Jim Kolbe
James Thomas Kolbe (June 28, 1942 – December 3, 2022) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives. He represented Arizona's 5th congressional district from 1985 to 2003 and its 8th congressional district from 2003 to 2007. A moderate, pro–abortion rights Republican, he came out as gay in 1996 after voting in support of the Defense of Marriage Act; his subsequent re-elections made him the second openly gay Republican elected to Congress.
Jim Kolbe
- 5th district (1985–2003)
- 8th district (2003–2007)
Lucy Davidson
William De Long
December 3, 2022 (aged 80)
- Republican (before 2018)
- Independent (2018–2022)
-
Sarah Dinham(m. 1977; div. 1992)
-
Hector Alfonso(m. 2013)
- 1967–1969 (Active)
- 1970–1977 (Reserve)
After leaving Congress, Kolbe served on the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations under Democratic president Barack Obama. Kolbe left the Republican Party and became an independent in 2018 after the election of Donald Trump. He endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Early life[edit]
Kolbe was born in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on June 28, 1942,[1] the son of Helen Nevada (Reed) and Walter William Kolbe.[2][3] When he was five, his family moved to a ranch in rural Santa Cruz County, Arizona. He attended Patagonia Elementary School and Patagonia Union High School, but graduated from the United States Capitol Page School in 1960 after serving for three years as a United States Senate Page for Barry Goldwater. In 1965, he received his bachelor's degree in political science from Northwestern University in Evanston, where he was a member of Acacia fraternity, and, in 1967, his master's in business administration from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.[4] He served in the United States Navy, including a year in Vietnam in the riverine, "Swift Boat," force.[5] He was a special assistant to Illinois Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. He then moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he was a business executive.[6]
Arizona Senate[edit]
In 1976, Kolbe ran for the Arizona Senate in a Tucson-area district and defeated Lucy Davidson, a one-term Democrat who had been elected in the national Democratic wave of 1974. He served three terms in that body, and was majority whip from 1979 to 1982.
Personal life[edit]
Kolbe was married to Sarah Dinham, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Arizona, from 1977 to 1992.[41][42] He was a member of Catalina United Methodist Church.[43]
Kolbe came out as gay in August 1996 after his vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act spurred efforts by some gay rights activists to out him.[44][45] He won re-election that year. In 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention, although his speech did not address gay rights.[46] He was the second openly gay Republican to serve in Congress, the first being Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin.[47]
In 2013, Kolbe married his partner, Hector Alfonso.[48] That year, Kolbe was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.[49]
On December 3, 2022, Kolbe died from a stroke at age 80.[50] Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags in the state to be lowered until the evening of December 4 in honor of Kolbe.[51]