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Jim Kolbe

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Jim Kolbe
Kolbe in the 1990s
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromArizona
In office
January 3, 1985 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byJames F. McNulty Jr.
Succeeded byGabby Giffords
Constituency
Member of theArizona Senate
from the14thdistrict
In office
January 3, 1977 – December 31, 1982
Preceded byLucy Davidson
Succeeded byWilliam De Long
Personal details
Born
James Thomas Kolbe

(1942-06-28)June 28, 1942
Evanston, Illinois,U.S.
DiedDecember 3, 2022(2022-12-03)(aged 80)
Political party
Spouses
  • Sarah Dinham
    ​
    ​
    (m.1977;div.1992)​
  • Hector Alfonso
    ​
    (m.2013)​
Education
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service
  • 1967–1969 (Active)
  • 1970–1977 (Reserve)

James Thomas Kolbe(June 28, 1942 – December 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as aRepublicanmember of theUnited States House of Representatives.He representedArizona's 5th congressional districtfrom 1985 to 2003 and its8th congressional districtfrom 2003 to 2007. Amoderate,pro–abortion rightsRepublican, hecame outas gay in 1996 after voting in support of theDefense of Marriage Act;his subsequent re-elections made him the second openly gay Republican elected to Congress.

After leaving Congress, Kolbe served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations under Democratic presidentBarack Obama.Kolbe left the Republican Party and became anindependentin 2018 after the election ofDonald Trump.He endorsedJoe Bidenin the2020 presidential election.

Early life

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Kolbe was born inEvanston, Illinois,a suburb of Chicago, on June 28, 1942,[1]the son of Helen Nevada (Reed) and Walter William Kolbe.[2][3]When he was five, his family moved to a ranch in ruralSanta Cruz County, Arizona.He attended Patagonia Elementary School andPatagonia Union High School,but graduated from the United States Capitol Page School in 1960 after serving for three years as aUnited States Senate PageforBarry Goldwater.In 1965, he received his bachelor's degree inpolitical sciencefromNorthwestern Universityin Evanston, where he was a member ofAcacia fraternity,and, in 1967, hismaster's in business administrationfromStanford UniversityinPalo Alto, California.[4]He served in theUnited States Navy,including a year in Vietnam in the riverine, "Swift Boat,"force.[5]He was a special assistant toIllinois Republican GovernorRichard B. Ogilvie.He then moved toTucson, Arizona,where he was a business executive.[6]

Arizona Senate

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In 1976, Kolbe ran for theArizona Senatein a Tucson-area district and defeatedLucy Davidson,a one-termDemocratwho had been elected in the national Democratic wave of 1974. He served three terms in that body, and was majority whip from 1979 to 1982.

U.S. House of Representatives

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In 1982, Kolbe ran for theUnited States House of Representativesin the newly created5th congressional district.He lost to DemocratJim McNulty,a member of theArizona Board of Regents,by one percent.[7]However, Kolbe sought a rematch in 1984. Buoyed byRonald Reagan's massive national landslide that year (Reagan carried the 5th with 60 percent of the vote), Kolbe won,[8]becoming the first—and until the 2014 elections, only—Republican to represent the Arizona-Mexico border region in the House. He was reelected 10 times, often facing only token opposition. In 1998, former Tucson mayorTom Volgychallenged Kolbe,[9]holding Kolbe to only 51 percent of the vote.[10]

Kolbe was amoderate Republican.[11]This served him well; although his district included most of Tucson's Republican-leaning suburbs, the brand of Republican politics practiced in Southeast Arizona has traditionally been a centrist and independently-minded one. Like his mentor, Goldwater, Kolbe supportedabortion rights.[12]He was generally more supportive of environmental legislation than most Republicans, especially those from the West. He was a member of various moderate Republican groups such as theLog Cabin Republicans,theRepublican Main Street Partnership,[13]theRepublican Majority For Choice,Republicans for Choice,Republicans For Environmental Protection,andIt's My Party Too.He was one of the four Republicans who voted against thePartial-Birth Abortion Ban Actwhich was passed by the House of Representatives with 281–142 votes on October 2, 2003.[14]

