Death of Member of Congress Juanita Millender-McDonald Stuns and Saddens Those Who Knew Her

Art Torres, Chair of the California Democratic Party, who served with her in the legislature said:

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald. California and the nation have lost a great friend and public servant. I have known Juanita for many years, having served with her in the California legislature in the early ‘90s. She was a champion for the consumer and fought injustice wherever she saw it. She always valued public service and served her state and nation with grace and honor.

“Juanita’s Congressional record included several distinguishing firsts, including being the first African-American woman to give the national Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address and initiating the annual Memorial Day Tribute to Women in the Military. Her solid commitment and advocacy will be greatly missed."

Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez said:

"What she embodies is the true spirit of America, the spirit of California, people who fight to always improve themselves She always carried herself with so much grace, so much dignity. From her time on the Carson City Council to her service in the United States Congress, Juanita Millender-McDonald had an outstanding reputation for bipartisan effectiveness on behalf of the people she represented. That was certainly true in the California State Assembly, where she chaired two key committees and put her stamp on many important policies. Today the Assembly joins her family and her family in Congress in mourning the loss of this leader."

Assembly Member Betty Karnette remarked:

“Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald was a good friend of mine. She was an articulate and dignified representative for the greater Long Beach area in Congress. We shared a common interest in public education; I came to know her while we worked to improve the quality of education provided in Los Angeles Unified School district. She was a tireless advocate for her congressional district. I am lucky to have called her my friend and Congresswoman.

Congresswoman Millender-McDonald proved herself to be a leader on international issues, speaking out against genocide in Cambodia, Darfur and other regions of the world where human rights are in danger or ignored and has worked with former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and Ambassador John Miller on human trafficking and women’s rights issues globally."

Although she served in the Assembly, many of those who served with her are now in the California state Senate. On the floor of the Senate, many gave heartfelt speeches, including Senator Alan Lowenthal and Jenny Oropeza, from Long Beach.

Senator Mark Ridley Thomas said:"Many of us are very saddened by her death, and in some respects stunned by it. She knew about the issues of justice and injustice, and carried that banner wherever she went."

Special Election to Fill the Seat and Try to Fill Her Shoes

Depending on when Governor Schwarzenegger officially pronounces the vacancy, a special election will be held in August or September to fill the seat. Under California law, the governor has up to 14 days to declare a vacancy. One that occurs, the election is then held on a Tuesday between 112 and 126 days after that.

All candidates run on the ballot and if one of them gets more than 50% of the vote, he or she is elected. If no candidate reaches this level, then the top vote getter of each party will be in a runoff for the seat in a subsequent election about a month later. Since the district is heavily Democratic (John Kerry received 74% of the vote running for President in 2004), the top Democrat will be elected to this seat.

Because Congressional seats open up so infrequently and there are so many potential candidates, it is anticipated this vacancy will attract the attention of many members of the state legislature.

I spoke with Joshua Grossman of Progressive Kick who is based in Northern California and has closely tracked politics in all 435 Congressional Districts across the United States for over 30 years, since he was 13. He professes to know (and in facts knows) the names of all members of Congress off the top of his head, as well as their voting records and the political demography of their districts.

He describes the district being dominated by Long Beach, but he was quick to point out that Congressmember Millender-McDonald was from Carson, which proves that one can get elected from other parts of the district. Approximately 369,000 of the district's residents are in Long Beach, 93,000 from Compton, 90,000 from Carson, and only about 33,000 are in the Los Angeles portion of the district.

Grossman stressed that the district is in transition. 43% of the residents are Hispanic, and that portion of the population is increasing, although some either may not be able to vote or may not traditionally vote, especially in a special election because they tend to be younger voters who do not participate as much as older voters. Portions of the district, including Compton and Carson are predominantly black. A plurality of the district is black.

It is difficult to predict who would win a special election without knowing what candidates will enter the race. However, many strong contenders have identifiable strengths.

State Senator Jenny Oropeza has been listed in the print media as one potential entrant. Although her current Senate seat has only 15% of the Congressional District, she is from Long Beach and would be a strong contender, according to Grossman.

Senators Alan Lowenthal and Edward Vincent represent about 40% of the Congressional District in their respective Senate Districts.

Three Assemblymembers, represent portions of the the 37th Congressional District: newly elected Laura Richardson (approximately 38%), Betty Karnette (30%), and Mervyn Dymally (30%). In fact much of what is in the Congressional District was represented by Dymally when he was in Congress and he is an icon, having been Lieutenant Governor of the state and in office for virtually all of the last 4 decades.

Although Richardson has served on the Long Beach City Council, being newly elected to the Assembly, Grossman wondered if she would run for Congress. He also looked at the ages of others and wondered if they would want to be commuting to Washington, D.C. Oropeza, to his mind, approaching age 50 might be the best shot, although he handicapped Lowenthal as another strong competitor.

It is still early. An election has not been set and the state Capitol is still stunned by Millender-McDonald's sudden death after taking a leave of absence due to cancer. But given the speed of a special election, this one should ramp up pretty fast. Grossman also pointed out that one need not live in the Congressional district to represent it. The only requirement in this regard is that any candidate be a resident of California. If any candidates have been left off of this list, we will surely hear from them in the near future.

This could create a cascading number of other special elections if any current legislators are elected to fill the Congressional seat, as their seats then become open. The legislature adjourns for the year September 14, and if there is no outright winner in the "special election primary" there will be no vacancy in the Assembly or Senate during this year's session.

Special elections to fill Congressional seats are not that uncommon and Congressional Quarterly lists 10 current California Representatives out of 53 as having been elected in that manner, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.