Janice Hahn
Encyclopedia
Janice Kay Hahn is the U.S. Representative
from California's 36th congressional district
and a member of the Democratic Party
. She was previously a Los Angeles City Councilwoman
representing the 15th district from 2001 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999 she served as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.
On July 12, 2011, Hahn won a special election
for Congress to fill the seat vacated by Democrat Jane Harman
. She defeated Republican
Craig Huey
, a Tea Party
-backed direct marketer
from the Torrance
area, by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.
Before beginning her political career, Hahn was a businesswoman and a teacher.
, a 40-year Los Angeles County Supervisor who started his career in elective politics as a Los Angeles City Councilman. Her uncle, Gordon Hahn
, was a member of the California Assembly and a Los Angeles City Councilman from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Her brother, James Hahn
, served as Los Angeles City Controller from 1981 to 1985, City Attorney from 1985 until 2001, and Mayor of Los Angeles from 2001 until 2005. Hahn's maternal grandparents served as missionaries in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s.
Hahn attended Abilene Christian University
in Texas, earning a bachelor of science
in education in 1974. She taught at the Good News Academy, a private school in Westchester from 1974 to 1978. Her other work in the private sector has included Public Affairs Region Manager at Southern California Edison
from 1995 to 2000; Vice President for Prudential Securities
in Public Finance, Director of Community Outreach for Western Waste Industries, and Director of Marketing for the Alexander Haagen Company.
Hahn was elected to represent the Fifteenth District on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, serving from 1997 to 1999. As a Commissioner, she fought for many of the reforms included in the new charter, including Area Planning Commissions, local representation on the citizen commissions governing Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles, and a system of neighborhood councils.
Hahn served on the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 15th District, from 2001 to 2011. The 15th District encompasses the San Pedro Harbor and includes the ethnically diverse communities of Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, San Pedro, Watts and Wilmington. She was reelected to her third and final term in November 2009.
She has been called "one of the most pro-labor members" of the City Council, and a "consistent opponent of layoffs and furloughs for city workers." Hahn walked the picket lines with unionized dockworkers in 2002. After the Bush administration suggested it would intervene in the labor dispute by using government troops to operate the ports, Hahn urged non-intervention. "'There's no room for the federal government. There's only one reason for them to get involved, and that's to break the union,' she said." She was the leading force on the City Council behind both the passage of a living wage ordinance for the hotel workers along Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the provision of improved health benefits to LAX employees.
Hahn cites her efforts to clean up the Port of Los Angeles as one of her main accomplishments while on the City Council. The 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, which she and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pushed forward, set a goal of reducing pollution by 45 percent within five years and shifted the movement of goods at the ports to off-peak traffic hours. Hahn also supported the addition of the Clean Trucks Program that requires the 16,000 diesel trucks serving the ports meet 2007 EPA emission standards within five years. She has noted that the ports have been Southern California's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses and diesel emissions and that the Clean Trucks Program also provides for improved working conditions, wages and benefits for port truckers. Prior to the Clean Air Action Plan, she had already shifted about 35% of goods to be moved during off-peak hours. Hahn also helped advance redevelopment projects at the Port of Los Angeles in both San Pedro and Wilmington.
On the City Council, Hahn was a major proponent of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs. She led the campaign to pass Measure A, which would have dedicated a sustainable revenue stream for those programs, but fell just shy of the two thirds percentage needed to pass. On a smaller level, she expanded the Gang Alternatives Program to all elementary schools in her district.
in 1998. Incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman had resigned to run unsuccessfully for Governor of California. Hahn won the Democratic nomination but was defeated in the November 3, 1998 election by Republican State Assemblyman Steven T. Kuykendall
; receiving 47 percent of the vote to Kuykendall's 49 percent.
but was defeated in the primary by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
, finishing second in a field of three candidates.
