Early life, education, and early career

Pastor was born in Claypool, Arizona, as the oldest of three children. After high school, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Arizona State University. He became a chemistry teacher at North High School in Phoenix and later went on to work as deputy director of the community service group Guadalupe Organization Inc. After returning to ASU to earn a law degree, he became an assistant to Arizona Governor Raul Castro. In 1976, Pastor was elected to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and he served three terms in that role as a county executive.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1991, Pastor entered a special election to succeed retiring 28-year incumbent Democrat Mo Udall in the 2nd District, which then comprised the southwestern part of Arizona including parts of Phoenix and half of Tucson. He narrowly won a four-way Democratic primary, defeating his closest challenger, Tucson mayor Tom Volgy, by 1,800 votes. He then won the special election a month later to become the first Latino to represent Arizona in Congress. At the time, the 2nd was the only Democratic bastion in Arizona. He easily won a full term in 1992. He was reelected four times without substantive Republican opposition, never dropping below 60% of the vote.

After the 2000 United States Census, Arizona gained two congressional districts. Pastor's former territory was renumbered as the 7th District, but his home in Phoenix was drawn into the newly created 4th District. Rather than move to the Phoenix portion of the reconfigured 7th, Pastor opted to run in the 4th. The newly created district is heavily Democratic and majority-Latino, like Pastor's old district; Democrats have a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in registration. He easily won in November. He has been reelected six times against nominal Republican opposition. His district was renumbered as the 7th after the 2010 census.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Pastor endorsed former U.S. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-New York) for President.

Tenure

Pastor was one of the nine Chief Deputy Whips for the Democratic Caucus. Pastor was founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was pro-choice, and in 2006 supported the interests of the Planned Parenthood 100 percent, according to their records. In 2006, NARAL Pro-Choice America-Endorsements endorsed Representative Pastor. He did not support the Iraq War.

In 2011, Pastor voted against the National Right to Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. He also voted against several bills that would encourage trade between countries such as Panama. Furthermore, he voted to encourage the display of "In God We Trust" in public buildings and schools.

In 2009-2010, Pastor was backed by the National Farmers Union. However, he was not supported by the National Council of Agricultural Employers.

Pastor supported the rights of animals and opposed hunting. He was supported by the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. This fund strives to protect wildlife and wild areas while opposing those who do not.

Around the mid-1990s, Pastor was backed by the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. However, since then, their support has dwindled somewhat.

Pastor had a strong stance on Civil Rights regarding sexual orientation and race. For example, in 2007, he voted to prohibit job discrimination based on sexual orientation and, in 2006, he voted against defining marriage as one man-one woman. Finally, in 2004, he voted against a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. In fact, in 2002, the ACLU rated Pastor at 93% for a pro-civil rights voting record.

In February 2014, Pastor announced that he would not seek reelection and would instead retire upon the completion of his term.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee of Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (Ranking Member)

Caucuses

• Congressional Progressive Caucus
• Congressional Hispanic Caucus
• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus

Electoral history

Arizona's 2nd congressional district: Results 1991-2000

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
1991		Ed Pastor	32,289	55.54%		Pat Conner	25,814	44.40%		Bruce A. Friedemann	Independent	33	0.06%
1992		Ed Pastor*	90,693	66.02%		Don Shooter	41,257	30.03%		Dan Detaranto	Libertarian	5,423	3.95%
1994		Ed Pastor*	62,589	62.31%		Robert MacDonald	32,797	32.65%		James Bertrand	Libertarian	5,060	5.04%
1996		Ed Pastor	81,982	65.01%		Jim Buster	38,786	30.76%		Alice Bangle	Libertarian	5,333	4.23%
1998		Ed Pastor*	57,178	67.78%		Ed Barron	23,628	28.01%		Rick Duncan	Libertarian	2,646	3.14%		Gregory R. Schultz	Reform	911	1.08%
2000		Ed Pastor*	84,034	68.54%		Bill Barenholtz	32,990	26.91%		Geoffrey Weber	Libertarian	3,169	2.59%		Barbara Shelor	Natural Law	2,412	1.97%

• Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1990, write-ins received 44 votes. In 1992, write-ins received 5 votes.

Arizona's 4th congressional district: Results 2002-2010

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2002		Ed Pastor	44,517	67.38%		Jonathan Barnert	18,381	27.82%		Amy Gibbons	Libertarian	3,167	4.79%
2004		Ed Pastor*	77,150	70.12%		Don Karg	28,238	25.67%		Gary Fallon	Libertarian	4,639	4.22%
2006		Ed Pastor*	56,464	72.86%		Don Karg	18,627	23.57%		Ronald Harders	Libertarian	2,770	3.57%
2008		Ed Pastor*	89,721	72.11%		Don Karg	26,435	21.25%		Joe Cobb	Libertarian	3,807	3.06%		Rebecca DeWitt	Green	4,644	3.59%
2010		Ed Pastor*	61,524	66.94%		Janet Contreras	25,300	27.53%		Joe Cobb	Libertarian	2,718	2.96%		Rebecca DeWitt	Green	2,365	2.57%

Arizona's 7th congressional district: Results 2012

Year		Democratic	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd Party	Party	Votes	Pct
2012		Ed Pastor	104,489	81.74%						Joe Cobb	Libertarian	23,338	18.25%

Personal life

Pastor serves on the Board of Directors of Neighborhood Housing Services of America. He is also an Honorary Director to Timber Trails Children's Project, Inc.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]