Recent News Coverage

May 9, 2012

Los Angeles Times endorsements: Janice Hahn in the 44th

Residents of the 44th Congressional District deserve a representative whose attention and energies will be spent fighting for them.

May 9, 2012

The newly created 44th Congressional District sprawls from San Pedro to Watts and across to South Gate. Its many blue-collar communities have been hard hit by the economic downturn and share a need for jobs, safe and affordable housing, and a representative capable of pushing those priorities in Congress despite the political gridlock that has seized Washington.

The two candidates for the job, Janice Hahn and Laura Richardson, are incumbent Democratic members of the House, pitted against each other as a result of redistricting. Both are savvy and capable, but only one is poised to carry out the job without distractions or unwieldy political baggage. That’s why The Times endorses Hahn.

Hahn arrived in Washington less than a year ago after winning a special election to fill the seat left vacant by Jane Harman‘s retirement in the 36th District. Though a freshman, she is no political novice. Not only is she the daughter of a former Los Angeles County supervisor and the sister of a former L.A. mayor, but she served three terms on the Los Angeles City Council and proved herself a capable advocate for voters. She is a committed environmentalist and a strong advocate for the poor. Though she has sometimes marched in lock-step with labor on proposals that this page has opposed — such as the portion of the Clean Truck Program that would have made it difficult for independent truckers to operate at the Port of L.A. — she has devoted herself to the communities she represents and is skillful at working across the aisle to get things done.

Richardson was elected in 2007 to fill the seat left vacant in the 37th District after Rep.Juanita Millender-McDonald’s death. She is tenacious, passionate and knowledgeable and has used her assignment on the transportation committee to secure improvements to infrastructure in the district. But her ability to effectively champion those issues has been undermined by repeated questions about her ethics and her personal management style.

Richardson is currently under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over allegations that she pressured members of her legislative staff to work on her campaign on government time and against their will. She has denied the charges. She was cleared of another series of misconduct charges in 2010 after it was alleged that she received special treatment from a lender involving a foreclosed home she owned in Sacramento, and that she failed to disclose property and other income on congressional disclosure forms. Unfortunately, these ethics inquiries have required her to spend time and resources clearing her name that she could otherwise have been using to do the business of her constituents.

Residents of the 44th District deserve a representative whose attention and energies will be spent fighting for them, not fending off inquiries and allegations.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/endorsements/la-ed-congress44-20120509,0,4925626.story

May 4, 2012

Long Beach Press-Telegram: Editorial: Janice Hahn for the 44th Congressional District

Editorial: Janice Hahn for the 44th Congressional District

Posted:   05/03/2012 06:04:35 PM PDT
Updated:   05/03/2012 06:05:22 PM PDT
Rep. Janice Hahn went to Washington last July with a purpose and a plan. She aimed to bring congressional attention to issues affecting Los Angeles County’s — and the nation’s — vital sea ports. And she aimed to use that potentially bipartisan issue to help to heal rifts between House Democrats and Republicans.Nine months is not enough to produce results. But Hahn is on the right track, and it would be good to see what she could do with a full term in Congress. That’s why we recommend a vote for Hahn in the 44th District election on June 5.

Redistricting has forced Hahn, who represents the current 36th District, and Rep. Laura Richardson, who represents the current 37th, into an Democrat showdown in the new district that stretches from Watts to San Pedro.

Hahn, winner of a special election to replace Jane Harman, has focused on using the port issues to gain a foothold in the capitol; Richardson, a third-term congresswoman, has seen her focus on the job blurred by investigations of a bank’s recision of a home foreclosure and alleged misuse of her legislative staff for campaign work.

Richardson argues that her personal financial challenges are something to which district residents can relate. But that’s a politician’s attempt to spin a negative into a positive.

Richardson has, at the very least, shown poor skills in political communication, failing to break through the bad publicity and get the message out to her community about what she is doing in Congress, including the value of the constituent “casework” she cites as her proudest accomplishment.

Both women say they want to foster bipartisan cooperation in Washington. Hahn has made the more tangible efforts, beginning with co-founding — with a Texas Republican — the congressional Ports Opportunity, Renewals, Trade and Security (PORTS) Caucus. (Also, Hahn said she makes a point of entering the House chamber through a door that takes her through the Republican delegation, allowing her to make connections across the aisle.)

Becoming a leader on ports is a home-grown interest for Hahn, whose Los Angeles City Council district also included the Port of Los Angeles. And it gives Hahn entre to other matters, since port issues overlap with general economic, environmental and security issues.

