Rep. Jackie Speier’s congressional career began with some real fireworks.  Her first speech on the war made the Republicans throw a hissy fit and several of them walked off the floor.  Just a fantastic start.  When we talk about electing more and better Democrats, this is what it looks like.  Chron:

Newly elected Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough was sworn into Congress this morning and delivered a fiery speech criticizing President Bush’s Iraq policy that led some Republicans to boo and walk out of the House chamber.

Speier, who won a special election Tuesday to fill the seat of the late Rep. Tom Lantos, was always an outspoken lawmaker in her years as a San Mateo County supervisor, state Assemblywoman and state Senator. She served notice Thursday that she plans be just as aggressive as a member of the House.

“The process to bring the troops home must begin immediately,” Speier told fellow lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco. “The president wants to stay the course and a man who wants to replace him suggests we could be in Iraq for 100 years. But Madam Speaker, history will not judge us kindly if we sacrifice four generations of Americans because of the folly of one.”

While Democrats applauded, Republicans began a chorus of low boos. Some Republicans who had congratulated her just moments before, including Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista (San Diego County), walked out of the hall in protest.

Of course Issa was one of the ones to throw a fit and walk off when she started saying something he didn’t agree with.  That is the congressional equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears and sticking out his tongue.

Thank you Rep. Speier.  Just phenomenal work.  Keep it up.

We want more of this!  Maybe you can light a fire under the asses of a few of your new colleagues.

Jackie Speier’s election yesterday to the House of Representatives shows the importance of building a pipeline of qualified women working their way up the ladder of elected office. We are excited to extend warm congratulations to newly elected congressional incumbent Jackie Speier.  Jackie won the California Congressional 12th District seat running away with 78% of the vote in the special election held yesterday. Her win shows the overwhelming importance of creating a sustainable pipeline of women candidates moving up the steps of the political hierarchy.

Jackie Speier began her career as an aid to Congressman Jack Ryan followed by her election to the San Mateo Board of Supervisors. She has served nearly two decades in the California legislature, starting as an Assemblymember and then as a State Senator.  Her impressive record includes more than 300 pieces of legislation signed into law by both Democratic and Republican Governors. She has authored groundbreaking legislation in privacy and consumer protection, child welfare, and healthcare. Jackie has been very active in women’s health. Among her many accomplishments was a bill signed into law requiring health plans to cover the cost of contraception and osteoporosis screening while banning maternity surcharges. She also advocated a bill giving women the right to choose her own OB/GYN physician.  Jackie Speier wrote legislation that created a “check-off” box on California State tax forms enabling taxpayers to direct money specifically to Breast Cancer Research.

Even with her success, the number of elected women still remains a faint shadow in comparison to the number of elected men.  With a mere 71 woman elected to Congress out of a total 435 seats, men continue to hold an 83% majority.  In California women legislators have dropped to just 28% of statewide elected state senate and assembly offices over the last 2 election cycles.  Even though California is slightly above the current national 23% average, women electeds here have a long way to go before they reach a level of equality.

CALIFORNIA LIST believes that electing women matters.  Women like Jackie Speier bring a different perspective to our political process as is demonstrated by her legislative achievements.

CALIFORNIA LIST continues to build a pipeline to the future. We remain dedicated to helping women get elected and reverse the decline in the number of elected women.   Please visit our website, and meet our candidates.

Congratulations, Jackie!

Bettina Duval is the founder of the California List, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.

(Me?  I din’ do nothin’ – except promote this diary.  Thank YOU, Congresswoman Speier. – promoted by David Dayen)

We did it!  

Thanks to the help from so many of you here at Calitics and throughout the California progressive blogosphere — Bob, Melissa, Brian, Frank, Greg, Robert, Julia, Dave, and so many of you — our campaign won a resounding victory last night.  

Your support in the blogosphere made a real difference on Tuesday.  Thank you so much for blogging about the race, building support, mobilizing activists, and helping us get out the vote.  I promise that I will work as hard as I can, every day, to make you proud.

Together, we won a tremendous victory Tuesday night — but now it’s already time to get to work.  I just got off a plane, and I am already in Washington, DC.  Tomorrow I’ll be sworn in on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and cast my first vote as a Member of Congress.

We’ve got a lot of work to do — to end the war in Iraq, rejuvenate our economy, make quality health care available to all Americans, protect our environment, fight global warming — the list goes on and on.  And I’m going to need you with me every step of the way.

So stay tuned.  I intend to stop by to blog here frequently, keeping you updated on the work I’m doing in Washington and asking for your help as we fight for the issues that matter to the people of the 12th District and all Americans.

I couldn’t have won this election without you — and I can’t be an effective Member of Congress without you either.  

Thank you, again, for everything you did for our campaign.  We did it — now it’s time to get to work!

