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Jackie Speier to Step Down…Scramble Ensues

Here is some big news for the mid-Peninsula that should kick-off a scramble not just for the Congressional seat, but also for some of the County seats as upwardly aspiring pols recalibrate.  I can certainly understand the drain constant cross-country travel takes on one (been there, done that), so her announcement resonates:

California Rep. Jackie Speier became the latest Democrat to announce plans to leave Congress and not seek reelection in next year's midterms.  "Today, I'm announcing that I will not be a candidate for reelection to Congress in 2022," Speier said in the video. "It's time for me to come home. Time for me to be more than a weekend wife, mother, and friend.

"There's also another chapter or two in my book of life, and I intend to contribute to you, the communities I love on the peninsula and in San Francisco, and the country that has given me so much," Speier said in the video.

This change probably won't change policy votes emanating from our district since all of the leading candidates position themselves akin to Jackie.

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19 responses to “Jackie Speier to Step Down…Scramble Ensues”

  1. Joe

    Here are a couple of links to the news stories:
    https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/jackie-speier-won-t-seek-re-election/article_7028ddfa-4763-11ec-af54-c31d4607e636?utm_source=smdailyjournal.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3F-dc%3D1637161222&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
    https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Jackie-Speier-retirement-sets-off-jockeying-to-16626463.php

  2. Not a Fan

    I’m not a fan. When your claim to fame after decades is that you talked openly about your abortion and you got shot in a misguided trip to Jonestown you know you were just filling space all that time. Leo Ryan thought he was the Marines and found out he wasn’t.

  3. High Speed Yes

    Good ridden. A Professional Victim. Did nothing for CA other than destroy the education system and raise the crime rate.

  4. Joe

    The Comicle was busy analyzing the Speier news:
    Hours after she announced last week that she wouldn’t be seeking re-election, I asked Rep. Jackie Speier what she would change in Washington if she could.
    Then she dropped this suggestion: “Maybe putting a ban on how long you can serve,” Speier, 71, said on The Chronicle’s “It’s All Political” podcast. “Not a term limit. An age-limit ban.”
    So where would Speier set the magic number? “Oh, probably 75.”
    If members of Congress had to “return home” — Washington-speak for not seeking another term — at 75, that would mean a gold watch for several members of the Northern California delegation, including Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, 78; Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, 75; John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, 78; and Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, 77. Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-San Jose, would be on deck when she turns 74 next month.
    https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/joegarofoli/article/One-outgoing-House-member-s-idea-for-how-to-fix-16636378.php
    How about 70? And then there was the jockeying piece:
    The seat’s anchor in San Mateo County would give a natural advantage to candidates with a political base there, and already some have acknowledged they’re considering a run.
    David Canepa, president of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, confirmed soon after Speier’s announcement that he is exploring a campaign.
    “This is sudden news to us, unexpected,” his policy adviser, Bill Silverfarb, said. “But in the short amount of time we’ve had to think about it, you have to leave all doors open. So yes, Supervisor Canepa is definitely considering running for this seat.”
    Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat from Menlo Park, and Assembly Member Kevin Mullin, a Democrat from San Mateo, represent the area in the state Legislature. Both are among the more liberal members in Sacramento and have focused on climate policy and voting rights, respectively, at the Capitol.
    Steve Spinner, a Silicon Valley business executive and major Democratic fundraiser, predicted the race will cost $3 million to $4 million and said given the short time frame, candidates will need to be prolific fundraisers to remain competitive for the seat.
    https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Jackie-Speier-retirement-sets-off-jockeying-to-16626463.php
    Any bets on whether any of the B’game electeds decide to throw their hat in the ring?

  5. Joe

    Well, that didn’t take long…..I don’t follow Emily Beach on Twitter (@EmilyBEach650) but someone who does just forwarded her tweet from 11:39 am today announcing that she “humbly filed to run for #CA14″…..Jackie’s seat. Let the show begin!

  6. Paloma Ave

    What do you think Emily Beach would want to BAN if she became our representative? Just wondering.

  7. Phinancier

    It’s easy to laugh at Emily’s ambition so far advanced beyond accomplishment but hold that thought. The field is weak. Becker has been in office for a minute and a half and all he has done is fly to Scotland burning jet fuel to have a dram or two. Mullin? Canepa? Sad. We need a dark horse with horse sense to ride to our rescue.

  8. Paloma Ave

    Phinancier – The problem is Mullin and Becker are sellouts to developers. Canepa is a media (it rhymes bore, a la pool cleaner Jerry Hill).
    Our choices will be who is the lesser evil, but the choices in San Mateo County continue to be bleak!

  9. Joe

    The scramble is ON. When I was growing up in the East it was a tradition to go for a run on Thanksgiving morning called the “Turkey Trot”. Our own Turkey Trot will be hard to keep track of.
    The Post is reporting Kevin Mullin is in the race–his endorsement of Emily in the last council race will probably be her last from him for a while. Canepa is also in–not surprising.
    Per the Post, which wasn’t crystal clear on this, because the congressional seat comes up at the same time as Mullin’s Assembly seat primary he has to vacate the seat early. So San Mateo’s Diane Papan can accelerate her plans to run for his seat by two years (2024 now become 2022).
    The Turkey Trot is on.