Richardson and Hahn both are smart, able lawmakers. But Richardson has been sidetracked by controversy that no doubt has shaken her constituents’ faith in her. Meanwhile, Hahn has come in with a clean slate and has shown good instincts for serving her district’s particular interests while making a mark in Washington; she deserves a chance to fulfill this early promise.

We endorse Janice Hahn for election in the 44th District.

http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_20544007/editorial-janice-hahn-44th-congressional-district?nstrack=sid:3139836|met:100|cat:225|order:2

April 18, 2012

DAILY BREEZE: Hahn leads Richardson in fundraising for 44th District campaign

Rep. Janice Hahn raised nearly three times more money for her campaign than Rep. Laura Richardson over the past quarter in their heated battle for the new 44th Congressional District, according to figures released Monday.

Hahn collected $209,800 in contributions for the quarter ending March 31, while Richardson raised $81,325, according to the Federal Election Commission.

In total, however, Hahn has only a slight fundraising lead – $435,872 to Richardson’s $394,302.

Additionally, Hahn reported having $174,664 cash on hand at the end of the reporting period, while Richardson had $116,186.

The two Democratic incumbents are vying for a new congressional district that encompasses San Pedro, Wilmington, the Port of Los Angeles, Carson, South Gate, Lynwood and Compton. No other candidates are seeking the 44th District seat.

All candidates running for congressional and legislative offices will appears on a single ballot in a so-called jungle primary set for June 5.

Political pundits are expecting a drawn-out battle between Hahn and Richardson as the the top two candidates, regardless of party, advance to the general election in November.

- Art Marroquin

http://www.dailybreeze.com/elections/ci_20410565/hahn-leads-richardson-fundraising-44th-district-campaign

 

April 11, 2012

LA TIMES: Janice Hahn adds another African American endorsement

Rep. Janice Hahn of San Pedro has racked up another endorsement from an African American civic leader, her campaign announced Wednesday.

“Sweet” Alice Harris, a longtime Watts activist, is backing Hahn, who is white and competing for a newly drawn congressional district seat with fellow Democratic Rep. Laura Richardson, who is black.

Race became an issue early in the contest because the  seat, which runs north from the L.A. Harbor area through Lynwood and South Gate, was drawn under the federal Voting Rights Act to foster the election of an African American.

When Hahn, whose home was placed into the new 44th Congressional District last year by the independent commission that redrew the state’s political maps, announced for the seat, she was blasted as a “traitor” by one black activist.  Many others initially stayed on the sidelines.

But in the intervening months, political consultant Basil Kimbrew, the activist who called Hahn a traitor, recanted and now endorses her.  Several other prominent blacks also have swung to Hahn’s side, including Assemblyman Isadore Hall, who dropped out of the congressional race to seek reelection to the Legislature.  Among the others are the Rev. Cecil “Chip” Murray, retired pastor of the First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles, and Jimmie Woods Gray, past chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

Hahn’s father, the late longtime county Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, was beloved in the city’s African American community and Janice Hahn, as a member of the L.A. City Council, represented the Los Angeles city communities that now lie within the congressional district, including parts of South Los  Angeles and Harbor Gateway.

Richardson also has African American endorsements, including those of Democratic Los Angeles area Reps. Maxine Waters and Karen Bass and former California Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally.  Richardson is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly improperly requiring congressional staffers to do campaign work; she has denied the accusations.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2012/04/janice-hahn-adds-another-african-american-endorsement.html

 

February 27, 2012

ROLL CALL: California: Ex-Rep. Diane Watson Backs Janice Hahn Over Laura Richardson

Former Rep. Diane Watson is taking sides in one of two Democratic Member-vs.-Member races in California.

The Democrat, who is mistakenly listed as an endorser on Rep. Laura Richardson’s campaign website, said today that she is in fact endorsing Rep. Janice Hahn in the redrawn 44th district in south Los Angeles.

“I did not endorse Congresswoman Richardson,” Watson said in a statement released by the Hahn campaign. “[Hahn] is by far the best candidate to represent the residents of this district, and I am 100% confident that she will continue to be a fearless fighter change, for more good jobs, better schools, increased access to healthcare, and safe neighborhoods. I plan on doing everything I can to ensure that she wins this race.”

Watson was elected to a central LA district in a 2001 special election and represented it until 2010, when she declined to run for re-election.

Richardson lists much of the Congressional Black Caucus on her website’s endorsement list. One endorser recently removed from the list was Rep. Keith Ellison, who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

http://atr.rollcall.com/ex-rep-diane-watson-backs-janice-hahn-over-laura-richardson/