All the best,

Jackie

Just took the stage.

“Well, we did it!”

Huge crowd, big win.

“So, believe it or not, tomorrow morning we’re all getting on a plane and going to Washington, DC.”

Great speech. She’s going off.  

Former state Sen. Jackie Speier offers you a choice of pancakes (Sunday morning, South SF) or spaghetti (Sunday night, Burlingame). The pancake event is free, but the spaghetti will cost you $10.  Find out more or RSVP here.

As for me, I’m a pancake fan. Expect to see me lining up for a big ol’ stack Sunday morning. Also, speaking of CA-12, Jackie’s election is Tuesday. She needs 50%+1 to get her seat in Congress. If you live in the district, make sure you show up and vote so the district gets representation ASAP.

I totally agree with this:

Speier is far and away the most qualified of the five candidates on the ballot. If she wins a majority of the vote, she could be sworn into office as early as Wednesday.

As a state legislator, Speier achieved an impressive succession of victories for consumers, most notably her determined three-year push to overcome the resistance of the banking industry to produce the nation’s strongest financial privacy law. In retrospect, one of her bills that did not pass demonstrates her foresight: a 2006 bill that would have strengthened consumer protections against subprime loans.

“I think it speaks volume about the power of the special interests,” Speier said. “Even when we see something coming, we don’t act.”

Speier, as much as anyone in the State Capitol, showed a willingness to take on entrenched interests. Her targets included the powerful prison guards’ union and the University of California administration. There is every reason to believe Speier will be every bit as vigorous in challenging the Washington establishment on issues such as the war in Iraq and consumer concerns – including health care.

This will be low turnout, there hasn’t been much of a race. But Speier is amazingly popular (for good reason), has a top-notch campaign team and is anticipated to get around 109% of the vote on Tuesday. Which is good, because we need her in Washington ASAP.

I was preparing to write a piece about how Lawrence Lessig was waiting far too long to make a decision about whether or not to run for Congress, but apparently he got the same message.

With lots of mixed feelings, I have decided a run for Congress would not help the Change Congress movement. I explain the thinking in this 5 minute video (a new record for me!). First question: What happens to the contributions to Lessig08? As explained on the ActBlue page, all will go to (the yet to be established) Change Congress organization.

You can see his video at the link.

I will miss what would have been a very interesting debate in the 12th District, but I’m confident that Jackie Speier is going to be an excellent addition to our Congressional delegation. In the end, Lessig just didn’t have enough time to make the sale.

Welcome back to the long-awaited California House races roundup!  These things take up an inordinate amount of time, but I’ve finally found some, and I’m ready to go with this roundup.  There’s a lot of additional information, including Q4 2007 fundraising numbers, the turnout in the February primary offering a decent snapshot of Democratic chances in a particular district, and quite a few new candidates to speak about.  I’m going to rank the top ten challenges to Republican-held seats across the state, as well as take a look at the two intriguing races held by Democrats.  But first, it should be mentioned that the deadline for applying to run for a Congressional seat is fast approaching (March 7, I believe), and 4 of the 19 Republican-held seats in the state still have no challenger: CA-02 (Herger), CA-19 (Radanovich), CA-22 (McCarthy), and CA-25 (McKeon).  This is especially distressing in CA-19 and CA-25, where turnout in the Feb. 5 primary was either even or favored Democrats.  So anyone in these 4 districts: run for Congress!  It’s a résumé builder!

(By the way, you can follow all of the candidates in all these races at the 2008 Race Tracker.

OK, let’s get into it:

DEMOCRATIC SEATS

While most of the 34 Democratic-held seats are safe, two are worth noting (actually 3; Minuteman member Jim Gilchrist is going to run against Loretta Sanchez in CA-47, which is hilarious.  Apparently he’ll campaign in between legal proceedings with other Minuteman members).  One race has an upcoming special election:

1. CA-12 (open seat).  There will be a special election in this district to replace the late Rep. Tom Lantos.  The primary will be held on April 8, with a general election on June 3, the same day as the statewide Congressional and legislative primary.  Candidates must get into the race by next Monday, February 25, so we’ll know by then if we’ll have a contested primary on the Democratic side between former state Senator Jackie Speier and reform advocate Lawrence Lessig, who has set up an exploratory committee.

Lessig, whose name has been bandied about in a draft campaign, has a couple Power Point presentations up about his plan to change Congress and about whether or not to run for Congress.  I must admit to some degree of ignorance about Lessig in general, but he has a definite following among Silicon Valley types and the techno-savvy.  He would run a reform campaign against earmarks and lobbyist money, and for public financing.  Jackie Speier has spent the last couple months consolidating support in the district, however, as she was going to mount a primary challenge to Lantos before his death.  She’s also reached out to a lot of local bloggers, so I don’t think this is exactly establishment vs. anti-establishment.  It should be VERY interesting if Lessig jumps in, and either way we’ll end up with a great Congressman in CA-12.

