Edward Lopez Pastor (; June 28, 1943 – November 27, 2018) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona from 1991 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Arizona's 2nd congressional district from 1991 to 2003, its 4th district from 2003 to 2013, and its 7th district from 2013 to 2015, all of which were anchored in downtown Phoenix.
Early life
Pastor was born in Claypool, Arizona, as the oldest of three children. After high school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Arizona State University (ASU). He became a chemistry teacher at North High School in Phoenix and later went on to work as deputy director of the community service group Guadalupe Organization Inc.
After returning to ASU to earn a J.D. degree, he became an assistant to Arizona Governor Raúl Héctor Castro. In 1976, Pastor was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and he served three terms in that role as a county executive.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 1991, Pastor entered a special election to succeed retiring 30-year incumbent Democrat Mo Udall in the 2nd District, which then comprised the southwestern part of Arizona, including half of Tucson and portions of southern Phoenix. Pastor won a narrow victory in the four-way Democratic primary, defeating his closest challenger, Tucson mayor Tom Volgy, by 1,800 votes. 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.
Pastor's former territory was renumbered as the 7th District following the 2000 census, but his home in Phoenix was drawn into the newly created 4th District. Rather than move to the Phoenix portion of the reconfigured 7th, he opted to run in the 4th. He was reelected six times against nominal Republican opposition.
Tenure
right|thumb|Ed Pastor introducing President [[Bill Clinton in Phoenix in March 2016.]]
Pastor was one of the nine Chief Deputy Whips for the Democratic Caucus. 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. He was well-respected by members of both parties, and had a reputation for bipartisanship. In 2006, NARAL Pro-Choice America-Endorsements endorsed Representative Pastor. He voted against the 2002 Iraq Resolution that started the Iraq War.
In 2011, Pastor voted against the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. He also voted against several bills that would encourage trade between countries such as Panama.
Around the mid-1990s, Pastor was backed by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. 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.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Appropriations
- Subcommittee of Energy and Water Development
- Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
- Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)
- Source:
Caucuses
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- International Conservation Caucus
- Source:
A section of Loop 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 Leader Charlene Fernandez.
Personal life
Pastor was married to Verma Mendez for 53 years and had two daughters, Yvonne and Laura. He died on November 27, 2018, following a heart attack in Phoenix at the age of 75.
Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 1991–2000
!|Year
!
!|Democratic
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|3rd Party
!|Party
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1991
|
| |
| align="right" |32,289
| |55.54%
|
| |Pat Conner
| align="right" |25,814
| |44.40%
|
| |Bruce A. Friedemann
| |Independent
| align="right" |33
| |0.06%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1992
|
| |
| align="right" |90,693
| |66.02%
|
| |Don Shooter
| align="right" |41,257
| |30.03%
|
| |Dan Detaranto
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |5,423
| align="right" |3.95%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1994
|
| |Ed Pastor*
| align="right" |62,589
| |62.31%
|
| |
| align="right" |32,797
| |32.65%
|
| |James Bertrand
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |5,060
| align="right" |5.04%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1996
|
| |Ed Pastor
| align="right" |81,982
| |65.01%
|
| |Jim Buster
| align="right" |38,786
| |30.76%
|
| |Alice Bangle
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |5,333
| align="right" |4.23%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|1998
|
| |Ed Pastor*
| align="right" |57,178
| |67.78%
|
| |Ed Barron
| align="right" |23,628
| |28.01%
|
| |Rick Duncan
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |2,646
| align="right" |3.14%
|
| |Gregory R. Schultz
| |Reform
| align="right" |911
| align="right" |1.08%
|
|-
|2000
|
| |Ed Pastor*
| align="right" |84,034
| |68.54%
|
| |
| align="right" |32,990
| |26.91%
|
| |Geoffrey Weber
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |3,169
| align="right" |2.59%
|
| |Barbara Shelor
| |Natural Law
| align="right" |2,412
| align="right" |1.97%
|
|}
- Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1990, write-ins received 44 votes. In 1992, write-ins received 5 votes.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ : Results 2002–2010
! Year
!
! Democratic
! Votes
! Pct
!
! Republican
! Votes
! Pct
!
! 3rd Party
! Party
! Votes
! Pct
!
|-
|2012
|
| |
| align="right" |104,489
| |81.74%
|
| |
| |
| |
|
| |Joe Cobb
| |Libertarian
| align="right" |23,338
| |18.25%
|
|}
See also
- List of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States Congress
References
External links
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- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Issue positions and quotes at On the Issues
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- Collected news and commentary at The Washington Post
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