TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Now that she's newly elected to Congress, Adelita Grijalva has to get to DC, get sworn in, learn the systems and get to work.
“I’m in this position because my Dad passed away but I’m very excited and honored to be able to represent this community but it's sort of one of those bittersweet feelings that we even had to have this election in the first place.”
Adelita Grijalva had almost no time to grieve about her father, Congressman Raul Grijalva before she had to set to work convincing voters to choose her to replace him in Congress.
She is headed to DC on Monday but says based on Congressional schedules it may be October 7th before she’s formally sworn in.
In Congress, seniority helps decide everything from the committees you’re on to the office you get. Grijalva will need to put some time in.
“I am the most freshman, freshman, yes, until the next special election, and then, you know, I'll be one up.”
She says she’ll be able to move into her father’s old office—-temporarily.
“Only because I am finishing the rest of my dad's term. So for the next 15 months, I will be in that space, and then I will get moved into what’s probably a little closet, because that's what my dad was in when he was a freshman.”
With her education background she’s requesting a seat on the Education and Workforce Committee. She’s also interested in Natural Resources, a committee her father chaired.
She says her time on the boards for TUSD and the Pima Supervisors give her a good understanding of organizational rules but all new members of Congress have to go to classes on the complex rules for the House.
