Republican A-10 pilot, military leaders endorse Barber

Photo by Ghost32writer
Photo by Ghost32writer

Republicans are lining up to endorse Congressman Ron Barber, in the wake of this week’s Primary Election in CD2. Among the list of not so distinguished dignitaries is one gem; A-10 legend Lt. Colonel (ret.) Tom Chuck Norris. Norris is joined by Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army General John Wickham, former Adjutant General of Arizona USAF General (Ret) David Rataczak, former A-10 pilot, USAF Lt Col (Ret) Tom Norris and Tucson area business owner John Wesley Miller.

“It is my pleasure to fully support Representative Ron Barber in the upcoming election for Arizona’s Second Congressional District. I had the opportunity to work with Representative Barber and his very capable staff over the past year on efforts to save the A-10 aircraft from divestment. I am very impressed by Representative Barber’s passion and efforts to build a bipartisan coalition in the House of Representatives to save the A-10. He is very aware of the A-10 capabilities and how the Close Air Support mission directly impacts our national security. In addition, he has close personal ties to Davis-Monthan and fully understands how vital A-10 jobs are to our local economy,” said USAF Lt Col (Ret.) Tom Norris, a 20-year veteran who proudly flew the A-10 in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom and served alongside Martha McSally on missions at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and overseas.

Norris continues, “I have been a registered Republican for 32 years and have always voted along party lines. Not this election — Representative Barber is a true leader and gets my vote!”

John Wesley Miller of Tucson said, “Ron Barber is a true hero. He took a shot to the jaw, a shot to the leg, almost lost his leg, and stood up and said I still want to fight for my country. That’s a hero. I’m supporting Ron because he has a proven ability to cross the aisle and work with both Republicans and Democrats and supports solar energy, small business and home building.”

“Ron Barber has proven in words and in actions that he cares about the issues, not the ideology. He will try to find solutions that are best for his constituents and those solutions are not based on what’s best for one party or another, but what’s best for the people living in his district,” said Geoff Oldfather, of G&T Cooperative in Benson. “He was key in getting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to listen to the concerns we had an environmental regulation on regional haze that would have seriously impacted our ability to provide electric power to the people we serve in rural areas. Because of his pragmatic approach, we were able to find a win-win solution.”