  10. Joe

    This one might be over before it starts
    https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Retiring-Rep-Jackie-Speier-endorses-Kevin-Mullin-16679749.php
    Retiring San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier threw her weight behind her one-time staffer, Assembly Member Kevin Mullin, on Monday to replace her in Congress.
    But Speier had also indicated she wasn’t going to push a replacement to her seat.
    “I’m not going to pick a successor,” Speier told The Chronicle in an episode of its “It’s All Political” podcast the day she announced her retirement. “I think it’s a very smart district, and I think the electorate will make sure that they have someone that represents their interests.”
    Speier was asked about the seeming about-face at the news conference on Monday.
    “You are misquoting me,” she said to the reporter who closely paraphrased her earlier quote. “I was asked, will I anoint someone. I said no, I’m not anointing anyone. What I’m doing here is endorsing a candidate for Congress — the voters of this district will elect its next member.”
    ……
    He (Mullin) has already racked up a sizable list of endorsements, including from California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Treasurer Fiona Ma, state Sen. Scott Wiener, former state Sen. Jerry Hill and a host of local officials.

  11. Paloma Ave

    In reading the December 3, 2021, Daily Journal opinion, it looks like would be Queen-maker (Espinosa of R.C.), has endorsed one of our local council members, Emily Beach, to become our new Congressperson.
    His endorsement seems contingent on the next Congressperson be anyone EXCEPT a white male. Does that sound like a case of reverse racism? IT DOES TO ME.
    How about if we find a different strategy for electing a new politician.
    I would like a set of questions to be posed to each candidate. Then we could elect someone based on the issues, instead of their gender or skin color!
    In the end, Emily Beach might be the best choice, but that shouldn’t be determined by her lack of a male appendage!

  12. Lilly

    Failed Environmental Policies by Liberals:
    American Lung Association’s 2021 “State of the Air” report
    In San Mateo County, the report issued a “C” grade for ozone, a “F” grade for 24-hour particle pollution and barely passed the annual particle pollution test. The lung association collected the air quality data at official monitoring sites operated by federal, state, local and tribal governments.

  13. Paloma Ave

    Hey Lilly – Are you related to Holy/Holly?

  14. Joe

    Here are the new district boundaries:
    This year the state lost a congressional district — leaving 52 in the new arrangement due the state’s population increase falling behind that of the nation. The Bay Area, however, will gain two seats, up to 12 from 10.
    In San Mateo County, the eastern portion of the Peninsula will now be grouped in a congressional district from Daly City to Redwood City, including also East Palo Alto. A coastal district will stretch from Pacifica to Pescadero, inland to Palo Alto and Mountain View and down to Los Gatos and part of San Jose.
    In the Assembly, the eastern portion of the Peninsula from South San Francisco to Redwood City and East Palo Alto will be contained in a single district. District 22 currently contains the same territory plus Pacifica down to Moss Beach but not East Palo Alto. A coastal district will cover the coast from Pacifica to Pescadero, plus inland cities including Palo Alto, Mountain View and Saratoga. The county’s Senate district remains largely unchanged.
    It’s unclear the exact implications the maps will have in the county’s congressional race. South San Francisco Assemblymember Kevin Mullin, San Mateo County Board of Supervisors President David Canepa and Burlingame Councilmember Emily Beach are the frontrunners to replace Jackie Speier, who announced her retirement last month and represents District 14 which currently covers nearly the entire county. The new Bayside district will be 15.
    https://bit.ly/3HbMNwT

  15. Paloma Ave

    Everyone needs to remember Mullin SOLD OUT everyone who rents or owns a single family home. (SB9 and SB10)
    Do NOT elect him to any other office.
    Let me down once “Shame on you.” Let me down again “Shame on me.”

  16. resident

    I’m not sure any of the others are any different. This will be a lesser of evils vote for sure. Do you recall either of them coming out big against SB9 or 10?

  17. Joe

    There is already some fun spectating to be had on the US Congressional race. In last week’s column, the DJ’s Mark Simon noted this:
    Either way, the new congressional lines kept the Canepa campaign busy enough this week with some statements that can best be described as impulsive.
    The Redistricting Commission unanimously adopted the new lines Monday night. Done. Finished. Final.
    Tuesday morning, Canepa fired off a letter, signed in his role as president of the Board of Supervisors and on official letterhead, protesting to the new lines that, he said in a brief telephone interview, do damage to “my congressional district.”
    Specifically, the letter protested congressional district lines that ran from Pacifica to San Luis Obispo, which, of course, they do not. They did in one iteration — but not in the one adopted by the commission Monday. Speaking on behalf of board colleagues who, in fact, may have been surprised by this letter, Canepa writes, “We respectfully request that you adopt one of the earlier versions” of the new lines.
    A staffer attached a note to the letter indicating the commission did not adopt the lines that had Canepa in high dudgeon. In a nice touch, Canepa attached a note of his own instructing someone — maybe his staff, maybe me — to “Please fact check this.” In another note, he said the “letter is perfect.”
    There is no sign that any of this will deter Canepa, whose enthusiasm for campaigning is unbridled.
    ———————–
    There is a bit more here: https://bit.ly/3pFVr11
    Yesterday I received a 12-page glossy color pamphlet from Kevin Mullin titled “Our Accomplishments Together”. It walks through “over 60 bills passed into law”. But what caught my eye was the funding account: “Paid for by Kevin Mullin for Assembly 2022”. Since he can’t run for Assembly re-election and US Congress at the same time, it would appear now is a good time to drain the old account’s funds.

  18. Joe

    The Daily Post was on the ball regarding campaign funding for Jackie’s seat. The Wednesday headline “Heir apparent falls to third place” listed the donations through 2021 as:
    Canepa $427,956
    Beach $276,887
    Mullin $245,204 including self-funding of $65K
    Mattammal $16,416
    Watters $10,000
    The title refers to the fact that Mullin has Jackie’s endorsement and thus is the “heir apparent”. It’s still early and my guess is that Mullin could (and after this piece will) muster a couple of hundred G’s with no problem.

  19. Phinancier

    Emily Beach was out knocking on doors today. I guess you gotta start somewhere but isn’t the district something like 700,000 people. Mullin must be about to put down the hammer on her with union endorsements and Jackie stuff.

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