Jim Kolbe

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Jim Kolbe

|image = Jim Kolbe.png

|caption = Official portrait, 1990s

|state1 = Arizona

|term_start1 = January 3, 1985

|term_end1 = January 3, 2007

|predecessor1 = James F. McNulty Jr.

|successor1 = Gabby Giffords

|constituency1 = {{ubl|5th district (1985–2003)|8th district (2003–2007)}}

|state_senate2 = Arizona

|district2 = 14th

|term_start2 = January 3, 1977

|term_end2 = December 31, 1982

|predecessor2 = Lucy Davidson

|successor2 = William De Long

|birth_name = James Thomas Kolbe

|birth_date = {{birth date|1942|6|28}}

|birth_place = Evanston, Illinois, U.S.

|death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2022|12|3|1942|6|28}}}}

|death_place =

|party = {{ubl|Republican (before 2018)|Independent (2018–2022)}}

|spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Sarah Dinham|1977|1992|end=div}}|{{marriage|Hector Alfonso|2013|}}}}

|education = {{ubl|Northwestern University (BA)|Stanford University (MBA)}}

|branch = United States Navy

|serviceyears = {{ubl|1967–1969 (Active)|1970–1977 (Reserve)}}

}}

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.

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

Kolbe was born in Evanston, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, on June 28, 1942,{{cite news |last1=Pannett |first1=Rachel |title=Former GOP congressman Jim Kolbe of Arizona dies at 80 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/12/04/kolbe-arizona-republican-dies/ |access-date=December 6, 2022 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=December 4, 2022}} the son of Helen Nevada (Reed) and Walter William Kolbe.{{Cite news|last=Janega |first=James |date=June 3, 2002 |title=Helen Reed Kolbe, 93 |newspaper=The Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2002-06-04-0206040196-story.html }}{{cite web | url=https://www.gvnews.com/mother-of-rep-jim-kolbehelen-reed-kolbe-dies-at-age-of-93/article_a8a7a044-3469-55f1-bea0-2ae42e32a79c.html | title=Mother of Rep. Jim KolbeHelen Reed Kolbe dies at age of 93 | date=June 7, 2002 }} 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.{{Cite news|last=Hansen |first=Ronald J. |date=December 3, 2022 |title=Former Rep. Jim Kolbe, 11-term member of Congress, dead at 80 |newspaper=Arizona Republic |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/12/03/jim-kolbe-former-republican-us-rep-arizona-dead-at-80/69698565007/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/iflY1?https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2022/12/03/jim-kolbe-former-republican-us-rep-arizona-dead-at-80/69698565007/ |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |url-status=live }} He served in the United States Navy, including a year in Vietnam in the riverine, "Swift Boat," force.[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1987/05/28/377187.html The Vietnam War and the Congressman of the 1980s], New York Times, David K. Shipler, May 28, 1986. Retrieved May 5, 2020. He was a special assistant to Illinois Republican Governor Richard B. Ogilvie. He then moved to Tucson, Arizona, where he was a business executive.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/119613087/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20assistant%20%22Richard%20Ogilvie%22&match=1 |title=Arizona Republic 07 Jan 1979, Page 3 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=January 7, 1979 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}}

Arizona Senate

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.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1982, Kolbe ran for the United States House of Representatives in the newly created {{ushr|Arizona|5|5th congressional district}}. He lost to Democrat Jim McNulty, a member of the Arizona Board of Regents, by one percent.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/578202235/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22jim%20mcnulty%22&match=1 |title=Tucson Citizen 03 Nov 1982, page 1 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 3, 1982 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}} However, Kolbe sought a rematch in 1984. Buoyed by Ronald Reagan's massive national landslide that year (Reagan carried the 5th with 60 percent of the vote), Kolbe won,{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121708535/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22jim%20mcnulty%22&match=1 |title=Arizona Republic 08 Nov 1984, Page 7 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 8, 1984 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}} becoming the first—and until the 2014 elections, only—Republican to represent the Arizona-Mexico border region in the House. He was reelected 10 times, often facing only token opposition. In 1998, former Tucson mayor Tom Volgy challenged Kolbe,{{Cite web|url=https://www.gvnews.com/news/the-big-story-kolbe-off-on-a-new-career/article_a9bbbb1c-b024-513d-938e-b9e484f14c04.html|title=The Big Story: Kolbe off on a new career|first=Arthur H. |last=Rotstein|agency=Associated Press|website=Green Valley News & Sahuarita Sun|date=February 17, 2007 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}} holding Kolbe to only 51 percent of the vote.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/166214073/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22tom%20volgy%22&match=1 |title=Arizona Daily Star 04 Nov 1998, Page 1 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 4, 1998 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}}