In 2001, Kolbe introduced theLegal Tender Modernization Actwhich would have ceased production of the U.S.one-cent piece (penny).In July 2006, Kolbe introduced the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act, which would round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. This act would effectively remove the penny from circulation. Kolbe argued that, because of inflation, the penny is virtually worthless, and that the U.S. should stop using the penny now that the costs of penny production exceed its value. Kolbe had received some media attention as one of the foremost promoters ofeliminating the penny from circulation.[15]

In 2004,State HouseMajority WhipRandy Grafchallenged Kolbe for the Republican nomination.[16]It was the first substantive primary challenge Kolbe had faced since his initial run for the seat in 1982. Graf ran well to Kolbe's right, but was best known for his hardline approach to illegal immigration. In contrast, Kolbe was a strong supporter ofguest worker programsfor immigrants. Kolbe defeated Graf.[17]He easily won an 11th term in November. Also in 2004, Kolbe was among the 27 Republicans who voted against theFederal Marriage Amendment,a constitutional amendment intended to ban gay marriage.[18]He voted against banning gay marriage again in 2006.[19]

On November 23, 2005, Kolbe announced that he would not seek a 12th term in 2006.[20]While Kolbe had usually coasted to reelection, it had been expected to be very competitive if he ever retired. (Bill Clintonhad narrowly won the district in 1996, andGeorge W. Bushnarrowly edged outAl GoreandJohn Kerryin both of his presidential bids.) Graf won the five-candidate primary on September 12, 2006. Kolbe refused to endorse Graf,[21]who lost to DemocratGabby Giffordsin the November 2006 election.[22]

Kolbe endorsed State Senate PresidentTim Bee's bid to unseat Giffords in 2008. However, he withdrew his endorsement in July 2008.[23]

Mark Foley scandal

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Main article:Mark Foley scandal

In 2000, when Kolbe found out about former CongressmanMark Foley's "Internet communications with teenagers" who were subordinate to Foley, he informed the office that oversaw the page program. He assumed the matter had been taken care of, although this was not brought to the public's attention until September 29, 2006,[24]when it became public that Foley had sent sexually explicit and solicitative e-mails andinstant messagesto young adult male pages. Republican leaders had claimed that they had only recently been made aware of Foley's actions, despite Kolbe's actions.[25]In January 2007, theFederal Election Commissioncommittee ruled that Kolbe could use campaign funds for legal expenses associated with the Foley scandal.[26] Former SenatorLarry Craigcited this ruling in 2012 in defense against a lawsuit by the FEC regarding Craig's use of campaign funds in his own legal defense.[27]

In October 2006, federal prosecutors in Arizona opened a preliminary investigation into a camping trip that Kolbe took in July 1996 that included two teenage former congressional pages, as well as National Park officials, then-current staff, and Kolbe's sister. During that trip to the Grand Canyon, he was accused of "acting inappropriately";NBC Newsinterviewed several people who were on the trip, and their accounts vary. On June 5, 2007, federal investigators absolved Kolbe of any wrongdoing in the case. In a statement released by the Justice Department, "investigators have completed their work on the preliminary inquiry opened by federal prosecutors last fall, and see no reason to pursue it further."[28]

After Congress

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Kolbe in 2017

Following his career in elected office, Kolbe became a fellow at theGerman Marshall Fundthink tank and a consultant atKissinger McLarty Associates.He focused on issues that were his priorities while he was in Congress—trade, aid, and migration. During the fall semesters from 2007 to 2009, he taught a class on trade andglobalizationat theUniversity of ArizonaJames E. Rogers College of LawinTucson.He was a member of the board of directors of theInternational Republican Institute.[29]During the 2010 election he broke from the Republican Party to endorse the candidacy of DemocratAndrei Chernyfor state treasurer.[30]He was also a member of Washington D.C. based think tank theInter-American Dialogue.[31]

In September 2010, PresidentBarack Obamaappointed Kolbe to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.[32]Kolbe served on the Board of Advisors forInternational Relief and Development Inc.[33]He was also a Co-Chairman of the dollar coin alliance.[34]Kolbe served on the board of directors of theCommittee for a Responsible Federal Budget.[35]

In 2018, Kolbe left theRepublican Party.[36]He endorsed DemocratJoe Bidenfor president in the2020 presidential election.[37]

