Welcome to the Veepstakes (h/t arabian)! This series will introduce (or in some cases, re-introduce) you to the candidates who might be the next Vice President of the United States. These candidates will not be current Senators, Governors or Congresspeople. I do not think it is in our best interest to remove people from their current seats and give the Republicans an opportunity to replace them. These articles are sourced from different areas of the internet, and all websites will be linked for attribution purposes, as well as fact-checking and additional reading.
I am writing about Secretary Solis first, as I believe she is the best choice for VP. She has been elected to local, and national, offices, and was Secretary of Labor under current President, Barack Obama. She is Hispanic, and is very close to Dolores Huerta whom she considers a mentor. It is my belief that we need a Latino, or Latina, on the ticket this year. With states like Arizona and Georgia in play, we need to reach out to Hispanic voters. Solis is the perfect person to do this. She is the child of immigrant parents, she grew up in LA, and is friends/allies with many Hispanic leaders in this country. She has a strong record of fighting for the environment, for immigration reform, and for labor, all things very close to my heart.
Hilda Lucia Solis
Born: October 20, 1957 (58) Los Angeles, CA
Married to: Sam H. Sayyad
Justice is not available to all equally; it is something that many of us must struggle to achieve. As an elected official, I know that fighting for what is just is not always popular but it is necessary; that is the real challenge that public servants face and it is where courage counts the most. Without courage, our action or inaction results in suffering of the few and injustice for all. – Hilda Solis
Profile in Courage Award Acceptance Speech, May 22, 2000
GovTrack
Hilda Solis was the third of seven children born to Raul and Juana Sequiera Solis, immigrants from Mexico and Nicaragua, who met in a class on U.S. citizenship. Both parents were blue-collar workers with strong union ties. Her mother worked on a toy assembly line for Mattel and belonged to United Rubber Workers, and her father, a Teamsters shop steward in Mexico, organized workers again at the Quemetco battery recycling plant in the San Gabriel Valley. As is the case with many children who have both parents working, Solis helped to raise her brothers and sisters. “We had to mature very quickly”, she said.
Solis graduated from La Puente High School, where she was told by a guidance counselor that she was not college material and should, instead, follow the example of her older sister, and become a secretary. Thankfully, another guidance counselor disagreed, and helped Solis fill out her college application. She was the first in her family to go to college, and attended California State Polytechnic University paying for it with government grants, part-time jobs and the Educational Opportunity Program. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1979, and went on to earn a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Southern California in 1981.
Solis’ long career in public service started with the Carter Administration, in 1981, as a semester intern. She served in the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs as the editor-in-chief of a newsletter. She then went on to serve in the Reagan administration as a management analyst, but resigned over her dislike of Ronald Reagan’s policies and returned to California. In 1982 she became a field representative for the Office of Assemblymen Art Torres. She has been elected, or appointed, to many different offices over her 30+ year career, and is known for her work on the environment, labor issues, immigration and her dedication to her roots as a Latina and her passion for the Hispanic community. (On The Issues)
I have summarized her career below (because tl;dr):
1985: Board of Trustees, Rio Hondo Community College District. Re-elected in 1989.
- Worked on improved vocational job training
- Sought to increase number of tenured faculty positions held by minorities and women.
1991: Los Angeles County Commission on Insurance. Named a commissioner by LA County Supervisor, Gloria Molina.
1990’s: Chief of Staff for State Senator, Art Torres.
1992-1994: California State Assembly, 57th State Assembly district.
- Received 49% of the vote in a 3 way primary race.
- Supported by Gloria Molina and, at that time Representative, Barbara Boxer.
- Received 61% of the vote in the General.
- Most liberal among group of 7 Latinos known as Los Sieto.
- Backed a bill in the state assembly to allow undocumented immigrants who were in the U.S. to attend California colleges, and pay in-state tuition. (AB 2114)
- Served on committees for education, labor and environmental issues. Also served on a new committee to address groundwater contamination and landfill leakage.
1994: California State Senate, 24th State Senate district. Re-elected in 1998.
- Received 63% of the vote in a 3 way primary race.
- Received 63% of the vote in the General.
- First Hispanic woman to serve in that State Senate.
- First woman to represent San Gabriel Valley.
- Youngest member of Senate that that time.
- Authored 17 bills to prevent domestic violence.
