Southern Arizona’s Congressional Candidate Forum for the special election in Arizona’s 7th District made one thing clear: with millions in HIV/AIDS funding gutted under trump’s administration, communities are desperate to know who will fight for their survival.
The event brought together two sharply different candidates. Adelita Grijalva, a Tucson native and longtime public servant, spoke with urgency about protecting LGBTQ+ rights, defending health care, and restoring the social safety nets being stripped away. Her opponent, Daniel Butierez, presented his personal story of redemption after prison and homelessness, framing his campaign around faith, sobriety, and an emphasis on helping the unhoused.
When the conversation turned to LGBTQ+ rights, the divide could not have been starker. Grijalva promised to co-sponsor the Equality Act and the Respect for Marriage Act, defend gender-affirming care, and ensure federal protections are codified into law. “Gender-affirming care is life-saving care,” she said, refusing to treat human rights as negotiable. Butierez countered that children should wait until 18 for gender-affirming care, rejected same-sex marriage, and warned against “divisive” identity protections. His comments about Log Cabin Republicans “bringing down violence” ignored the current reality of escalating attacks on LGBTQ+ people, especially trans youth.
On HIV/AIDS care and health equity, Grijalva directly tied the crisis to trump’s budget cuts, warning that without sustained federal investment prevention collapses, research stalls, and people die. She pointed to the devastating impacts of lost Ryan White funds and cuts to Medicaid, which disproportionately harm the uninsured and marginalized communities. Butierez acknowledged the need for more AIDS research but offered no detailed plan. Instead, he shifted responsibility to private insurance companies and called for “less government,” while criticizing big pharma without outlining how he would secure or expand HIV care.
Housing and homelessness revealed another deep contrast. Grijalva cited staggering statistics: LGBTQ+ youth make up between 20 and 40 percent of the homeless youth population despite representing only 5 percent of the overall youth population. She condemned trump’s 44 percent cuts to HUD and warned that Tucson cannot absorb the impact of federal rollbacks. Butierez leaned heavily on his own experience of homelessness, vowing to “call trump out” on promises, but offered little in terms of concrete policy solutions.
Questions on violence and safety again highlighted the gap. Grijalva pressed for federal protections to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers and pointed to trump’s cuts to DOJ programs that once supported anti-crime and anti-hate initiatives. Butierez focused on harsher sentencing for abusers but avoided systemic reforms, falling back on the theme of punishment without addressing prevention.
What emerged over the course of the forum was not a debate, but a test of values. Grijalva consistently answered with policy, urgency, and a clear commitment to the most vulnerable. Butierez told his story with sincerity, but when it came to addressing the immediate crises facing Southern Arizona, like HIV care, LGBTQ+ rights, affordable housing, and access to health care, he could not match the depth or scope required.
In a district where these issues are literally life and death, Adelita Grijalva stood as the only candidate prepared to lead.
Election Day is September 23rd. The deadline to register to vote is August 25th. Ballots begin mailing on August 27th.
With the nation’s eyes briefly fixed on Southern Arizona, the choice before voters could not be clearer.
08/19/2025
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