In 2020, Kolbe, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."[38]

Kolbe sat on the Executive Advisory Board for autonomous trucking company TuSimple.[39]He joined nine other former members of Congress to co-author a 2021 opinion editorial advocating reforms of Congress.[40]

Personal life

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Kolbe was married to Sarah Dinham, a professor of educational psychology at theUniversity of Arizona,from 1977 to 1992.[41][42]He was a member of CatalinaUnited Methodist Church.[43]

Kolbecame outas gay in August 1996 after his vote in favor of theDefense of Marriage Actspurred efforts by some gay rights activists toouthim.[44][45]He won re-election that year. In 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address theRepublican National Convention,although his speech did not addressgay rights.[46]He was the second openly gay Republican to serve in Congress, the first beingSteve GundersonofWisconsin.[47]

In 2013, Kolbe married his partner, Hector Alfonso.[48]That year, Kolbe was a signatory to anamicus curiaebrief submitted to theU.S. Supreme Courtin support ofsame-sex marriageduring theHollingsworth v. Perrycase.[49]

On December 3, 2022, Kolbe died from a stroke at age 80.[50]Arizona GovernorDoug Duceyordered flags in the state to be lowered until the evening of December 4 in honor of Kolbe.[51]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Pannett, Rachel (December 4, 2022)."Former GOP congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona dies at 80".Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 6,2022.
  2. ^Janega, James (June 3, 2002)."Helen Reed Kolbe, 93".The Chicago Tribune.
  3. ^"Mother of Rep. Jim KolbeHelen Reed Kolbe dies at age of 93".June 7, 2002.
  4. ^Hansen, Ronald J. (December 3, 2022)."Former Rep. Jim Kolbe, 11-term member of Congress, dead at 80".Arizona Republic.Archivedfrom the original on December 4, 2022.
  5. ^The Vietnam War and the Congressman of the 1980s,New York Times,David K. Shipler, May 28, 1986. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  6. ^"Arizona Republic 07 Jan 1979, Page 3".Newspapers. January 7, 1979.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  7. ^"Tucson Citizen 03 Nov 1982, page 1".Newspapers. November 3, 1982.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  8. ^"Arizona Republic 08 Nov 1984, Page 7".Newspapers. November 8, 1984.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  9. ^Rotstein, Arthur H. (February 17, 2007)."The Big Story: Kolbe off on a new career".Green Valley News & Sahuarita Sun.Associated Press.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  10. ^"Arizona Daily Star 04 Nov 1998, Page 1".Newspapers. November 4, 1998.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  11. ^Hook, Janet (November 24, 2005)."Republican Moderate Kolbe Puts His House Seat in Play".Los Angeles Times.ISSN0458-3035.RetrievedJuly 16,2018.
  12. ^Toner, Robin (April 24, 1990)."G.O.P. Group Formed to Support Abortion Rights – The New York Times".The New York Times.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  13. ^White, Ben (February 19, 1999)."Gop Moderates Issue Call To End 'Partisan Hostility'".The Washington Post.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  14. ^"Arizona Republic 03 Oct 2003, Page 8".Newspapers. October 3, 2003.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  15. ^"The Times-Tribune 12 Aug 2001, page 25".Newspapers. August 12, 2001.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  16. ^Karamargin, C. J. (August 8, 2004)."Border policy defines Kolbe-Graf race".Arizona Daily Star.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  17. ^Jennifer Mock, CQ Staff (September 8, 2004)."The New York Times > Congressional Quarterly > Washington > CQ Today: Arizona Incumbents' Advantage Proves True to the Test".The New York Times.Arizona.RetrievedDecember 4,2022.
  18. ^Stolberg, Sheryl Gay (October 2004)."Same-Sex Marriage Amendment Fails in House".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 26,2018.
  19. ^Covarrubias, Amanda (November 4, 2006)."He's GOP and he's proud".Los Angeles Times.ISSN0458-3035.RetrievedAugust 30,2018.
