With their attention focused on deposing freshman congresswoman Giffords, the Republicans barely seem interested in trying to unseat Raul Grijalva over in District 7. Joseph Sweeney, famous for his racist and anti-gay views, is running as a Republican, but the party hasn’t even bothered setting up a Web page for his campaign.

Perhaps it’s just as well. Even though we always favor heated, debate-charged races over unchallenged ones, Grijalva is doing a fine job. A former member of the Tucson Unified School District governing board and the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Grijalva – like our preferred presidential candidate this year – is well-versed in the gritty world of local community politics.

Grijalva, chair of the Congressional Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands, has worked hard to protect our beautiful desert from would-be contractors. He has also opposed plans to mine uranium in the Grand Canyon. If that doesn’t sound too remarkable to you, consider the fact that there are people who want to mine in the Grand Canyon at all. That’s more than enough reason to want to keep a reliable environmentalist like Grijalva in Congress.