Another Dem seat opens: California's Lois Capps to retire from 24th District
God Bless Lois. She has been a trouper, and she will be missed.
Our district has been contested ever since Mike and Arianna Huffington swept in and bought the seat in the 1990s. They spent more money than had ever been seen before in an election here, unseating a 20-year Republican, Bob Lagomarsino, who, for all his faults got a couple of things absolutely right when it came to our district: We care deeply about the environment, and we don't like Big Oil, having been Ground Zero for what was then the worst oil spill ever.
So Mike Huffington, who probably never wanted to be in public office at all, lasted only one term, despite Arianna's ambitions. He did not understand our district, and no amount of money makes up for that.
Walter Capps was a professor at UCSB who created a course on the religious impact of the Vietnam War, and included veterans who came to speak to the students about their experiences. He had strong support from the veterans' community when he ran, and after he died and Lois ran for his seat, so did she. After BushCheney invaded Iraq, she was a strong friend of our local chapter of the Veterans for Peace, with whom I was working at the time.
People here know her well, and she has served our district outstandingly. All the best in the future, Lois. May your grandchildren bring you joy.
Hekate
Rep. Lois Capps, a former nurse known for a kind demeanor in a Congress where that quality is often lacking, announced Wednesday that she would retire when her term expires next year.
The Santa Barbara Democrat was elected to Congress in a 1998 special election to replace her husband, Walter, after his death. She said in a video that "it is time for me to return home, back to the community and family that I love so much."
"It’s been a hard decision to make, for I have loved this job," she added, citing her work on education, health care, businesses, veterans' issues and environmental protection.
Her retirement opens a potentially viable seat for Republicans, but one that will be contested in a presidential year, in which Democratic turnout typically rises.
The narrow slice of the Central Coast became more competitive in 2012 after redistricting. Democrats hold a narrow lead in party registration over Republicans, 37%-34%, according to the California Target Book, a nonpartisan election compendium. More than 1 in 5 voters registered as nonpartisan.
Capps won with 52% of the vote in November. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political handicapper, said Wednesday that the seat remains likely Democratic, even after her retirement.
Potential contenders include Capps’ daughter Laura Burton Capps, a former speechwriter for Bill Clinton who also served as an aide to Sens. John F. Kerry and Edward M. Kennedy; Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider, another Democrat; and Justin Fareed, a Republican who ran for the seat previously.
http://www.latimes.com/business/healthcare/la-pn-lois-capps-retirement-20150408-story.html
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