karg | 26,435 | 21.25% | Joe Cobb | Libertarian | 3,807 | 3.06% | Rebecca DeWitt | Green | 4,644 | 3.59% | |||||
| 2010 | Ed Pastor* | 61,524 | 66.94% | Janet Contreras | 25,300 | 27.53% | Joe Cobb | Libertarian | 2,718 | 2.96% | Rebecca DeWitt | Green | 2,365 | 2.57% |
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Ed Pastor | 104,489 | 81.74% | Joe Cobb | Libertarian | 23,338 | 18.25% |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 2nd congressional district 1991–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 4th congressional district 2003–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 7th congressional district 2013–2015 | Succeeded by |
Chairs of theCongressional Hispanic Caucus | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
