Congresswoman Kirkpatrick in Greenlee on Feb. 1: All of Greenlee invited to event at Tyler’s in Clifton

She will be meeting with the public and local elected officials at a 6 p.m. dinner at Tyler’s Taste of Texas in South Clifton. When she says “public,” that means folks of any political persuasion, be it Republicans, Independents, Democrats or otherwise.

“Ann is a Democrat but she is reaching out to everyone,” a local spokesperson said. “Political affiliation doesn’t matter. She wants to hear what we in Greenlee feel we need and what folks have to say.”

Kirkpatrick represents Congressional District 1. She served in Congress from 2008-10, was defeated by Paul Gosar in 2010 and was elected again last November. During his tenure, Gosar made only one visit to Greenlee, and that was for a brief meeting with the County Board of Supervisors.

The local spokesperson said, “We believe a critical factor is that Congresswoman Kirkpatrick is one of us. She is from a genuinely rural area. She was born and raised in McNary-Whiteriver, and like Greenlee County, you can’t get much more rural than that. She also served in the State Legislature, so she has a good overall picture of Arizona and what the difference between rural versus urban really means.”

Kirkaptrick has been appointed to several Congressional committees. She is the only Arizonan to sit on a key committee that oversees armed forces veterans’ affairs. Kirkpatrick’s colleagues on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee also chose her to be a member of the Economic Opportunity Subcommit-tee.

“She is passionate about government doing what is right for veterans and she is fully aware of the many veterans who live in CD 1 and that certainly includes Greenlee County,”

Besides being a strong advocate of ranching and farming, Kirkpatrick is a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment – the right to bear arms. “She has an incredibly strong record on voting for 2nd Amendment rights,” spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said. “In fact, she has an “A” rating from the NRA (National Rifle Association).

 Kirpatrick is a strong supporter of a recent Congressional act to provide drought relief aid for several Arizona counties, including Greenlee.

 The Congresswoman has, in addition to other duties, been appointed to

three more House subcommittees in the 113th Congress. The panels, all under the jurisdiction of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, are:

 The Highways and Transit Subcommittee; the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee which handles matters related to civil works programs of the Army Corps of Engineers, including flood control and certain watershed projects; and the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management Subcommittee.

 It handles matters related to economic development for distressed regions, economic adjustment, including assistance to communities needing relief due to natural disasters and military base closures; and general infrastructure issues.

 He position on that committee dealing with relief due to natural disasters could be of particular importance to Greenlee due to regular flooding by the Gila River in Duncan and the San Francisco River in Clifton, the county seat.