- Sponsored a bill to raise the minimum wage to $5.75 in 1995. When it was vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson, she organized the ballot drive, and contributed $50,000 of her campaign funds. It passed.
- Chaired the labor committee. Held hearings on labor law enforcement, and pushed for tougher enforcement of anti-sweatshop laws.
- Helped pass environmental justice legislation (SB 1133) to protect low-income and minority communities from new landfills and sources of pollution. It was vetoed by Pete Wilson. Returned with a weaker measure in 1999 (SB 115), and it was signed into law by Gray Davis. It was the first legislation of its kind in the nation and is considered to be a landmark.
- Helped pass SB 63, which lowered carpool restrictions on the El Monte Busway. When the law went into effect, it had a detrimental effect on the busway and did not improve flow in the other traffic lanes, so she co-sponsored legislation to rescind the change.
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Introduced legislation that created the San Gabriel and Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy. (AB 1355)
- Received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award in 2000 for her environmental justice legislation. She was the first woman to receive this award.
- Term limits barred her from running again.
2000: U.S House of Representatives, 31st Congressional District. Re-elected in 2002, 2004, 2006.
- Received 69% of the vote in the primary against incumbent, Matthew G. Martinez. Was criticized for running against him by Hispanics, and others.
- Received the endorsements of Barbara Boxer and Loretta Sanchez. Also endorsed by: Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, Emily’s List, Handgun Control Incorporation, Sierra Club and California League of Conservation Voters.
- Received 79% of the vote in the General, defeating 3 challengers from 3rd parties.
- As freshman class whip she was responsible for collecting votes from first-term Democrats.
- Named by National Journal as “Ten Freshman to Watch”.
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Member of: Committee on Energy and Commerce, Committee on Natural Resources, Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
- Made green-collar jobs a priority.
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Sponsored legislation that funded a study to designate parts of the Angeles National Forest the Puente and Chino Hills, the Rio Hondo and Gabriel River as a National Recreation Area. The study was done, but it was greatly reduced.
- Championed Employee Free Choice Act. (Solis)
- Only member of Congress on the board of American Rights at Work.
- Voted against Dominican Republic-Central America trade agreement, and the U.S. - Peru Trade Agreement. Expressed opposition to the U.S.-Columbia trade agreement because she was concerned about human rights violations.
- Advocate of comprehensive immigration reform and voted against H.R. 4437.
- Sponsored a bill (H.R. 1814) that granted U.S. citizenship to immigrants after 1 year of military service, instead of 3. A different version of the bill passed in 2003. (H.R. 1954) (Additional Reading — pdf)
- Pro-choice, and signed a “Statement of Principles” renewing her commitment to her faith, but outlining her disagreement with the RCC.
- Member of Congressional Progressive Caucus, lifetime “liberal quotient” of 99% per Americans for Democratic Action.
- Strong supporter of Hillary in 2008.
2009: Secretary of Labor
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Appointed by President Barack Obama on December 19, 2008
- Backed by AFL-CIO.
- Senate hearings held up by an anonymous Republican because of her refusal to answer questions over specific policy issues.
- Finally confirmed by the Senate 80-17 in March of 2009.
- First Hispanic woman to serve as a regular cabinet secretary.
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Added 250 investigators to Wage and Hour Division.
- Changed rules for guest worker regulations related to H-2A visas. (Fact Sheet)
- While secretary, OSHA levied largest fine in its history against BP plc because it did not fix the safety issues in the wake of the Texas City Refinery disaster in 2005.
- Announced MSHA would conduct internal review of enforcement against Massey Energy prior to the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster. (Note — link is a pdf)
- Hosted first ever meeting of G-20 labor ministers.
- Praised by labor unions and leading Democrats for her leadership regarding job safety regulations and pursuit of wage and hour violators.
2013: Cal Poly. Scholar-in-residence
- Lectured, mentored, and assisted in curriculum development.
2014: Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
- Won election with 70% of the vote.
- Helped secure funds for Exide lead contamination cleanup.
Sources:
Wikipedia
House.gov
Additional reading:
Bills that she introduced
Making Immigration Policy Work in the United States (Note- pdf)
Solis aims for federal protection of rivers
If there is anyone you have in mind, and would like to see a diary about them, let me know and I will do some research.
Next up, in Part 2, Tom Perez.