🔥 Indigenous Scholar Jose Malvido Steps into Congressional Race After Grijalva's Passing
A New Voice Emerges from the Borderlands Resistance
😽 Keepin’ It Simple Summary for Younger Readers
👧🏾✊🏾👦🏾
Arizona's Congressional District 7 needs a new representative after Congressman Grijalva passed away. 🇺🇸🕊️ Jose Malvido wants to be that person. 📚 He's studying to become a doctor of philosophy 🎓 while working to help communities that don’t always get treated fairly. 🤝 The district includes Native American lands that were split in half when the border between the United States and Mexico was created.
🏞️🇲🇽 Jose understands these problems because he is Indigenous himself 🌿 and has spent years working with communities on both sides of the border. 🌍 He wants to help ensure everyone has enough money to live 💰, good healthcare 🏥, and access to education 📖. He doesn't have a lot of money for his campaign 💵, so he needs regular people to help spread his message 📣 and vote for him. 🗳️
🗝️ Takeaways
🗳️ A special election for Arizona's CD-7 is happening following the passing of longtime Congressman Raúl Grijalva
🎓 Jose Malvido is an Indigenous scholar and Ph.D. student with over 20 years of experience working with disenfranchised communities
🌐 His involvement with Peace and Dignity Journeys shows his commitment to Indigenous solidarity across imposed borders
🛡️ CD-7, where Jose was born and raised, includes Tohono O'odham Nation lands that have been divided by the US-Mexico border, making Malvido's Indigenous perspective crucial
💰 Running on a "shoestring budget," Malvido's campaign relies on grassroots support rather than corporate donors
🏥 His platform focuses on economic development, social security protection, healthcare access, educational equality, and Indigenous sovereignty
🔄 This election is particularly important as communities face challenges from Trump administration border policies
Why Jose Malvido is the Voice CD-7 Needs in This Critical Moment
La lucha sigue, pero los guerreros cambian.
The struggle continues, but the warriors change. This ancient wisdom feels especially poignant as our borderlands community grapples with the profound loss of Congressman Raúl Grijalva, whose decades of fierce advocacy left an indelible mark on our district and nation. Now, as we face a special election to fill his seat, we must ask ourselves: who can possibly carry forward the torch of resistance, dignity, and justice that Grijalva held so high?
Enter José Malvido – not as a replacement, because true leaders are irreplaceable, but as a continuation of the struggle with a voice uniquely suited for this precarious moment in our history.
The Wound of Loss and the Promise of Renewal
The passing of Representative Grijalva has left a gaping wound in the heart of Arizona's 7th Congressional District. For decades, he stood as an unwavering champion of environmental justice, immigrant rights, and Indigenous sovereignty. His absence is felt deeply across the borderlands, from the sacred lands of the Tohono O'odham Nation to the barrios of Tucson and Yuma.
But in moments of profound loss, we're often presented with opportunities for renewal that honor the legacy of those who came before while embracing new vision and energy.
This special election isn't merely about filling a vacant seat – it's about determining who will represent us during one of the most challenging periods for border communities in recent memory.
Why José Malvido? A Scholar-Activist Rooted in the Borderlands
José Malvido isn't your typical political candidate, and that's precisely why his candidacy matters. Born and raised in Southern Arizona’s CD-7, he is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at the University of Arizona and holds an MA in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University. Malvido brings the analytical depth and critical thinking our community desperately needs in Washington.
But make no mistake – Malvido is no ivory tower academic disconnected from the daily realities of our people. For over two decades, he has worked directly with disenfranchised communities, building grassroots movements that challenge systems of oppression. His extensive resume includes:
Community Health Department Director for the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara County
Director of Native American Programs for the Seva Foundation
Social Justice Fellow for the San Francisco Foundation
Director of Community Services for Chicanos Por La Causa
Vice President of the Board for International Funders for Indigenous Peoples
Treasurer for both the Cultural Conservancy and Saphichay
Senior Program Officer for an Indigenous philanthropic organization
This isn't just a list of impressive titles – it's evidence of a life committed to service, community empowerment, and systemic change. Malvido has dedicated himself to program development, grassroots organizing, and managing initiatives directly impacting the most vulnerable among us.
Indigenous Representation Matters – Especially Now
CD-7 includes one of the largest Indigenous reservations in the country – the Tohono O'odham Nation – whose ancestral territory has been brutally bisected by the U.S.-Mexico border. This man-made boundary, imposed without consent or consideration, continues to separate families, disrupt traditional lifeways, and desecrate sacred sites.
¿Quién mejor para entender estas heridas que alguien que las ha vivido? Who better to understand these wounds than someone who has lived them?
As an Indigenous scholar and activist, Malvido brings a perspective that is woefully underrepresented in Congress. His deep involvement with the Peace and Dignity Journeys since 1993 – an intercontinental Indigenous prayer run that connects communities from Alaska to Argentina – demonstrates his commitment to Indigenous solidarity across imposed national borders.
The Journeys connect hundreds of communities across 15 countries in a powerful demonstration of Indigenous resistance and resilience. This work embodies the kind of border-transcending vision that our district desperately needs in Congress.
The Trump Factor: Why This Election Matters More Than Ever
Let's not sugarcoat reality: Donald Trump's return to the White House represents an existential threat to our borderlands communities. His first term brought us:
Family separation policies that tore children from their parents
Border wall construction that cuts through sacred Native sites and fragile ecosystems
Rhetoric that demonized immigrants and border communities
Attempts to drastically reduce legal immigration pathways
Militarization of the border region
Disregard for tribal sovereignty and consultation requirements
Trump's administration has consistently treated our borderlands as nothing more than a political prop – a convenient backdrop for fearmongering and nativist posturing. The suffering inflicted on real human beings matters little to those pushing policies from comfortable offices in Washington.
