Harry Mitchell | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2007 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | J. D. Hayworth |
| Succeeded by | David Schweikert |
| Chair of theArizona Democratic Party | |
| In office 2005–2006 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Pederson |
| Succeeded by | David Waid |
| Member of theArizona Senate from the17th district | |
| In office January 1, 2003 – March 29, 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Brenda Burns |
| Succeeded by | Ed Ableser |
| Member of theArizona Senate from the27th district | |
| In office January 1, 1999 – January 1, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Gary Richardson |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Luis Garcia |
| 30thMayor of Tempe | |
| In office July 6, 1978 – July 14, 1994 | |
| Preceded by | William LoPiano |
| Succeeded by | Neil Giuliano |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Harry Everett Mitchell (1940-07-18)July 18, 1940 (age 85) Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Arizona State University, Tempe (BA,MPA) |
Harry Everett Mitchell (born July 18, 1940) is an American politician and educator who served as aU.S. Representative representingArizona's 5th congressional district from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of theDemocratic Party.
Born and raised inTempe, Arizona, Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree inpolitical science fromArizona State University in 1962. He later earned aMaster of Public Administration degree from ASU in 1980.
He was a teacher atTempe High School, his high schoolalma mater, 1964–1992. He was also a professor.[1][where?]
In 1970, Harry Mitchell sought and won a seat on the elected-at-largeTempe City Council. Re-elected in 1974, Mitchell ran forMayor of Tempe in 1978, gaining a majority of votes cast in the primary and avoiding a runoff. He went on to win every subsequent election for mayor in landslides until his retirement in 1994. A largestatue of Mitchell stands just offMill Avenue, next to City Hall and the other buildings comprising the Harry E. Mitchell Municipal Complex.
After retiring in 1994, Mitchell sought the Arizona Democratic Party's nomination forArizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, a constitutionally mandated statewide-elected official charged with the management of Arizona's public schools. Mitchell narrowly lost in the primary – he attributes his election loss to his inexperience in partisan races – and his opponent went on to lose the general election.
Four years later, however, Mitchell sought and won a seat in theArizona Senate, representing Tempe and parts of southernScottsdale. Even though his district was considered a "swing" district, Mitchell managed to win with clear majorities in each successive election. He ran under Arizona'sClean Elections law in each legislative race, which provides public financing to statewide and legislative candidates as long as the candidates abide by certain restrictions and qualifications.
Facing term limits, Mitchell ran his last campaign for Arizona Senate in 2004. One year later, with the2006 midterm elections approaching, Mitchell ran unopposed for chair of the Arizona Democratic Party after chairmanJim Pederson stepped down to run for the United States Senate. He was elected on August 20, 2005.
Mitchell oversaw much of the early ground work as theArizona Democratic Party prepared for statewide elections on November 7, 2006. The Democrats recaptured theTucson city council from years of Republican control on February 1, 2006.
Mitchell was a member of theBlue Dog Coalition who emphasize bipartisanship and cooperation with members of other parties. His voting record has been described as blue dog[2] and centrist.[3] He has voted for legislation largely supported by Democrats in Congress, such as theState Children's Health Insurance Program. Although he expressed reservations about many of the provisions of thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act,[4] he ultimately voted for it. Stating it was a "matter of principle," he declined coverage under theFederal Employees Health Benefits Program in favor ofMedicare.[4] He voted for the 2009 stimulus plan[5] and has also stated he supports extending theBush tax cuts.[6]
In the spring of 2006, a poll commissioned by the Arizona Democratic Party and theDCCC, was leaked; the poll showed RepublicanJ.D. Hayworth would be in a tight race against any of a handful of Democratic opponents; the district was rated "Toss-Up" by theCook Political Report. Mitchell was pressured by several Arizona politicians and Rep.Rahm Emanuel, then head of the DCCC, to enter the race against Hayworth.
Mitchell stepped down as state party chairman on April 7. He entered the race on April 10 and raised a total of $213,209 for his campaign in less than two weeks.
By of the end of June 2006, Mitchell had nearly $700,000 on hand. An October 16SurveyUSA poll showed Hayworth leading Mitchell by only 48% to 45%. On October 27, 2006, theArizona Republic departed from its past endorsements of Hayworth and instead endorsed Mitchell. The polls demonstrated a slow, but deliberate, growth in the strength of Mitchell's popularity over the next few weeks.
On the evening of November 7, election day, most national and state news media outlets declared Mitchell the winner. However, Hayworth refused to concede, citing the significant number of outstanding absentee and early-voting ballots. As the results were updated each day, Hayworth never demonstrated the significant gains he anticipated. Hayworth conceded on November 14, though Mitchell did not acknowledge his victory until November 22. Mitchell ended up winning by more than 8,000 votes.
When he took office on January 3, 2007, Mitchell became the first Anglo Democrat to represent a significant portion of Phoenix sinceSam Coppersmith andKaran English left office in 1995.
Mitchell was reelected in 2008 with 53% of the popular vote over his Republican challenger, former Maricopa County treasurerDavid Schweikert.
Mitchell lost his bid for reelection in a rematch with Schweikert.
This district has traditionally leaned Republican (R+5 according to analyst Charlie Cook). Thus, according to many analysts, Mitchell faced a difficult reelection campaign. Considering that his district was won by Bush in '04, but not Obama in '08, CQ Politics rated his district as tossup. Sarah Palin had also set a goal of replacing Mitchell with a "common sense conservative."[7]
Mitchell was considered a possible candidate for the U.S. House in 2012 in his former district, which had been renumbered as the9th district and made slightly more competitive. However, he decided against running.[8]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Harry Mitchell | 101,838 | 50.41% | J.D. Hayworth* | 93,815 | 46.44% | Warren Severin | Libertarian | 6,357 | 3.15% | ||||
| 2008 | Harry Mitchell* | 149,033 | 53.16% | David Schweikert | 122,165 | 43.57% | Warren Severin | Libertarian | 9,158 | 3.27% | ||||
| 2010 | Harry Mitchell* | 91,749 | 43.23% | David Schweikert | 110,374 | 52.00% | Nick Coons | Libertarian | 10,127 | 4.77% |
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Mitchell and his wife, Marianne, have two children. Their son, Mark Mitchell, is a former mayor of Tempe. Other politically active members of his family have included his brother, Robert Mitchell, who served as mayor and council member ofCasa Grande, and his grandfather,William W. Mitchell Sr., who served as a state legislator. Mitchell is a Catholic. Marianne Mitchell died on May 27, 2019, after a years-long battle with Alzheimer's disease, the city of Tempe announced on May 29. She was 78.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Chair of theArizona Democratic Party 2005–2006 | Succeeded by David Waid |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromArizona's 5th congressional district 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
