Harry Mitchell

For the boxer, see Harry Mitchell (boxer).

Harry Mitchell
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 5th district
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by	J. D. Hayworth
Succeeded by	David Schweikert
Chair of the Arizona Democratic Party
In office 2006
Preceded by	Jim Pederson
Succeeded by	David Waid
30th Mayor of Tempe, Arizona
In office 1978–1994
Preceded by	William J. LoPiano
Succeeded by	Neil Giuliano
Personal details
Born	July 18, 1940 (1940-07-18) Phoenix, Arizona
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Marianne Mitchell
Residence	Tempe, Arizona
Alma mater	Arizona State University
Occupation	High school teacher
Religion	Roman Catholic

Harry E. Mitchell (born July 18, 1940) is a former U.S. Representative who represented Arizona's 5th congressional district from 2007 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life, education and career

Born and raised in Tempe, Mitchell earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Arizona State University in 1962. He later earned a master's degree in public administration from ASU in 1980. In 1964, he began teaching American Government and Free Enterprise at Tempe High School, which he had attended and graduated from not long before. Despite being elected city councilor in 1970 and mayor in 1980, the part-time nature of Tempe's City Council allowed Mitchell to continue teaching. He did so for twenty-eight years, retiring in 1992.

Early political career

In 1970, Harry Mitchell sought and won a seat on the elected-at-large Tempe City Council. Re-elected in 1974, Mitchell ran for Mayor of Tempe in 1980, gaining a majority of votes cast in the primary and avoiding a runoff. He went on to win every subsequent election for Mayor in landslides until his retirement in 1994. A large statue of Mitchell stands just off Mill Avenue, next to City Hall and the other buildings comprising the Harry E. Mitchell Municipal Complex.

After retiring in 1994, Mitchell sought the Arizona Democratic Party's nomination for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, a constitutionally-mandated statewide-elected official charged with the management of Arizona's public schools. Mitchell narrowly lost in the primary — he attributes his only election loss to his inexperience in partisan races — and his opponent went on to lose the general election.

Four years later, however, Mitchell sought and won a seat in the Arizona Senate, representing Tempe and parts of southern Scottsdale. Even though his district was considered a "swing" district, Mitchell managed to win with clear majorities in each successive election. He has run under Arizona's Clean Elections law each legislative race, which provides public financing to statewide and legislative candidates as long as the candidates abide to certain restrictions and qualifications.

Facing term limits, Mitchell ran his last campaign for Arizona Senate in 2004. One year later, with the 2006 midterm elections approaching, Mitchell ran unopposed for chair of the Arizona Democratic Party after chairman Jim Pederson stepped down to run for the United States Senate. He was elected on August 20, 2005.

Mitchell oversaw much of the early ground work as the Arizona Democratic Party prepared for statewide elections on November 7, 2006. The Democrats recaptured the Tucson city council from years of Republican control on February 1, 2006.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

• Committee on Science and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
  • Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
• Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Mitchell was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition who emphasize bipartisanship and cooperation with the Republican party. His voting record has been described as blue dog and centrist. He has voted for legislation largely supported by Democrats in Congress, such as the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Although he expressed reservations about many of the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, he ultimately voted for it. Stating it was a "matter of principle," he declined coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program in favor of Medicare. He voted for the 2009 stimulus plan and has also stated he supports extending the Bush tax cuts.

Political campaigns

2006

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2006#District 5

Mitchell was head of the Arizona Democratic Party when a poll, sponsored by the Arizona Democratic Party and the DCCC, was leaked; the poll showed Republican J.D. Hayworth would be in a tight race against any of a handful of Democratic opponents; the district was rated "Toss-Up" by the Cook Political Report. Mitchell was pressured by several Arizona politicians and Rep. Rahm Emanuel, then head of the DCCC, to enter the race against Hayworth.

Mitchell stepped down as the chair of the Arizona Democratic Party on April 7. He entered the race on April 10 and raised a total of $213,209 for his campaign in less than two weeks.

By of the end of June 2006, Mitchell had nearly $700,000 on hand. An October 16 SurveyUSA poll showed Hayworth leading Mitchell by only 48% to 45%. On October 27, 2006, the Arizona Republic departed from its past endorsements of Hayworth and instead endorsed Mitchell. The polls demonstrated a slow, but deliberate, growth in the strength of Mitchell's popularity over the next few weeks.

On the evening of November 7, election day, most national and state news media outlets declared Mitchell the winner. However, Hayworth refused to concede, citing the significant number of absentee and early-voting ballots to be counted. As the ballots were counted and the results were updated each day, Hayworth never demonstrated the significant gains he anticipated and ending up losing the election by more than 8,000 votes. Hayworth conceded on November 14. Mitchell did not acknowledge his victory until November 22.

2008

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2008#District 5

Mitchell was reelected in 2008 with 53% of the popular vote over his Republican challenger, David Schweikert.

2010

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2010#District 5*

Mitchell lost his bid for reelection to Republican nominee David Schweikert.

This district has traditionally leaned Republican (R+5 according to analyst Charlie Cook). Thus, according to many analysts, Mitchell faced a difficult reelection campaign. Considering that his district was won by Bush in '04, but not Obama in '08, CQ Politics rated his district as tossup. Sarah Palin had also set a goal of replacing Mitchell with a "common sense conservative."

2012

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Arizona, 2012#District 9

Mitchell may run again for the U.S. House in 2012, in the new 9th congressional district.

Electoral history

Arizona's 5th congressional district: 2006 - 2010 results

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2006		Harry Mitchell	101,838	50.41%		J.D. Hayworth*	93,815	46.44%		Warren Severin	Libertarian	6,357	3.15%
2008		Harry Mitchell*	149,033	53.16%		David Schweikert	122,165	43.57%		Warren Severin	Libertarian	9,158	3.27%
2010		Harry Mitchell*	91,749	43.23%		David Schweikert	110,374	52.00%		Nick Coons	Libertarian	10,127	4.77%

Personal life

Mitchell and his wife, Marianne, have been married for over forty five years. They have two children, one of whom, Mark Mitchell, currently serves as Vice Mayor of Tempe. Other politically-active members of the his family have included Harry Mitchell's brother, Robert Mitchell, who served as mayor and council member of Casa Grande, and his grandfather, W.W. Mitchell, who served as a state legislator.

External links

• Harry Mitchell for Congress official campaign site
• Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Congressional profile at GovTrack
• Congressional profile at OpenCongress
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Appearances on C-SPAN programs
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by J.D. Hayworth	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's 5th congressional district 2007–2011	Succeeded by David Schweikert