Janet Napolitano outlines why she’s endorsing Galán-Woods to challenge US Rep. David Schwiekert.

Politics has always been a rough business and it is way worse now than it was when I was running for office. But you run because you feel a calling to serve the people of your state, as I had the honor of doing as your Attorney General and Governor.  

Thanks to you, my fellow Arizonans, I got to break a few barriers when I was doing it. I was the first female Attorney General of Arizona, the first woman to succeed another woman as Governor and was the first female Chair of the National Governors Association. I went on to become the first woman to serve as Secretary of Homeland Security and the first and only female president of the University of California higher education system. 

Breaking barriers can be tough, but breaking barriers is what Arizonans have always done better than any others. I don’t need to cite Barry Goldwater, John McCain, Mo Udall or Rose Mofford as examples of people who broke barriers and did things their own way, or the fact that Arizona is the only state that has had five female governors where most states have had none, much less more than one.  Arizonans follow their conscience when electing people to represent them and we always have.

Marlene Galán-Woods, who is running for Congress in Arizona’s first district, is a person who follows the finest Arizona tradition of breaking barriers.  And as usual, she is being attacked by her opponents because she is the type of change maker Arizonans need and other politicians fear. New ideas, creative thinking and willingness to break the status quo to get things done is what we need in our leaders. 

There’s a reason why the border was secure when I was Secretary of Homeland Security and why Arizona’s economy and schools flourished when I was Governor. I didn’t care what other politicians thought and I only cared about getting things done for Arizonans. Marlene shares that world view and approach to governing and it is what makes her a target of attack by her opponents and the right choice for voters in the first district.   

You know when you are being attacked by your political opponents, you’re doing something right and you know what it takes to win and govern in Arizona. Marlene can do both and both require a willingness to reach across the aisle. 

Marlene’s story is similar to that of many Arizonans, she isn’t focused on partisan politics and isn’t running just to get elected. She will break barriers for Arizonans by protecting constitutional rights, standing up for democracy, and investing in the middle class. She knows Washington isn’t working, and she’ll go to Congress to focus on getting work done on the issues that matter most, like reinstating reproductive rights, preserving democracy, and investing in an economy that works for everyone, not just the few.

I am supporting Marlene because she’s spent her entire adult life working for Arizona. First as a journalist and now as a civic leader, Marlene raised her family here and she and her late husband, Grant Woods, have been pillars of our community.

Representative Schweikert let Arizonans down repeatedly. I watched with dismay as he attempted to overturn the 2020 election results, cut funding for housing for Arizona seniors, opposed bipartisan efforts to prevent government shutdowns, and admitted to multiple ethics violations. 

And on the fundamental issue of the right for a woman to make her own healthcare decisions, David Schweikert is out of touch. He is misleading voters on his anti-abortion record because he knows he is out of step with Arizonans.The truth is Schweikert has championed a bill to stripaway reproductive freedoms from women, including abortion and IVF. Marlene, on the other hand, will be a fearless champion for reproductive rights in Congress. She is the only mother and grandmother in the race and, like for so many of us, this issue is personal. We cannot let our daughters and granddaughters grow up with fewer rights than we had.

In November, we have an option to send a representative to Wahington who will actually represent us and protect our fundamental freedoms. That’s Marlene Galán-Woods. It’s time for a change and in this primary election, I am proudly supporting Marlene Galán-Woods.