New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Greg Casar of Texas’ 35th district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about him!
This member of Congress has been active in the Los Angeles area ever since graduating from USC. She has been on many boards, and has helped political candidates and mentors get elected to various offices. Eventually, it was her turn to run for office. She first was elected to the California Assembly, and then followed her mentor in the California State Senate.
When Rep. Karen Bass decided to run for the mayor of Los Angeles, it opened up her 37th district to new blood. Our featured representative easily navigated California’s Top 2 primary election — first winning around 44%, and then finishing off her Democratic competition in November with around 64% of the vote. She likely will not face another close race in her tenure.
Today, the spotlight is on Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove!
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Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (California-37)
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Biography
The first stop (unless you are Emmy winning Rep. “George Santos”) to getting to know a person is to see what they have to say about themselves. Since her campaign site isn’t working, I got her profile from her official House website. I also used the site Blackpast to help with this profile.
A fierce advocate for justice and families, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove is proudly representing California’s 37th Congressional District which covers a diverse area within Los Angeles County.
Born into a family of politically active creatives, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove attended the University of Southern California as a political science major and member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority. While she was at USC, the 1992 riots following the Rodney King verdict erupted. That catalytic event motivated Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove to work with Rebuild LA and the Los Angeles Festival, two nonprofit organizations that advanced job creation and public arts programs to restore broken communities.
Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove spent her career advocating for communities and families. In 2013, Rep. Kamlager-Dove was appointed to the Los Angeles County Commission on Children and Families and in 2015, she was elected to the Los Angeles Community College Board. During her time on the board, she fought to make higher education and career training affordable and accessible to everyone, with a special focus on underserved communities and students who were previously in the foster care system or incarcerated.
Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove successfully ran for California State Assembly in 2018 and California State Senate in 2021. While in the California State Legislature, Rep. Kamlager-Dove got her bill, the CRISES Act, signed into law. This law provides for trained, community-led teams to respond to non-violent 911 calls – instead of police – making communities safer and saving lives.
She also worked to establish the California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program to help small business stay afloat, coauthored the Plastic Pollution Reduction Act which would reduce single-use plastic packaging in landfills by 75%, and authored the Affordable Prescription Drug act to procure low-cost medicine for Californians.
Kamlager-Dove also shares more of her background in her CSPAN interview. She has been politically active for a long time.
She has been active in so many different projects, it is hard to feature them all! I will use a bullet pointed list to briefly go over her impact in Los Angeles.
This doesn’t include the many lives she impacted with her legislation — first in the State Assembly and then in the State Senate. Her passion for social justice was unmatched in the state legislature, and it is this passion that will follow Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove to Congress and stick with her for her entire career in the House.
Notable Media Headlines
Rep. Kamlager-Dove, as a product of the Divine Nine (a group of black fraternities and sororities), definitely has the connections to make notable media headlines. Being in the Los Angeles area also helps her be more noteworthy, and many of the articles here are from Los Angeles media. In terms of the national media, she has yet to break through.
Recently, she joined a local FOX affiliate on the anniversary of the fall of Roe v. Wade. She was forceful in declaring that this criminalization of women and girls would not stand, nor will the dangers women face without access to medical care.
Upon arrival to Congress, she described to the LA Times the sheer chaos and upheaval of not being an official representative due to the prolonged fight to elect a Speaker of the House.
Kamlager-Dove’s office was largely undecorated. Technically, it’s not even hers yet.
Like every other representative-elect, Kamlager-Dove hasn’t been officially sworn in to office. The House, according to its own rules, can’t do anything — swear in members, form committees or pass legislation — until it elects a speaker.
But through 11 ballots over three days, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) has been unable to win over any of the 20 conservative hardliners opposed to electing him to the post.
The House was set to meet again Friday for a 12th vote. Meanwhile, Kamlager-Dove doesn’t even know which committees she’ll be assigned to.
“I know nothing other than I have to show up on the floor at 12 o’clock,” she said.
She first caught my attention, like many other new faces in Congress, during the debt ceiling debacle. She lays out exactly what the GOP is trying to do with their hostage taking of the world economy to pass cuts that wouldn’t make it past the Senate.
