Former Tucson congressman Jim Kolbe dies at 80

[Ptah]

Source: Arizona Daily Star

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.

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

[DFW]

1. I remember him. He used to occasionally attend the same gatherings we do at the end of the year

He was a nice guy, level-headed, personable, not at all what today's Republicans are. I didn't even know he was the first openly gay Republican member of Congress. After he retired, Gabby Giffords ended up in his House seat.