  20. ^"Tucson Citizen 24 Nov 2005, page 1".Newspapers. November 24, 2005.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  21. ^"Tucson Citizen 09 Nov 2006, page 14".Newspapers. November 9, 2006.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  22. ^"Arizona Daily Star 09 Nov 2006, Page 15".Newspapers. November 9, 2006.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  23. ^Burns, Alexander (July 7, 2008)."Bee gets stung by leading campaign backer".Politico.RetrievedFebruary 22,2012.
  24. ^Weisman, Jonathan (October 9, 2006)."Lawmaker Saw Foley Messages In 2000".The Washington Post.p. A01.RetrievedNovember 25,2007.
  25. ^"Three More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches".ABC News. October 5, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon October 11, 2006.RetrievedOctober 5,2006.
  26. ^Associated Press (December 25, 2007),"FEC: Kolbe may use campaign funds for defense in Foley case",Tucson Citizen,retrievedAugust 3,2012
  27. ^Miller, John (August 3, 2012),"Ex-Idaho senator: Bathroom trip official business",San Francisco Chronicle,retrievedAugust 3,2012
  28. ^"Feds probe trip that Kolbe made with pages".NBC News. October 13, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon December 7, 2014.RetrievedOctober 13,2006.
  29. ^"International Republican Institute web site, accessed July 16, 2010".Iri.org. Archived fromthe originalon April 28, 2010.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
  30. ^"Republican Kolbe endorses Democrat for treasurer".The Associated Press. August 30, 2010.
  31. ^"Inter-American Dialogue | Jim Kolbe".thedialogue.org.RetrievedApril 12,2017.
  32. ^"Obama Appoints Kolbe to Trade Group".Advocate. September 16, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2010.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
  33. ^and was a member of the advisory board for theMexico Institute. "IRD Board of Directors".Archived fromthe originalon January 4, 2012.RetrievedDecember 21,2011.
  34. ^"About Our Coalition".Dollarcoinalliance.org.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
  35. ^"Board Members".crfb.org.RetrievedOctober 3,2019.
  36. ^Shearer, Dan (February 1, 2020)."Former Rep. Jim Kolbe says he left Republican Party 18 months ago".Tucson Sentinel.RetrievedJuly 23,2021.
  37. ^Kolbe, Jim (September 22, 2020)."I'm a conservative and I'm voting for Joe Biden".Arizona Daily Star.RetrievedOctober 27,2020.
  38. ^"Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden".Defending Democracy Together.August 20, 2020.RetrievedAugust 26,2021.
  39. ^TuSimple."TuSimple Announces Executive Advisory Board Consisting of Industry and Regulatory Experts".prnewswire(Press release).RetrievedJuly 23,2021.
  40. ^"We Know Congress Needs Reform".West Virginia Gazette.August 13, 2021.
  41. ^"'It's a relief,' Kolbe says – Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 2 (1993–2009) ".Tucsoncitizen. August 1, 1996.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  42. ^"The Free Library".The Free Library.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
  43. ^Pallack, Becky (May 15, 2013)."Jim Kolbe to marry partner of 8 years".Arizona Daily Star.RetrievedSeptember 3,2020.
  44. ^Dunlap, David W. (August 3, 1996)."A Republican Congressman Discloses He Is a Homosexual".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 25,2007.
  45. ^"It's a Relief, Kolbe Says".Tucson Citizen, August 1, 1996.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
  46. ^Campbell, Julia (August 1, 2000)."Openly Gay Congressman Addresses Convention".ABC News.
  47. ^Eaklor, Vicki Lynn (2008).Queer America: a GLBT history of the 20th century.ABC-CLIO.p. 213.ISBN978-0-313-33749-9.
  48. ^"Jim Kolbe, former congressman, weds Hector Alfonso".The Washington Post.May 20, 2013.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedNovember 11,2015.
  49. ^Avlon, John (February 28, 2013)."The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief".Thedailybeast.RetrievedDecember 5,2013.
  50. ^Coile, Norma (December 3, 2022)."Former Tucson congressman Jim Kolbe dies at 80".Arizona Daily Star.RetrievedDecember 3,2022.
  51. ^"Longtime Arizona GOP Rep. Jim Kolbe dies at 80".Associated Press.December 3, 2022.RetrievedDecember 6,2022.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related toJim Kolbe.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromArizona's 5th congressional district
1985–2003 		Succeeded by
New constituency Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromArizona's 8th congressional district
2003–2007 		Succeeded by
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