We'll be the first to admit that we're fans of Rep. Harry Mitchell's earlier career.
Aside from bringing us Tempe Town Lake, Mitchell brought a spirit of cooperation and understanding to local politics when he was still legislating on the state level. That's why we endorsed him in his bid to be a national congressman last November.
More than likely, his approach to politics was also what got him his victory over the 12-year incumbent J.D. Hayworth, despite the latter's vicious attack ads that claimed Mitchell wanted to give free money to every illegal immigrant that crossed the border.
Still, when The New York Times chose to quote Mitchell in an article about freshman representatives, we started to get a little nervous. After all, they say that Washington and Beltway politics can change the most ardent idealist, and Mitchell is only human.
Then there's the fear that he could get to Washington only to be buried in the masses of congressmen who do nothing until the campaign trail beckons them back home, managing to spend two years without speaking on the floor or sponsoring legislation.
While we will certainly disagree with Mitchell's choices at some point, so far he has done an excellent job at dispelling our fears.
For starters, Mitchell wasted no time in speaking his mind. His first speech on the floor came on Jan. 12, just days after the newly Democratic Congress resumed for a fresh session.
Not only did his speech come quickly, it came on a worthy subject. Mitchell was speaking about the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007, a bill that eventually passed the House. The bill would allow for more federal funding to be devoted to a broader range of stem cell research.
Furthermore, Mitchell didn't just pay lip service to the bill – he also jumped on board as a co-sponsor.
While not everyone at ASU will agree on stem cell research, almost everyone would probably agree that lower interest rates on student loans are a good thing — and Mitchell has been working on that as well, co-sponsoring a bill that would cut the interest rate on federal Stafford loans in half.
Mitchell has shown himself to be willing to go out on a limb in order to act on the positions he stated he would in his campaign. If this keeps up, and Mitchell runs for re-election, our decision on who to endorse in 2008 might be even easier.
