Former Tucson congressman Jim Kolbe dies at 80

[Ptah]

Jim Kolbe, who represented Southern Arizona in Congress for 22 years, died today at the age of 80.

Kolbe, a Republican, served in the Vietnam War on the Navy Swift Boat force before becoming an Arizona state legislator and going on to Congress, starting in 1985, where he was a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

"Pima County and Southern Arizona could always count on Jim Kolbe," Pima County Supervisors Sharon Bronson said in a statement Saturday.

"Whether he was in the state Legislature or in the Congress the man from Patagonia always acted in the best interests of Southern Arizona. Jim was old school Republican in the mold of Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower — a friend of business and the environment," said Bronson, a Democrat.

https://tucson.com/news/local/former-tucson-congressman-jim-kolbe-dies-at-80/article_3f4e48ee-7351-11ed-8f93-67180654c932.html

[Kali]

1. he was an OK, old style Arizona republican not afraid to have his own views

and gay as well. proponent for gay rights and the environment for many years.

[Ptah]

4. I met him once when he was doing a tour of manufacturing in Tucson.

He saw my Arizona Boy's State pin and we had a short chat.

He seemed like a nice guy.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Openly Gay Former US Rep. Jim Kolbe Dies At Age 80

Openly Gay Former US Rep. Jim Kolbe Dies At Age 80
December 3, 2022

Phoenix’s NBC affiliate reports:

Former Congressman and Arizona State Senator Jim Kolbe has passed away at the age of 80. Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags at all state buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunset Sunday, December 4, in honor of Kolbe, who died Saturday.

Kolbe was a political pioneer, serving as the first openly gay Republican in the U.S. Congress. During his 22-year tenure from 1985-2007, he served as chair of the Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs of the House Appropriations Committee.

Read the full article.

Kolbe was outed by gay activists in 1996 after his vote for the Defense of Marriage Act, although in 2013 he was a signatory to an amicus brief in support of the repeal of California’s Proposition 8.

In 2012 he appeared on JMG when he endorsed the ultimately failed US House run of homocon Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu.

In 2000 he became the first openly gay person to address a Republican National Convention, although he speech did not touch on LGBTQ issues.

{snip}

[ChazII]

3. Condolences to his friends and family. n/t