Kolbe was a moderate Republican.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-nov-24-na-kolbe24-story.html|title=Republican Moderate Kolbe Puts His House Seat in Play|last=Hook|first=Janet|date=November 24, 2005|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=July 16, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}} This served him well; although his district included most of Tucson's Republican-leaning suburbs, the brand of Republican politics practiced in Southeast Arizona has traditionally been a centrist and independently-minded one. Like his mentor, Goldwater, Kolbe supported abortion rights.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/24/us/gop-group-formed-to-support-abortion-rights.html |title=G.O.P. Group Formed to Support Abortion Rights – The New York Times |work=The New York Times |date= April 24, 1990|accessdate=December 4, 2022|last1=Toner |first1=Robin }} He was generally more supportive of environmental legislation than most Republicans, especially those from the West. He was a member of various moderate Republican groups such as the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Main Street Partnership,{{cite news|last=White |first=Ben |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/02/19/gop-moderates-issue-call-to-end-partisan-hostility/6fe0d135-a74a-4c4e-8493-1e08c48fe614/ |title=Gop Moderates Issue Call To End 'Partisan Hostility' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 19, 1999 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}} the Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection, and It's My Party Too. He was one of the four Republicans who voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which was passed by the House of Representatives with 281–142 votes on October 2, 2003.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/125212586/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22partial%20birth%22&match=1 |title=Arizona Republic 03 Oct 2003, Page 8 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=October 3, 2003 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}}

Kolbe voted against the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987.{{Cite web |title=TO SUSPEND THE RULES AND PASS S 858, ABANDONED SHIPWRECK … -- House Vote #532 -- March 29, 1988 |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/h532 |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=GovTrack.us |language=en}} The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventing treasure hunters and salvagers from damaging them. Despite his vote against it, President Ronald Reagan signed it into law on April 28, 1988.{{Cite web |title=Laws - Division of Historical Resources - Florida Department of State |url=https://dos.fl.gov/historical/archaeology/underwater/laws/#:~:text=On%2028%20April%201988,%20President,authority%20over%20those%20abandoned%20shipwrecks. |access-date=2025-04-05 |website=dos.fl.gov}}

In 2001, Kolbe introduced the Legal Tender Modernization Act which would have ceased production of the U.S. one-cent piece (penny). In July 2006, Kolbe introduced the Currency Overhaul for an Industrious Nation (COIN) Act, which would round cash transactions to the nearest five cents. This act would effectively remove the penny from circulation. Kolbe argued that, because of inflation, the penny is virtually worthless, and that the U.S. should stop using the penny now that the costs of penny production exceed its value. Kolbe had received some media attention as one of the foremost promoters of eliminating the penny from circulation.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/532031798/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20penny&match=1 |title=The Times-Tribune 12 Aug 2001, page 25 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=August 12, 2001 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}}

In 2004, State House Majority Whip Randy Graf challenged Kolbe for the Republican nomination.{{Cite web|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/border-policy-defines-kolbe-graf-race/article_a7fbd0da-5d03-5767-9bdf-779041b7811f.html|title=Border policy defines Kolbe-Graf race|first=C. J. |last=Karamargin |website=Arizona Daily Star|date=August 8, 2004 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}} It was the first substantive primary challenge Kolbe had faced since his initial run for the seat in 1982. Graf ran well to Kolbe's right, but was best known for his hardline approach to illegal immigration. In contrast, Kolbe was a strong supporter of guest worker programs for immigrants. Kolbe defeated Graf.{{cite web|author=Jennifer Mock, CQ Staff |url=https://www.nytimes.com/cq/2004/09/08/news-1318190.html?position=&pagewanted=all&position= |title=The New York Times > Congressional Quarterly > Washington > CQ Today: Arizona Incumbents' Advantage Proves True to the Test |location=Arizona |work=The New York Times |date=September 8, 2004 |accessdate=December 4, 2022}} He easily won an 11th term in November. Also in 2004, Kolbe was among the 27 Republicans who voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment, a constitutional amendment intended to ban gay marriage.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/politics/samesex-marriage-amendment-fails-in-house.html|title=Same-Sex Marriage Amendment Fails in House|last=Stolberg|first=Sheryl Gay|newspaper=The New York Times |date=October 2004 |access-date=July 26, 2018|language=en}} He voted against banning gay marriage again in 2006.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-nov-04-me-gaygop4-story.html|title=He's GOP and he's proud|last=Covarrubias|first=Amanda|date=November 4, 2006|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 30, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0458-3035}}