This is why we need representatives who don't just understand border issues as abstract policy matters, but who know them as lived reality. Malvido's experience working across borders, building coalitions, and fighting for the dignity of marginalized communities makes him uniquely equipped to stand against the renewed assault we face from the Trump administration.
Economic Justice in a Region of Disparity
The 7th District faces stark economic challenges that have only intensified in recent years. From healthcare access to educational opportunity, our communities often find themselves on the wrong side of America's growing inequality gap.
Malvido's platform addresses these realities head-on:
Economic Development: Fighting for a substantial increase in the minimum wage, seeking economic development opportunities, and expanding job training programs that create pathways to sustainable employment.
Social Security Protection: Defending Social Security from privatization efforts and ensuring its long-term viability for current and future generations.
Healthcare Access: Working toward ensuring quality healthcare access for all residents of the district, regardless of immigration status or economic means.
Educational Equality: Making education accessible and affordable, recognizing that our district's future depends on investing in our youth.
Indigenous Sovereignty: Supporting the rights and self-determination of the Tohono O'odham, Cocopah, and Yaqui Pueblo, recognizing that tribal sovereignty is not negotiable.
These aren't just campaign talking points – they're commitments rooted in Malvido's decades of work in exactly these areas. When he speaks about healthcare access, it's informed by his experience directing community health programs. When he advocates for economic justice, it's grounded in years of developing and implementing social service initiatives that make real differences in people's lives.
The Shoestring Budget Reality – Why Grassroots Support Matters
I won't pretend that this campaign will be easy. Malvido isn't backed by corporate donors or party machines. He's running on what he calls a "shoestring budget," relying on grassroots support to move his movement forward.
Y así es como debe ser. And that's how it should be.
For too long, our political system has been captured by monied interests that have little concern for the realities of borderlands communities. Malvido's campaign represents a different approach – one that centers people over profits, community over corporations, and authenticity over political calculation.
But this means his success depends entirely on us. If we believe CD-7 deserves a representative who truly understands our struggles and will fight tirelessly on our behalf, then we must become the foundation of this campaign. Donate if you can, volunteer your time, spread the word among your networks, and most importantly – vote when the time comes.
A Future Worth Fighting For
These are undeniably dark times for many of our communities. The policies emanating from Washington often feel designed to make our lives more difficult, our struggles more acute, and our futures more uncertain. But throughout history, moments of great challenge have also been moments of great opportunity for transformative change.
José Malvido's candidacy represents such an opportunity. It's a chance to send to Congress not just another politician, but a genuine community advocate with the experience, analysis, and commitment to fight effectively for our district. It's an opportunity to ensure that the voices of Indigenous peoples, immigrants, workers, and all who call the borderlands home are represented authentically in the halls of power.
No nos rendiremos. We will not surrender. Not to despair, not to cynicism, not to the powerful forces that would prefer our silence. Instead, we will organize, mobilize, and build the political power necessary to shape a future worthy of our dreams.
Democracy Begins with Your Signature
Mira, este es el momento de la verdad. This is when we get to vote for someone who we think would represent us well, before money and media tell us who is "viable" or not before even one vote has been cast. In this so-called democracy, we're told our voice matters, but how often are the candidates pre-selected by party bosses and campaign financiers before we even enter the voting booth?
Right now, we have a precious window of opportunity. José Malvido needs signatures to even appear on the ballot. This is democracy in its purest form – before the PAC money flows, before the consultants craft messaging, before the media decides who deserves coverage.
You can help amplify Indigenous voices by signing his online petition RIGHT NOW at the Arizona Secretary of State site: https://apps.azsos.gov/equal/
This simple act – taking less than five minutes to sign a petition – is how we ensure that candidates like Malvido at least have the chance to run and debate other candidates. It's how we crack open the door of possibility before the machinery of politics tries to slam it shut.
How You Can Get Involved
Once José is on the ballot, here's how you can further support his campaign:
Volunteer: Offer your time and skills to the campaign. From phone banking to door knocking, every contribution matters.
Donate: Even small donations make a difference in a grassroots campaign like this one.
Spread the Word: Share information about Malvido with your networks, on social media, and in community gatherings.
Register to Vote: Ensure you're registered to vote in the special election, and help others do the same.
Stay Informed: Follow Three Sonorans for ongoing coverage of this campaign and other critical issues affecting our borderlands communities. Your support of independent media like ours ensures that stories that matter to our communities aren't ignored or misrepresented.
The path ahead is challenging, but together, we can elect a representative who truly understands and will fight for the complex realities of CD-7. José Malvido's candidacy offers us not just a choice on a ballot, but a vision of what politics can be when rooted in community, experience, and genuine commitment to justice.
La lucha sigue, y nosotros también. The struggle continues, and so do we.
What are your thoughts on José Malvido's candidacy? Do you believe his Indigenous background and community experience will translate effectively to congressional representation? How do you think CD-7's unique border challenges should be addressed in the current political climate?
Leave your comments below and join the conversation. Your voice matters in shaping the future of our district.
—Three Sonorans
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I went to the Arizona Secretary of State site: https://apps.azsos.gov/equal/ website and his name is not on the list. Do you know when that will be rectified?
Sounds like an excellent candidate!