🕊️ Adelita Grijalva Interviewed By Buckmaster: Balancing Grief and Governance in the Shadow of a Progressive Giant
As federal funding cuts threaten community services, a daughter carries forward her father's legacy
Based on the Buckmaster Show for 3/20/25.
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
🕊️ Adelita Grijalva, who helps run Pima County, talked about her father who was a Congressman and passed away last week. She's feeling very 😢 but also worried about 💵 being taken away that helps 🏫 and people who need 🏠. The government is holding back about $52 million that was promised to help people in southern Arizona. Adelita is also trying to help homeowners remove unfair rules from old house papers that stopped certain groups of people from buying homes many years ago. She'll decide if she wants to run for her father's job after the family has memorial services next week.
🗝️ Takeaways
🕊️ Representative Raúl Grijalva, a progressive champion with 50 years of public service, has passed away at 77 from cancer treatment complications
💰 Approximately $52.6 million in federal funding for Pima County has been paused by FEMA, affecting migrant shelter services and complicating budget planning
🏫 The Trump administration's move to dissolve the Department of Education threatens special education services in Arizona, a state that has "historically underfunded and starved our public school system."
🏠 Adelita Grijalva's unanimously approved initiative will help homeowners remove racist language from pre-1948 property deeds by reducing or eliminating the $30 removal fee
🗓️ Primary election for Congressional District 7 will be held July 15th, with Adelita expected to announce her plans after her father's memorial services
The First Day of Spring Brings Grief and Governance: Adelita Grijalva Carries Forward a Legacy While Facing Political Challenges
As Bill Buckmaster launched into the Thursday edition of the Buckmaster Show on March 20th, 2025—marking the vernal equinox and his impressive 15th year on the radio (37th in Tucson media)—the airwaves carried the weight of both collective memory and looming political challenges. Broadcasting from the Green Thing Zolkalo Village Studio in central Tucson, Buckmaster's program would soon turn to a poignant conversation with Adelita Grijalva about her father's legacy and the Republican assault on local governance.
In the somber quiet of the studio, a daughter's grief intertwined with the pressing concerns of county governance as Adelita Grijalva, Vice Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, spoke candidly about the passing of her father, longtime U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva, and the challenges facing Southern Arizona communities.
"It has been an incredibly difficult week, the hardest of my life," Grijalva shared with host Bill Buckmaster, her voice steady despite the weight of loss. The progressive stalwart died just a week prior from complications related to cancer treatment at age 77, leaving behind not just a family in mourning but a community reflecting on his half-century of advocacy.
The outpouring of support has been overwhelming, with constituents approaching the family with deeply personal stories of how Representative Grijalva changed their lives. "He helped my family keep their house. He helped my grandfather get his veteran benefits and gave me my first job," Adelita recounted, highlighting how her father's impact extended far beyond the congressional record to the kitchen tables of everyday Arizonans.
While conservatives love painting progressive champions as detached ideologues, the reality is that true progressives like Raúl Grijalva built their legacies one family, one veteran, one house at a time – all while fighting the systemic battles those same families needed won.
For Adelita, who has followed in her father's political footsteps—serving 20 years on the Tucson Unified School District Board before joining the Pima County Board of Supervisors—politics has always been personal. Her earliest memories include watching her father transform at public events: "He didn't necessarily speak like that at home. So I'm like, who is he? He's like a superhero."
This superhero analogy seems especially apt as she described a childhood where both parents worked tirelessly, with people constantly approaching them for help or conversation. "I just feel like everyone always knew him," she reflected, painting a picture of a household where public service wasn't just a career but a way of life.
As the Grijalva family prepares for memorial services – starting with a rosary on March 25th at St. John Catholic Church, followed by a funeral mass at the downtown cathedral on March 26th, and culminating in a celebration of life at El Casino Ballroom – the political machinery of southern Arizona continues its relentless forward motion. The primary election for Congressional District 7 looms on July 15th, with a general election following on September 23rd.
When pressed about her own political future and whether she might seek her father's congressional seat, Adelita remained focused on the immediate task of honoring her father. "Basically, until the end of my dad's services, I'm just focused on ensuring that we celebrate his life in a way that he wanted," she stated, promising an announcement after the memorial events conclude.
The vultures of political opportunism circle overhead whenever a legacy seat opens, but there's something profoundly decent about a grieving daughter putting duty to family above ambition – especially when the right-wing media machine never pauses its attacks even for death.
Rather than flowers, the family has established the Grijalva Scholarship through the Sunnyside Foundation for graduates of Sunnyside High School – a tribute to the congressman who was "a very proud Sunnyside Blue Devil."