On November 23, 2005, Kolbe announced that he would not seek a 12th term in 2006.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/580551304/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22&match=1 |title=Tucson Citizen 24 Nov 2005, page 1 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 24, 2005 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}} While Kolbe had usually coasted to reelection, it had been expected to be very competitive if he ever retired. (Bill Clinton had narrowly won the district in 1996, and George W. Bush narrowly edged out Al Gore and John Kerry in both of his presidential bids.) Graf won the five-candidate primary on September 12, 2006. Kolbe refused to endorse Graf,{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/580096019/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22randy%20graf%22%20endorse&match=1 |title=Tucson Citizen 09 Nov 2006, page 14 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 9, 2006 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}} who lost to Democrat Gabby Giffords in the November 2006 election.{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/225926777/?terms=%22jim%20kolbe%22%20%22randy%20graf%22&match=1 |title=Arizona Daily Star 09 Nov 2006, Page 15 |publisher=Newspapers.com |date=November 9, 2006 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}}

Kolbe endorsed State Senate President Tim Bee's bid to unseat Giffords in 2008. However, he withdrew his endorsement in July 2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0708/Bee_gets_stung_by_leading_campaign_backer.html |title=Bee gets stung by leading campaign backer |publisher=Politico |last=Burns |first=Alexander |date=July 7, 2008 |access-date=February 22, 2012}}

=Mark Foley scandal=

In 2000, when Kolbe found out about former Congressman Mark Foley's "Internet communications with teenagers" who were subordinate to Foley, he informed the office that oversaw the page program. He assumed the matter had been taken care of, although this was not brought to the public's attention until September 29, 2006,{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800855.html |title=Lawmaker Saw Foley Messages In 2000 |first=Jonathan |last=Weisman |date=October 9, 2006 |page=A01 |access-date=November 25, 2007 |newspaper=The Washington Post }} when it became public that Foley had sent sexually explicit and solicitative e-mails and instant messages to young adult male pages. Republican leaders had claimed that they had only recently been made aware of Foley's actions, despite Kolbe's actions.{{cite news | url=http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html | publisher=ABC News | title=Three More Former Pages Accuse Foley of Online Sexual Approaches | date=October 5, 2006 | access-date=October 5, 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061011091337/http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/three_more_form.html | archive-date=October 11, 2006 }} In January 2007, the Federal Election Commission committee ruled that Kolbe could use campaign funds for legal expenses associated with the Foley scandal.{{Citation

| last = Associated Press

| title = FEC: Kolbe may use campaign funds for defense in Foley case

| newspaper = Tucson Citizen

| date = December 25, 2007

| url = http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/2007/01/25/39813-fec-kolbe-may-use-campaign-funds-for-defense-in-foley-case/

| access-date = August 3, 2012}}

Former Senator Larry Craig cited this ruling in 2012 in defense against a lawsuit by the FEC regarding Craig's use of campaign funds in his own legal defense.{{Citation

| last = Miller

| first = John

| title = Ex-Idaho senator: Bathroom trip official business

| newspaper = San Francisco Chronicle

| date = August 3, 2012

| url = http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ex-Idaho-senator-Bathroom-trip-official-business-3760660.php

| access-date = August 3, 2012}}

In October 2006, federal prosecutors in Arizona opened a preliminary investigation into a camping trip that Kolbe took in July 1996 that included two teenage former congressional pages, as well as National Park officials, then-current staff, and Kolbe's sister. During that trip to the Grand Canyon, he was accused of "acting inappropriately"; NBC News interviewed several people who were on the trip, and their accounts vary. On June 5, 2007, federal investigators absolved Kolbe of any wrongdoing in the case. In a statement released by the Justice Department, "investigators have completed their work on the preliminary inquiry opened by federal prosecutors last fall, and see no reason to pursue it further."{{cite news|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15249733 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207180419/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/15249733/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 7, 2014 | publisher=NBC News | title=Feds probe trip that Kolbe made with pages | date=October 13, 2006 | access-date=October 13, 2006}}