2. CA-11. Incumbent: Jerry McNerney.  Main challenger: Dean Andal.  Cook number: R+3.  % Dem turnout in the Presidential primary: 53.9%.  Jerry McNerney has fund-raised impressively (over $1.065 million in 2007), and his strong advocacy of the RESTORE Act over the telecom amnesty bill that came out of the Senate, gives me some degree of confidence that 2008 will not feature some of the same missteps as in 2007.   I don’t think McNerney will be able to draw on exactly the same activism that he did in 2006; but incumbency has its advantages.  His strong environmental record, and commitment to constituent services give him a leg up.  His opponent, Dean Andal, has put up some nice fundraising numbers (about $535,000 in 2007), but calling him a rock star is a bit of a stretch.  The high Democratic turnout in the primary shows that the demographics continue to change here, and I’m confident that McNerney will do well.

REPUBLICAN SEATS

I’m going to do three tiers in setting apart the top 10 seats where we have challenges to Republican incumbents.

First Tier

1. CA-04.  Open seat.  Dem. challenger: Charlie Brown.  Repub. challengers: Rico Oller, Doug Ose, Tom McClintock.  PVI #: R+11.  % Dem turnout in primary: 45.4.  A lot to report here.  John Doolittle dropped out in January, and since then it’s been a feeding frenzy on the Republican side.  Former state senator Rico Oller jumped in right away, followed by former Rep. Doug Ose (who’s already running ads touting his record on ethics, which is funny since he donated to John Doolittle’s legal defense fund recently).  And now there’s the talk, which has gone beyond rumor, that Tom McClintock will jump into this race.  McClintock, by the way, is from Thousand Oaks.  So we have three carpetbaggers, coming from far and wide into the Sierras to try and take a Congressional seat, and here we have Charlie Brown, with a ton of money, respect inside the district, and fresh off a near-victory in 2006, who is trying to make positive change right now instead of waiting for November.  He’s giving more than $23,000 of his campaign money to assist organizations that serve veterans and their families.  That’s a stark contrast.  So while a few people have written off this race, with the prospect of a bruising primary on the Republican side and our excellent candidate, I think Charlie Brown remains well-positioned to pull this off.

2. CA-26. Incumbent: David Dreier.  Challenger: Russ Warner.  PVI #: R+4.  % Dem. turnout: 50.6.  I get bullish on this race more and more.  First of all, Hoyt Hilsman dropped out of the race, clearing the field for Russ Warner.  Warner, who has raised over $400,000 in his campaign, can now commit that entirely to the general election.  David Dreier has completely lost sight of this district and he’s facing his first real challenger basically since he was elected in 1980.  Now, it’s not smooth sailing; Dreier has $2 million dollars in the bank.  But look at that Democratic turnout on February 5.  That excitement gap will continue at the top of the ticket, and Russ Warner needs to ride the wave.

3. CA-50.  Incumbent: Brian Bilbray.  Challenger: Nick Leibham.  PVI #: R+5.  % Dem. turnout: 51.2.  Another piece of good news with that February 5 turnout.  And there is almost fiscal parity in cash on hand.  Brian Bilbray has raised $419,000, with $262,000 CoH, and Nick Leibham raised $211,000, with $188,000 CoH.  This North County Times article lays out the stakes:

Doug Thornell, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which raises money for Democratic candidates and ranked the Republican-held 50th district as vulnerable, said party leaders were impressed by Nick Leibham, a Rancho Santa Fe lawyer challenging Bilbray.

In December, Democrats listed the race for the 50th Congressional District seat held by Bilbray as one of the top 40 to watch in the nation, in part due to Leibham’s ability to raise campaign funds.

Leibham, an attorney and former criminal prosecutor for the city of San Diego, said his campaign platform includes addressing energy independence, global warming and a “timely and responsible” withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

For his part, Bilbray said that “When I’m in Encinitas getting my hair cut, the feedback I’ve been getting is great.”  Which is, you know, extremely sophisticated polling.  But his votes against S-CHIP and on other issues could come back to haunt him.  His fallback position is to blame undocumented immigrants, but we’ll see if he can go to that well again.

Second Tier

4. CA-45.  Incumbent: Mary Bono Mack.  Challengers: Paul Clay, David Hunsicker, Julie Borenstein.  PVI #: R+3.  % Dem. turnout: 52.4.  In this Palm Springs district, Mary Bono Mack, who likes to hang out with Judith Nathan, has only $219,000 cash on hand.  That’s more than any of the three candidates set to face her, to be sure, but that’s dangerously low.  Julie Borenstein is a former Assemblywoman who has a proven electoral record.  I’m intrigued by the possibilities here, especially with that turnout number.