As the conversation pivoted to county business, the stark realities of the new political landscape came into focus. Grijalva revealed that FEMA has paused approximately $52.6 million in federal funding, which has significantly impacted migrant shelter services.
"This is not something that is specifically targeting Pima County," she explained. "This is something that other municipalities and counties have received as well... across the nation for costs that we've already encumbered."
The cruelty is the point. Holding communities hostage by withholding promised funds for services already provided isn't governance – it's hostage-taking with vulnerable lives in the balance.
This funding uncertainty is particularly problematic, as Pima County must assemble a balanced budget by June 30th. Grijalva characterized the situation as "a moving target" affecting not just county government but school districts and other entities relying on federal funding.
Her concerns intensified when discussing the Trump administration's first formal action to dissolve the Department of Education. Drawing on her two decades of school board experience, Grijalva painted a troubling picture of what this could mean for special education services and early intervention programs.
"When we hear of these cuts... it is devastating to our entire community," she emphasized, her voice gaining urgency. The elimination of federal education oversight would be particularly problematic in "a state like Arizona where we have historically underfunded and starved our public school system."
Conservative politicians who claim to worship "local control" sure seem eager to leave children with disabilities at the mercy of states that have proven themselves incapable of fulfilling essential educational obligations, almost like the whole "local control" argument was never about effective governance but about dismantling protections for the most vulnerable.
In the interview's final minutes, Grijalva highlighted a unanimously approved initiative she introduced to help homeowners remove racist language from deed covenants, primarily affecting properties built before 1948. These long-unenforceable but still-present restrictions represent a tangible legacy of institutional racism that many homeowners remain unaware exists in their property documents.
"Right now, the process is a little cumbersome, and it also is costly – it costs $30 to have that removed, and many people don't even realize that it's there," she explained, noting her proposal would reduce or eliminate these fees to make removal more accessible.
Through grief and governance, Adelita Grijalva embodies the continuation of a progressive legacy that sees the connections between personal struggles and systemic challenges. As she balances honoring her father's memory with addressing immediate community needs, she carries forward a vision of public service that works simultaneously on individual cases and structural change.
Moving Forward Together
In these challenging times of funding uncertainties and ideological assaults on public institutions, community engagement has become more crucial than ever. Consider attending local board meetings, supporting scholarship programs like the newly established Grijalva Scholarship, or contacting your representatives about the importance of federal funding for education and migrant services.
The progressive torch passes from one generation to the next not through inheritance but through commitment to the same communities and values. As we witness this transition in real-time, we're reminded that creating change requires both honoring those who came before and continuing their unfinished work.
What programs in your community are most threatened by federal funding cuts, and how might local organizations step up to fill these gaps?
How can we balance honoring political legacies while creating space for new leadership and fresh approaches to longstanding challenges?
Quotes:
"It has been an incredibly difficult week, hardest of my life... We've had heartfelt messages and cards and people just coming up and expressing how much he meant to them." — Adelita Grijalva on the passing of her father
"He's like a superhero. He's just, you know, no one ever wants to speak after him. And I never did. That's part of the deal. I'm happy to speak at an event, but not after my dad." — Adelita Grijalva describing her father's oratorical abilities
"It is designed to completely decimate our public education system." — Adelita Grijalva on the Trump administration's move to dissolve the Department of Education
"In a state like Arizona where we have historically underfunded and starved our public school system and when we have an individual like Tom Horn that is that has some influence over the education of our children, we should all be incredibly concerned." — Adelita Grijalva on the risks of eliminating federal education oversight
People Mentioned:
Raúl Grijalva - Longtime U.S. Representative who passed away at 77 from cancer treatment complications after 50 years of public service. Described by his daughter as someone who "helped my family keep their house. He helped my grandfather get his veteran benefits and gave me my first job."
Adelita Grijalva - Vice Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors and daughter of Rep. Raúl Grijalva. Former member of the Tucson Unified School District Board for 20 years.
Quote: "Basically until the end of my dad's services, I'm just focused on ensuring that we celebrate his life in a way that he wanted."
Bill Buckmaster - Host of the Buckmaster Show who conducted the interview with Adelita Grijalva. Has known Raúl Grijalva for 37 years and interviewed him "dozens and dozens of times."
Dr. Teresa Cullen - Pima County Health Department Director, mentioned as an upcoming guest on the Buckmaster Show.
Tom Horne (Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction) - Described by Adelita Grijalva as having "some influence over the education of our children," presented as a concerning figure in the context of education policy in Arizona.
