Karen Bass announces a run for Congress
Willa Seidenberg | 2-17-2010 | Comments |
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Karen Bass, the outgoing Speaker of the California Assembly, announced today she will launch a campaign for Diane Watson's seat in Congress. Watson announced last week that she is retiring after 35 years in public service. Bass was expected to be joined at a news conference Wednesday by Watson. Today the Congresswoman, City Controller Wendy Greuel, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and a group of grassroots leaders.
Bass was elected to the State Assembly in 2005 representing the 47th Assembly District that covers Culver City, West Los Angeles, Westwood, Cheviot Hills, Leimert Park, Baldwin Hills, Windsor Hills, Ladera Heights, the Crenshaw District, Little Ethiopia and portions of Korea Town and South Los Angeles. She made history in 2008 when he Los Angeles Democrat became the first African American woman and the first Democratic woman to serve as Speaker of the California Assembly. She is also the first African American woman in the country to serve in the role of Speaker of a state Assembly.
In a letter to supporters she said,"... as Speaker of the Assembly, I’ve worked effectively with colleagues across the aisle to meet the needs of constituents. We brought in $600 million of badly needed dollars for local neighborhood schools. We kept thousands of construction projects – and jobs – from being lost in this recession and kept hundreds of thousands of children from losing health insurance because their families are facing tough times. That's the kind of problem solving and bridge building I tried to do in Sacramento and it's the kind of problem solving and bridge building I will work to do in Washington."
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