After Congress

File:What the Trump Administration’s Budget Means for the Middle East (35840573412).jpg

Following his career in elected office, Kolbe became a fellow at the German Marshall Fund think tank and a consultant at Kissinger McLarty Associates. He focused on issues that were his priorities while he was in Congress—trade, aid, and migration. During the fall semesters from 2007 to 2009, he taught a class on trade and globalization at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law in Tucson. He was a member of the board of directors of the International Republican Institute.{{cite web|url=http://www.iri.org/learn-more-about-iri/board-directors-and-officers |title=International Republican Institute web site, accessed July 16, 2010 |publisher=Iri.org |access-date=December 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100428062156/http://www.iri.org/learn-more-about-iri/board-directors-and-officers |archive-date=April 28, 2010 }} During the 2010 election he broke from the Republican Party to endorse the candidacy of Democrat Andrei Cherny for state treasurer.{{cite news|url=http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2010/08/30/republican-kolbe-endorses-democrat-for-treasurer/ |title=Republican Kolbe endorses Democrat for treasurer |agency=The Associated Press |date=August 30, 2010}} He was also a member of Washington D.C. based think tank the Inter-American Dialogue.{{cite web|url=http://www.thedialogue.org/experts/jim-kolbe/|title=Inter-American Dialogue {{!}} Jim Kolbe|website=www.thedialogue.org|access-date=April 12, 2017}}

In September 2010, President Barack Obama appointed Kolbe to the Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations.{{cite news|url=http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/09/16/Obama_Appoints_Kolbe_to_Trade_Group/ |title=Obama Appoints Kolbe to Trade Group |publisher=Advocate.com |date=September 16, 2010 |access-date=December 5, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018233201/http://advocate.com//News/Daily_News/2010/09/16/Obama_Appoints_Kolbe_to_Trade_Group/ |archive-date=October 18, 2010 }} Kolbe served on the Board of Advisors for International Relief and Development Inc.and was a member of the advisory board for the Mexico Institute.

{{cite web |title=IRD Board of Directors |url=http://www.ird.org/who/board.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120104000917/http://www.ird.org/who/board.html |archive-date=January 4, 2012 |access-date=December 21, 2011}} He was also a Co-Chairman of the dollar coin alliance.{{cite web|url=http://www.dollarcoinalliance.org/about/ |title=About Our Coalition |publisher=Dollarcoinalliance.org |access-date=December 5, 2013}} Kolbe served on the board of directors of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.{{cite web|url=http://www.crfb.org/board-members|title=Board Members |website=www.crfb.org|access-date=October 3, 2019}}

In 2018, Kolbe left the Republican Party.{{cite news|first1=Dan |last1=Shearer |title=Former Rep. Jim Kolbe says he left Republican Party 18 months ago |url=http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report//020120_kolbe_gop/|date=February 1, 2020|access-date=July 23, 2021|newspaper=Tucson Sentinel|language=en}} He endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president in the 2020 presidential election.{{cite news|first1=Jim |last1=Kolbe |title= I'm a conservative and I'm voting for Joe Biden |url=https://tucson.com/opinion/local/jim-kolbe-im-a-conservative-and-im-voting-for-joe-biden/article_1b473139-d397-58f5-a185-7cef85ea36b7.html|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=October 27, 2020|newspaper=Arizona Daily Star|language=en}}

In 2020, Kolbe, along with over 130 other former Republican national security officials, signed a statement that asserted that President Trump was unfit to serve another term, and "To that end, we are firmly convinced that it is in the best interest of our nation that Vice President Joe Biden be elected as the next President of the United States, and we will vote for him."{{cite web |url=https://www.defendingdemocracytogether.org/national-security/ |title=Former Republican National Security Officials for Biden |date=20 August 2020 |website=Defending Democracy Together |access-date=26 August 2021}}

Kolbe sat on the Executive Advisory Board for autonomous trucking company TuSimple.{{cite press release|last=TuSimple|title=TuSimple Announces Executive Advisory Board Consisting of Industry and Regulatory Experts|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tusimple-announces-executive-advisory-board-consisting-of-industry-and-regulatory-experts-301211458.html|access-date=July 23, 2021|website=www.prnewswire.com|language=en}} He joined nine other former members of Congress to co-author a 2021 opinion editorial advocating reforms of Congress.{{cite web | url=https://www.wvgazettemail.com/opinion/op_ed_commentaries/rahall-graves-we-know-congress-needs-reform-opinion/article_4d2ac1df-9a73-5d2d-8c84-bfdbf4277157.html | title=We Know Congress Needs Reform | newspaper=West Virginia Gazette| date=August 13, 2021 }}

