Linda Sánchez
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| Linda Sánchez | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Steve Horn |
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| Born | January 28, 1969 Orange, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Lakewood, California |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Linda T. Sánchez (born January 28, 1969 in Orange, California), an American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing the 39th District of California (map). She was born in Orange, California, earned her BA in Spanish in 1991 at the University of California, Berkeley and in 1995 her Juris Doctor degree at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was an editor of the Chicano-Latino Law Review. She was an attorney specializing in labor law prior to her public service career. She is the younger sister of 47th District Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez, who is nine years her senior, making them the first and to date only sister pair to serve in Congress.
Linda Sánchez is considered to be more liberal than her older sister. While Loretta began her political career as a liberal Republican, Linda has always been a Democrat.
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[edit] Congressional career
Sánchez started her political career after a new 39th Congressional District was created following the 2000 Census (the old 39th district had very different boundaries). She finished first in a six person primary for the Democratic Party nomination in March 2002. She won the primaries with 33.5% of the vote, with the second place candidate receiving 29.3%. She went on to win the general elections against Republican Tim Escobar by a 54.9% to 40.8% margin. She ran unopposed in the Democratic primaries in 2004, and faced Escobar again in the general elections. She defeated Escobar by a margin of 60.7% to 39.3%. For the 2006 elections, she defeated two challengers in the primary with 77.8% of the vote, and defeated attorney James L. Andion in the general election.
She has three committee assignments in the House: the Judiciary Committee, where she is the chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, the United States House Committee on International Relations, and the United States House Committee on Education and Labor. In 2005 she was appointed Assistant Minority Whip. She is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and is Co-Chair of the Congressional Labor and Working Families Caucus (she co-founded this caucus).
[edit] Davis-Bacon Act
Following Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005, President George W. Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, a 1934 law that requires government contractors to pay prevailing wages. Linda Sánchez was a very vocal critic of the suspension, and led the fight to reverse it.[1] Sánchez eventually won, as Bush reversed himself on October 26 [1], 2005.
[edit] Committee Assignments
- Judiciary Committee
- Chair of the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law
- Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
- Committee on Education and Labor
- Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
- Subcommittee on Health, Labor, Employment and Pensions
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Western Hemisphere Subcommittee
- Subcommittee on Europe
- Co-founder of the Labor and Working Families Caucus
[edit] Career in labor
In 1998 Sánchez joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 441 and became a compliance officer. In 2000 she was unanimously elected to the position of Executive Secretary/Treasurer of the Orange County Central Labor Council.
[edit] Points of interest
- Stephen Colbert interviewed Sánchez for his 434-part series, "Better Know A District", on The Colbert Report. The segment was aired on Comedy Central on March 9, 2006.
- In September 2006 Linda Sanchez won the contest "Funniest Celebrity in Washington" during a charity fundraiser.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- U.S. Congresswoman Linda Sanchez official House site
- Linda Sánchez at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Federal Election Commission — Linda Sanchez campaign finance reports and data
- On the Issues — Linda Sanchez issue positions and quotes
- OpenSecrets.org — Linda Sanchez campaign contributions
- Project Vote Smart — Representative Linda T. Sanchez (CA) profile
- SourceWatch Congresspedia — Linda Sanchez profile
- Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Linda Sanchez voting record
- Linda Sanchez for U.S. Congress official campaign site
| Preceded by Ed Royce |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 39th congressional district 2003–Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
