Diane Watson
Diane Edith Watson (born November 12, 1933) is a former US Representative for California's 33rd congressional district, serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is located entirely in Los Angeles County and includes much of Central Los Angeles, as well as such wealthy neighborhoods as Los Feliz.
Diane Watson | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California | |
In office June 5, 2001 – January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Julian Dixon |
Succeeded by | Karen Bass |
Constituency | 32nd district (2001–03) 33rd district (2003–11) |
United States Ambassador to Micronesia | |
In office 1999–2000 | |
Preceded by | March Fong Eu |
Succeeded by | Larry Miles Dinger |
Member of the California Senate | |
In office December 4, 1978 – December 3, 1990 | |
Preceded by | Nate Holden |
Succeeded by | Ralph C. Dills |
Constituency | 30th district (1978–82) 28th district (1982–90) |
In office December 5, 1994 – December 7, 1998 | |
Preceded by | Charles Calderon |
Succeeded by | Kevin Murray |
Constituency | 26th district |
Personal details | |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | November 12, 1933
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | South Central, Los Angeles |
Alma mater | California State University, Los Angeles Claremont Graduate University University of California, Los Angeles |
Occupation | College administrator Health Psychologist Specialist |
Committees | House Foreign Affairs Committee House Oversight and Government Reform Committee |
Website | http://www.house.gov/watson/ |
A native of Los Angeles, Watson is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, and also holds degrees from California State University, Los Angeles and Claremont Graduate University. She worked as a psychologist, professor, and health occupation specialist before serving as a member of the Los Angeles Unified School Board (1975–78). She was a member of the California Senate from 1978 to 1998, and the US Ambassador to Micronesia from 1999 to 2000.
Watson was elected to Congress in a 2001 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Julian C. Dixon. She was re-elected four times, and retired after the end of the 111th Congress.
Early life, education and career
![](../I/Diane_Watson.jpg.webp)
Born in Los Angeles, California, Watson was raised Catholic as the daughter of William Allen Louis Watson and Dorothy Elizabeth O’Neal Watson.[1][2] According to a DNA analysis, some of her ancestors were from the Central African Republic.[3] She was educated at Dorsey High School, Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her BA in Education (1956) and became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
She earned an MS from California State University, Los Angeles in School Psychology (1967) and a PhD in Educational Administration from Claremont Graduate University in 1987.[4] She also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Watson taught elementary school and was a school psychologist in the Los Angeles public schools. She has lectured at California State University, Long Beach and California State University, Los Angeles. She was a health occupation specialist with the California Department of Education's Bureau of Industrial Education and served on the unified Los Angeles school board.[5]
Early political career
Watson was elected to the California State Senate from 1978 to 1998. The longtime chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, she gained a reputation as an advocate for health care for the poor and children. She was the first African American woman in the California State Senate.[6] Term limited, she was replaced by Kevin Murray.
When, in 1988, the US government proposed the addition of the category of "bi-racial" or "multiracial" to official documents and statistics, some African American organizations and African American leaders such as Watson and Representative Augustus Hawkins were particularly vocal in their rejection and opposition of the category. They feared massive defection from the African American self-designation.
In 1992, Watson ran for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. After a hard-fought campaign that often turned negative, Watson narrowly lost to former Supervisor Yvonne Burke, who was supported by US Representative Maxine Waters.
In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed her United States Ambassador to Micronesia and she served in the post for two years. She stepped down to run in the April 2001 Democratic primary election, which was called to nominate a candidate to replace Congressman Julian Dixon, who had died in office five months earlier. She won with 33 percent of the vote in a multi-candidate field, then carried the district with 75 percent of the vote in the June 2001 special election.[7]
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Caucuses
- Chair of the Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus
- Co-chair of the Congressional Korea Caucus
- Co-chair of the U.S.-UK Caucus
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Racism
In Congress, she became a vocal leader on issues related to racism and xenophobia, supporting reparations for descendants of American slaves, reform of the educational system, subsidies for families lacking health care, and a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s criminal justice system. She also decried incidents of violence and racism against Arab Americans that she believed were a result of retribution for the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.[8]
- Objection to 2004 Presidential Election results
She was one of 31 House Democrats who voted not to count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 United States presidential election.[9] President George Bush won the state by 118,457 votes.[10] Without Ohio's electoral votes, the election would have been decided by the U.S. House of Representatives, with each state having one vote in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- Opposition to policies of President George W. Bush
Congresswoman Watson supported withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq,[11] opposed media consolidation,[12] supported expanding welfare coverage,[13] and opposed President Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security.[14] Watson opposed the Bush tax cuts, saying they were unaffordable.
- Cherokee Nation
On the issue of Cherokee Freedmen membership in the Cherokee tribe, Watson noted that 20,000 Cherokee lived in California. She opposed the Cherokee Nation's March 2007 vote to amend its constitution to limit membership to only those descendants with at least one Indian ancestor on the Dawes Roll. She noted that when freedmen were granted citizenship in the tribe in 1866 by a treaty which the Cherokees made with the US government, it was without restriction to those freedmen with Indian ancestry. Appeals to the Cherokee Nation's position were pending, in part because the tribe excluded descendants of Cherokee freedmen and intermarried whites from voting on the amendment. In June 2007 Watson introduced a bill to sever US relations with the tribe and revoke its gaming privileges unless the Cherokee restored membership in the tribe to descendants of Cherokee freedmen.[15]
- Other issues
In 2006, the National Journal ranked Watson as the most liberal member of Congress.[16]
Throughout her career in Congress, she advocated for increased funding and research directed at the HIV/AIDS pandemic. She argued in favor of humanitarian assistance for African nations that had been decimated by the disease.[17]
Political campaigns
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Watson's district went overwhelmingly for Illinois Senator Barack Obama by a margin of 61-29. As a superdelegate, Watson continued to support New York Senator Hillary Clinton.
Watson defeated her challengers in the California June 3 primary, and defeated Republican David Crowley in the November 4, 2008, election.
See also
References
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- Representative Diane E. Watson (CA) from Project Vote Smart
- Growing Interest in DNA-Based Genetic Testing Among African American with Historic Election of President Elect Barack Obama
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
- FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 7
- https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/29/politics/ohio-recount-gives-a-smaller-margin-to-bush.html
- War in Iraq: 2006 Archived 2010-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Corporate Media and the FCC Archived 2010-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- High-Priced Republican Welfare Plan Puts the Burden on States Archived 2010-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- How will President Bush's plan to privatize Social Security impact America and the 33rd District of California? Archived 2010-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
- Flaccus, Gillian (September 27, 2007). "Cherokee identity fight reaches Calif". Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe. Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
- National Journal - Composite Liberal Score Archived 2008-10-07 at the Wayback Machine
- "Women in Congress" (PDF).
External links
![]() |
Wikisource has original works written by or about: Diane Watson |
- Huffington Post: Rep. Diane Watson blog entries by the congresswoman
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Hundreds attend PLP fundraiser The Royal Gazette, January 15, 2007
- Governor reiterates UK's Independence stance to Rotarians, The Royal Gazette, June 25, 2008
- Profile at Answers.com
U.S. House of Representatives | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Julian C. Dixon |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 32nd congressional district 2001–2003 |
Succeeded by Hilda Solis |
Preceded by Lucille Roybal-Allard |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 33rd congressional district 2003–2011 |
Succeeded by Karen Bass |
Diplomatic posts | ||
Preceded by Cheryl A. Martin, Charge d'Affaires, a.i. |
U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia 1999-2002 |
Succeeded by Larry Miles Dinger |