Another one of the big headlines in relation to her Congressional obligations involved her trip abroad to Nigeria. She went to Abuja with HUD Secretary Fudge to attend the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu in an official capacity as part of the United States delegation.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles, was back in Washington, D.C., Wednesday following a journey to Abuja, Nigeria, as part of a nine-person U.S. presidential delegation to the inauguration of new Nigerian President Bola Tinubu.
“I was honored to represent the United States at the inauguration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja, Nigeria and show support for Nigeria’s democratic process,” Kamlager-Dove said in a statement Wednesday.
“As the largest democracy in Africa and the most populous country in the region, Nigeria is key to the entire continent’s long-term growth and stability. Our delegation, which spanned two branches of government and seven federal agencies, showcased the depth and breadth of the U.S. partnership with Nigeria and the importance the United States places on our bilateral relationship and on U.S. engagement with Africa as a whole.”
Tinubu — who was inaugurated Monday — was elected president of Africa’s most populous nation on March 1, succeeding fellow All Progressives Congress member Muhammadu Buhari.
Wednesday’s statement from Kamlager-Dove, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also noted she is “committed to strengthening U.S. engagement in Africa, empowering the continent’s growth, and deepening our cooperation to address shared challenges. Investing in Africa’s future means investing in our own prosperity.”
More recently, Kamlager-Dove opposed the Biden administration’s aim to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. She talked about her opposition to this package (but not aiding Ukraine) with Symone on MSNBC.
Rep. Kamlager-Dove will continue to build her profile based upon her diligent service. Although not as well known as her predecessor Rep. Karen Bass (who was under consideration for Biden’s VP), she has all the right tools to be a political force and also handle the media with poise and grace.
Bills and Legislative Priorities
When in the California Legislature, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove focused strongly on racial equity and social justice. Here are some laws she helped write and pass while in California.
Kamlager was an advocate for racial equity, access and social justice in the California State Assembly. She was vocal about restoring voting rights to parolees, strengthening standards for police use of force, and stopping the NCAA from preventing student athletes from receiving payment in connection with the use of the student athlete's name, image or likeness.[17][18][19][20] In 2019, she co-authored SB 188, the CROWN Act, which prohibits employers from enforcing policies surrounding "race-neutral" grooming or discriminating against people wearing natural or protective hairstyles.[21]
She took many of those same priorities with her to Congress, along with many more. This clip and tweet describes her legislative pursuits in an easy to digest manner. She will LEAD in Congress, especially when she is part of the majority!
Here is another example of her choosing to LEAD. She has written an act to help women and mothers who are incarcerated be treated fairly.
She is a proud member of the Congressional Black Caucus. This brings many different priorities to the forefront. For instance, recently she lauded the President for taking action to eliminate bias in home appraisals.
Rep. Kamlager-Dove also is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and in fact has one of the most liberal voting records. She votes similarly to Rep. Barbara Lee, who is now running for the California Senate seat. Here, she is taking a stand for student loan relief after the GOP voted to strip it away.
She also supports Medicare for All as well!
Finally, Rep. Kamlager-Dove was a NO on the Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal, citing the irreparable damage the cuts mandated in the bill would do the the constituents in her district. She also laments that a clean debt ceiling bill was not passed.
Kamlager-Dove had scathing statements for all three terrible Extreme Court decisions issued at the very end of June. She especially attacked the affirmative action decision, though her words about the other two were equally harsh.
This barely scratches the surface of what she came to accomplish in Congress. To get a fuller picture, it is best to follow her on social media. She currently has around 2k followers on Twitter, which could do with a boost.
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove can rightfully be called the pride of Black Los Angeles. She is laser focused on serving the citizens of her district and also passing legislation that will make a meaningful impact on their lives. Her perches on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Natural Resources Committee allow her to best serve the entire USA.
Being in the Los Angeles media market does give her an advantage in exposure. Being the daughter of an actress and and artist also gives her the knack for handling the spotlight if she so chooses. She’s been politically active for a long time running, so Rep. Kamlager-Dove knows how to make the sausage in DC.
While it is tough being in the minority as a freshman in Congress, Kamlager-Dove has the skills to have a long career in Congress if she so chooses. Her experiences in California set her up to be a workhorse legislator, especially on the LEAD issues she is passionate about. It would be difficult to find a more devoted public servant than Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove.
Next Sunday, I will profile Rep. Jonathan Jackson of Illinois’ 1st district. See you then!
Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (California-37)
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