Dear Lucas,
Today I congratulated Martha McSally on her victory, and wished her well
in serving Southern Arizonans. This result is not the one we hoped for,
but we take solace in having spoken out loud and clear for the principle
that every legal vote should be counted. As in every election system,
there are imperfections in ours, and we must work to correct them. When
an election is as close as this one has been, we do our best to arrive
at the correct result, and then accept it with respect for the voters.
I love Southern Arizona and serving the people who live here was an unexpected
honor. In 1967, I graduated from the U of A and married Nancy--I figured
it couldn't get much better than that. Never in my life did I expect
to serve in Congress. For me, the work was a joy to do every day, helping
veterans get access to the benefits they earned, keeping middle class
families from having their homes foreclosed, pushing the EPA into not
closing the power plant in Cochise County that provides a good income
to nearly 250 families. I still believe that we can be successful when
people from both parties work together--that's how we stopped the
Pentagon from mothballing the A-10 and increased funding for mental health services.
There's a lot more work to do to solve the real challenges facing
our country, and I will have plenty to say about them in the weeks to come.
Today, I want to thank you for all of your support and warmth and passion.
With many thanks,
Ron