The background of a Democratic candidate for Arizona congressional Di20rict One may give her an advantage in the district that includes seven Indian nations and portions of three others.

Mary Kim Titla was born on the San Carlos Apache Reservation to unwed teenagers. Eventually, her parents married and had four other children. She and her family lived in her grandparents’ two-room house in Bylas with no plumbing or electricity.

Titla said her background helps her relate to people and gives her an advantage in the U.S. Congress District One race.

Mary Kim Titla and her niece, Portia Titla, spent Aug. 13 placing campaign signs in Graham County and visiting local authorities such as city hall administrators and Eastern Arizona College President Mark Bryce. Mary Kim Titla is a United States congressional candidate for District One. Photo by Keri Lunt

“I truly understand poverty,” Titla said.

She also understands that personal responsibility and taking opportunities for growth are key, Titla said.

Titla said it was never an option for her or her family for her not to go to college. She graduated from Eastern Arizona College, the University of Oklahoma and received her master’s in mass communication from Arizona State University.

In 1987, Titla became the first Native American TV reporter in Arizona when KVOA TV in Tucson hired her. She worked there until KPNV TV hired her in 1993. She resigned in 2005 to publish Native Youth Magazine online.

She said with her background as a journalist she knows people expect her to be trustworthy, fair, have high ethical standards and good communication skills.

Titla is a moderate Democrat and said the fact that she is pro-life “sets me apart from other candidates.”

Titla said a way to stimulate the economy is to invest in alternative research and development.

“We are addicted to foreign oil,” Titla said. She wants to get away from oil by investing in wind and solar energy, which, if it becomes a part of the future, could become a $500 million industry, Titla said.

She said by stressing education in youth, teens will have options after high school. She said if the wind and solar energy industry develops, the country will need educated people to run it.

To make health care affordable and accessible, Titla said, “We must be pro-active in diagnosing illnesses before they become full- blown.”

For example, Titla said, insurances should pay for a colonoscopy to diagnose the problem before it becomes full-blown cancer.