Soon-to-be-former California State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has officially announced plans to seek the seat of 33rd District U.S. Representative Diane E. Watson, a trail blazer of local politics who recently announced plans to retire from Congress.
Bass informed members of the local media of her plans to run for Watson's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives during a conference call on Feb. 16 — and then made herself available in person for a press conference held at her district office in Los Angeles on Feb. 17. A cast of supporters that included Watson, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Los Angeles City Controller Wendy Greuel joined Bass for the formal announcement.
Bass plans to kick off her campaign for the congressional seat on February 27, just two days before she's scheduled to step down as Speaker of the Assembly.
"I have considered doing this for quite some time," Bass told media members in the Feb. 16 teleconference.
Bass added that she had refrained from publicly revealing her plans until Watson publicly announced her intentions to retire.
Watson endorsed Bass during the teleconference, calling her a "skilled, intelligent leader."
"I feel comfortable and satisfied that Karen will pick up the baton and will serve the people of the (33rd) Congressional District, the people of California, and the people of the United States of America with excellence," Watson said. "We have worked with her, I mean Mark Ridley-Thomas and others, and we're proud of her leadership, and I am proud that she will be running for my seat."
Describing Watson as a mentor, Bass credited the longtime politico for helping launch her political career with a run for the legislature in 2004. Bass, now 56, quickly advanced through the ranks of the State Assembly to become the first African-American woman to hold the position of Speaker.
"One of the main reasons I ran for the Assembly was because she (Watson) encouraged me to do so, because there were no African-American women in legislature at the time I won my election," Bass said.
Watson noted that her 33rd District is among the most diverse in California, taking in Koreatown, Hancock Park, the Wilshire Corridor, the "Miracle Mile," Little Armenia, Hollywood, Los Feliz and other locales. It also includes the neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire, View Park and Windsor Hills.
The district has the largest number of South Koreans outside of South Korea, a large Hispanic population, an Armenian community in Hollywood, a Pacific Islander community in the southern part and "a vigorous" African-American community, she said.
"The district consists of some of the most expensive property in California and some of the lowest-income people in the southeastern part of (the) district," she said. "It's a district where you have to work, you have to appear, you have to know their issues. An issue that might work well south of Wilshire does not work well north of Wilshire.
"It takes someone with knowledge of the district ... someone who can bring people together, someone who can recognize issues that are relevant to the issues of constituents. It takes someone with great leadership skills and a tremendous staff."
Watson also said that she watched Bass work with as a community organizer and elected official over the years. Watson added that she and other have encouraged Bass to run for the Congressional seat.
The 76-year-old Watson said she is retiring after 10 years in the House of Representatives in order to spend more time with her mother, who turned 100 this year.
"I want to spend some quality time with her at the end of year," she said. "I will serve all the way through the election."
Watson's retirement will end a political career marked by breakthrough achievements. She got her start in 1975, the year she won election to the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) — becoming the first black woman to do so. She won a seat in the California State Senate a few years later.
"In 1993, she authored the California Birth Defects Monitoring Program Act, which led to pioneering research into the causes of birth defects, and the Residential Care Facilities Act, to ensure that senior citizens receive quality care in nursing and assisted living homes," Watson's website states. "In 1997, she introduced legislation to toughen food health safety requirements for restaurants. She also played a key role in the enactment of legislation to promote breast cancer research."
Watson eventually left the State Senate due to term limits, and in 1999 former President Bill Clinton appointed her to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia. In a special election in 2001, she won the 33rd District seat, and has served on many committees since then, including the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. She also serves as chair of the Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus.
"She has always been a popular leader, rating highest in polls among her peers on values such as integrity, honesty and hard work," Ridley-Thomas said in statement, describing Watson as a "mentor, colleague and friend." "She is a true champion for the causes in which she believes, placing accountability above irresponsibility and the common interest above the special interest."
In a prepared statement from the White House, President Barack Obama said: "Diane Watson has spent her life fighting for families in Los Angeles, especially those who too often didn't have a voice. Diane blazed a historic trail from the L.A. public schools to the United States Congress where she continued to work to improve health care, education and opportunities for countless Americans.While we will miss her distinguished voice in Congress, Michelle and I extend our thanks to Diane for her service and our best wishes to her and her family for the future."
Chico C. Norwood is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.
Photos by L.A. Watts Times.
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