5. CA-03.  Incumbent: Dan Lungren.  Challenger: Bill Durston. PVI #: R+7. % Dem turnout: 53.1.  That is the best percentage turnout in any of these Republican-held districts.  Dan Lungren is a carpetbagger who found his way into a Sacramento-area district some years ago.  Bill Durston has maintained a presence online, hitting Lungren for his environmental record and trying to get him listed as one of the League of Conservation Voters’ “Dirty Dozen.”  Durston, a Vietnam vet, has an excellent public record on the issues.  This is obviously a long shot, but 53% Democratic turnout?  I don’t know, running on getting out of Iraq and fighting global warming could be potent, especially with the top-of-the-ticket coattails.  (I must confess that I do like Lungren’s X Prize idea.)

6. CA-52.  Open seat.  Repub. challengers: several.  Dem. challengers: several.  PVI #: R+9.  % Dem. turnout: 47.6.  I still think it’s going to be very difficult to challenge the likely Republican candidate, longtime Rep. and worst Presidential candidate ever Duncan Hunter’s son, also named Duncan Hunter.  However, Democrat Mike Lumpkin did raise $78,000 in 2007, which is not a bad number.  Here’s a story from DKos about the Democratic candidates in this district.  Lumpkin is a former Navy SEAL who the diarist calls “the most conservative of the three” candidates (the others are Vickie Butcher and Jim Hester, himself ex-Special Forces).  I’m pretty sanguine about our chances here, but I’d like to see what another Fighting Dem can do.

Third Tier (Orange County corruption sector)

7. CA-46.  Incumbent: Dana Rohrabacher.  Challenger: Debbie Cook. PVI #: R+6.  % Dem. turnout: 47.6.  This one actually has a chance to get interesting.  Everyone knows that Dana Rohrabacher is out of his mind.  His statements are routinely offensive and astonishing, and his ties with child molesters and even the Taliban are well-known.  But he’s never really had to run a tough race in his nine elections to Congress.  Debbie Cook is the mayor of Huntington Beach, the biggest city in the district.  She’s running in this seat, she just announced at the Democratic Party of Orange County convention.  If she can get the money, I think she has the potential to be a formidable opponent.  Here’s her statement of candidacy:

“Our nation faces big problems: a growing energy gap, a struggling economy, global warming, the escalating costs of health care, and the war in Iraq.” Mayor Cook said. “We need new people with new passion and new ideas who have experience working across party lines to get results.”

More here and here.

8. CA-41.  Incumbent: Jerry Lewis.  Challengers: Tim Prince, Dr. Rita Ramirez-Dean.  PVI #: R+9.  % Dem. turnout: 46.8.  Tim Prince had a kickoff party recently and is organizing on the ground in the district.  Dr. Dean is doing the same.  Both face an uphill battle against Lewis, but it should be entirely focused on corruption.  Lewis received more earmark money than anyone in Congress in 2007, despite being in the minority party, getting over $137 million for pet projects.  He’s still under an FBI investigation.  There’s still a lot of stuff you can pin on Lewis, it’ll just take the right candidate and a lot of money.

9. CA-44.  Incumbent: Ken Calvert.  Challenger: Bill Hedrick.  PVI #: R+6.  % Dem. turnout: 50.1.  That is an enticing number.  Bill Hedrick needs the resources to compete.  Ken Calvert is also under investigation by the FBI, and the Jurupa Parks district recently turned down a half-million dollar settlement in a case where Calvert profited from a shady land deal.  Again, a lot of smoke.  Hedrick needs to pick up on it.

10. CA-42: Incumbent: Gary Miller.  Challengers: Ron Shepston, Ed Chau.  PVI #: R+10.  % Dem. turnout: 44.2.  Ron Shepston is the sentimental favorite, someone who came out of the netroots to make this challenge against corrupt incumbent Gary Miller.  He’s built a campaign team (including some of those who helped Jerry McNerney defeat Richard Pombo) and is planning a lot of house parties.  However, there’s a primary challenger (Ed Chau) which will eat up some money, and the turnout number in the February 5 primary is worrying.  Like these other races, there are corruption allegations that you can sink your teeth into.

Lawrence Lessig has announced that he’s creating an exploratory committee to run for CA-12, which can be found at http://lessig08.org. If he does decide to run, Lessig would be about the only person who would make it tough for me to determine who to support. I’m actually about a block away from the district, so I don’t get to vote, but both candidates would be excellent Congress members.

I am really, really looking forward to the debates in this race. I think this has the opportunity to become one of the just plain coolest races for quite some time.  So, keep an eye out, CA-12 just got a whole lot more interesting