Former surgeon general seeks U.S. Senate seat

Richard Carmona, the 17th U.S. surgeon general from 2002 until 2006, has announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate as a Democrat in Arizona.

The seat he seeks is currently held by Republican Sen. Jon Kyl, who is not running for re-election.

If he wins the party nomination, Carmona, who lives in the Tucson area, said he looks forward to meeting his Republican opponent “and debating them and having the public see that there are very, very clear differences between us.”

He spoke recently about his stance on abortion, immigration and military issues.

“First and foremost, the issue of abortion is a choice issue. This is choice between a woman, and her physician and her family.”

He believes abortion is a public health problem.

“One of the issues we need to deal with is ensuring that all women have access to reproductive health care when they need it, in a timely fashion. If we were able to do that… it is predictable that the amount of abortions would go down. Abortion is a terrible remedy for an unwanted pregnancy.”

Carmona wants to design a worker's program that allows foreign citizens to come across the border more easily and find employment. “They work, they pay taxes, they go home. It benefited Mexico, it benefited us, it benefited our international relationships.”

He also wants to offer a path to citizenship to those who are living in the country illegally but are paying their taxes and contributing to their community.

“But at the same time we need comprehensive immigration reform which addresses the border issues. At some point we say, ‘From now on, you only come in here legally.'”

Carmona said he would work to ensure both Yuma Proving Ground and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma remain operational, even if the Pentagon's budget is reduced as projected.

“I think there is a very strong argument to be made for not closing those bases. There is a whole host of reasons we can make to keep those bases open that really relate to national security and our daily preparedness ... for any and all hazards.

“I am a staunch supporter of our veterans and our veterans' health care, especially those young men and women who have sacrificed so much to serve us in both Afghanistan and Iraq and are coming home wounded and sometimes scarred for life.

“We owe them the best care that we can provide as a nation, forever, to make sure they can be made as whole as possible because of the wounds they have incurred, both mentally and physically.”

Born to a poor Hispanic family in New York City, Carmona experienced homelessness, hunger and health disparities during his youth.

According to his biography, growing up in poverty greatly sensitized him to the relationships among culture, health, education and economic status, and shaped his future.

In 1967, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the Special Forces in Vietnam, earning several combat decorations.

After leaving active duty, he received an associate of arts degree from Bronx Community College and a bachelor of science degree in 1977 from the University of California, San Francisco.

In 1979, he graduated with a medical degree from the University of California Medical School, and as the top graduate was awarded the prestigious gold-headed cane. He went on to become the chairman of the State of Arizona Southern Regional Emergency Medical System, a professor of surgery, public health and family and community medicine at the University of Arizona, and the Pima County Sheriff's Department surgeon and deputy sheriff.

In 2002, Carmona was nominated by President George W. Bush, and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to become the surgeon general. In 2006, he released a landmark Surgeon General's Report on the health effects of secondhand smoke and encouraged the adoption of indoor smoking bans.

Carmona is now the president of the nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute and the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the UA's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.