By David Sowders, via Eastern Arizona Courier
SAFFORD — At its June 1 meeting, the Graham County Republican Committee welcomed Congressional candidate Tiffany Shedd as their guest speaker.
Shedd, R-Eloy, announced her candidacy for U.S. Representative in Arizona’s First Congressional District, which represents Graham and Greenlee counties, on Oct. 4, 2017, and officially filed her paperwork to qualify for the ballot last month.
Shedd describes herself as “a farmer, attorney, small business owner, firearms instructor and mother of three.
“I’ve lived in CD1 since I was 7,” Shedd said. “I have farmed cotton and wheat in Pinal County for 30 years with my husband, Rodney, and have also been an agribusiness attorney. As part of being an agribusiness attorney, you deal a lot with environmental regulations; water, land use, anything regulatory.
“I am for regulation that is needed, but not regulation that drives things sky high, solves no problems and creates problems,” she added. “I think that regulation would be my number one issue, because it affects everything. It affects health care, it affects Social Security, it affects Medicare, it affects our veterans and it affects businesses in so many ways. If we could get that rolled back, it would be amazing.”
Shedd said that, if elected, one of her first legislative priorities would be requiring the U.S. Border Patrol and Customs Service to give qualified military veterans the first chance at jobs, a measure she believes would help both the veterans and the agencies.
Shedd is one of three Republicans seeking to unseat incumbent Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Sedona, in this fall’s election. The other candidates are Steve Smith, R-Maricopa, a state senator from District 11, and Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, who unsuccessfully ran for the party nomination in 2016.
“Graham County has been really, really good to me,” Shedd said. “You were the very first place we came . . . we came down to the County Fair literally within days (of announcing her candidacy). And so Graham is where I learned to run for Congress.
“I think that rural Arizona, and especially CD-1, should be prospering. We’ve got all the resources, all the beauty, all the greatest people out here, and so this is a district that needs representation. It’s also a district that I love.
“I am a product of the district,” she added. “I own businesses in the district. I don’t have to guess what rural Arizonans are thinking; I already know because I’m one of them. My first concern will always be the people of Arizona (CD) 1, always.”