Personal life

Kolbe was married to Sarah Dinham, a professor of educational psychology at the University of Arizona, from 1977 to 1992.{{cite web|url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1996/08/01/218952-it-s-a-relief-kolbe-says/ |title='It's a relief,' Kolbe says – Tucson Citizen Morgue, Part 2 (1993–2009) |publisher=Tucsoncitizen.com |date=August 1, 1996 |accessdate=December 3, 2022}}{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/THE+RELUCTANT+WARRIOR.(openly+gay+Republican+Jim+Kolbe)-a066681215 |title=The Free Library |publisher=The Free Library |access-date=December 5, 2013}} He was a member of Catalina United Methodist Church.{{cite web|last=Pallack|first=Becky|title=Jim Kolbe to marry partner of 8 years|url=https://tucson.com/news/local/jim-kolbe-to-marry-partner-of-8-years/article_9cc8cd85-884d-502f-9f4a-131e15342982.html|access-date=September 3, 2020|website=Arizona Daily Star|date=May 15, 2013 |language=en}}

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.{{Cite news |title=A Republican Congressman Discloses He Is a Homosexual |first=David W. |last=Dunlap |date=August 3, 1996 |access-date=November 25, 2007 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E3DD103FF930A3575BC0A960958260 |periodical=The New York Times }}{{cite web |url=http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1996/08/01/218952-it-s-a-relief-kolbe-says/ |title=It's a Relief, Kolbe Says |publisher=Tucson Citizen, August 1, 1996 |access-date=August 4, 2016}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=121719#.TzvEqVE9RCc |title=Openly Gay Congressman Addresses Convention |first=Julia |last=Campbell |date=August 1, 2000 |work=ABC News}} He was the second openly gay Republican to serve in Congress, the first being Steve Gunderson of Wisconsin.{{cite book|title=Queer America: a GLBT history of the 20th century |first=Vicki Lynn|last=Eaklor |page=213 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-313-33749-9}}

In 2013, Kolbe married his partner, Hector Alfonso.{{Cite news|title = Jim Kolbe, former congressman, weds Hector Alfonso|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/reliable-source/wp/2013/05/20/jim-kolbe-former-congressman-weds-hector-alfonso/|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = May 20, 2013|access-date = November 11, 2015|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US}} 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.{{cite web|last=Avlon |first=John |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/28/the-pro-freedom-republicans-are-coming-131-sign-gay-marriage-brief.html |title=The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay Marriage Brief |publisher=Thedailybeast.com |date=February 28, 2013 |access-date=December 5, 2013}}

On December 3, 2022, Kolbe died from a stroke at age 80.{{cite news|url = https://tucson.com/news/local/former-tucson-congressman-jim-kolbe-dies-at-80/article_3f4e48ee-7351-11ed-8f93-67180654c932.html|title = Former Tucson congressman Jim Kolbe dies at 80|newspaper = Arizona Daily Star|date = December 3, 2022|accessdate = December 3, 2022|last = Coile|first = Norma}} Arizona Governor Doug Ducey ordered flags in the state to be lowered until the evening of December 4 in honor of Kolbe.{{Cite news|url = https://apnews.com/article/arizona-immigration-legislature-global-trade-business-1b9e69ed2f33ff5f13b6d8f59d0462b4|title = Longtime Arizona GOP Rep. Jim Kolbe dies at 80|work = Associated Press|date = December 3, 2022|accessdate = December 6, 2022}}

References

External links

[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000306 Jim Kolbe] at the [http://bioguide.congress.gov Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress]
{{C-SPAN|1551}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20061026123044/http://dir.salon.com/story/politics/feature/2000/08/01/kolbe/?sid=932435 Salon: A gay Republican talks about trade]
[http://www.issues2000.org/House/Jim_Kolbe.htm Jim Kolbe on the issues]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20070527172345/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2000_Nov_7/ai_66681215 The Reluctant Warrior]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060829041102/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/k000306/ Voting record maintained by the Washington Post]
[https://money.cnn.com/2006/07/18/news/penny/ Article on the COIN Act]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20071215142436/http://online.logcabin.org/ Log Cabin Republicans]
[http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/collections/james-kolbe-papers Jim Kolbe Papers at the University of Arizona]