's departure to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Hahn was one of sixteen candidates from all parties who competed in the special election primary
on May 17, 2011. She finished first with 24 percent of the vote; Republican Craig Huey
finished second with 22 percent. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent, Hahn and Huey, the top two finishers, faced off in a special runoff election on July 12. Many had expected Debra Bowen
, the third place finisher and California Secretary of State, to secure one of the top two spots.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, endorsed Hahn in March 2011, a move the Daily Breeze called "significant" because of the fundraising and get out the vote power of the large organization. As of March 23, 2011, Hahn had received endorsements from Senator Dianne Feinstein
, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
, California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, California State Senator Ted Lieu
, Torrance Firefighters Association Local 1138, and other notable figures such as former LA Laker Earvin “Magic” Johnson and environmentalist and actor Ed Begley Jr. On April 25, 2011, Hahn secured the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times. Following her victory in the primary, Hahn was endorsed by California Democrats Governor Jerry Brown
, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
(who defeated Hahn in the 2010 primary race for Lieutenant Governor), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer
of Maryland. Emily's List
, an organization that supports women candidates who support abortion rights also endorsed Hahn. On June 5, 2011, Hahn was officially endorsed by primary opponent Marcy Winograd, California State Controller John Chiang
, Assemblyman Warren Furutani
and Assemblywoman Betsy Butler
, as well as the gun-control group Brady Campaign
.
A poll conducted by the Daily Kos and Services Employees International Union shortly before the July 2011 election had Hahn in the lead over Huey by 8 points, (52 percent to 44 percent) with 4 percent undecided. Her final margin of victory was 9 points, 54.56 percent to 45.44.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from California's 36th congressional district
California's 36th congressional district
California's 36th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California based in Los Angeles County. The district covers most of the coastal communities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Torrance, El Segundo, Venice, Wilmington, and San Pedro in Greater Los Angeles.The...
and a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. She was previously a Los Angeles City Councilwoman
Los Angeles City Council
The Los Angeles City Council is the governing body of the City of Los Angeles.The Council is composed of fifteen members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The president of the council and the president pro tempore are chosen by the Council at the first regular meeting after...
representing the 15th district from 2001 to 2011. From 1997 to 1999 she served as an elected representative on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission.
On July 12, 2011, Hahn won a special election
California's 36th congressional district special election, 2011
A 2011 special election in California's 36th congressional district filled the vacancy in California's 36th congressional district after the resignation of incumbent Jane Harman on February 28, 2011, who vacated her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to become head of the Woodrow Wilson...
for Congress to fill the seat vacated by Democrat Jane Harman
Jane Harman
Jane Margaret Lakes Harman is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
. She defeated Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Craig Huey
Craig Huey
Craig Alan Huey is an American Republican Party politician and a businessman who runs and owns two direct marketing companies as well as several websites that provide guidelines for voting...
, a Tea Party
Tea Party movement
The Tea Party movement is an American populist political movement that is generally recognized as conservative and libertarian, and has sponsored protests and supported political candidates since 2009...
-backed direct marketer
Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...
from the Torrance
Torrance, California
Torrance is a city incorporated in 1921 and located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Torrance has of shore-front beaches on the Pacific Ocean, quieter and less well-known by tourists than others on the Santa Monica Bay, such as those of neighboring...
area, by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent.
Before beginning her political career, Hahn was a businesswoman and a teacher.
Early life, education and early career
Hahn was raised in a politically involved family. She is the daughter of the late Ramona Hahn (née Fox) and the late Kenneth HahnKenneth Hahn
Kenneth "Kenny" Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.-Biography:Hahn...
, a 40-year Los Angeles County Supervisor who started his career in elective politics as a Los Angeles City Councilman. Her uncle, Gordon Hahn
Gordon Hahn
Gordon R. Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles City Council and California State Assembly in the mid-20th Century.While on the council, he cast the decisive vote that brought the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles and was instrumental in the appointment of Gilbert Lindsay, who became the first...
, was a member of the California Assembly and a Los Angeles City Councilman from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Her brother, James Hahn
James Hahn
James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn is an American politician. Hahn was elected the 40th Mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He served until 2005, at which time he was defeated in his bid for re-election...
, served as Los Angeles City Controller from 1981 to 1985, City Attorney from 1985 until 2001, and Mayor of Los Angeles from 2001 until 2005. Hahn's maternal grandparents served as missionaries in Japan in the 1920s and 1930s.
Hahn attended Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
in Texas, earning a bachelor of science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in education in 1974. She taught at the Good News Academy, a private school in Westchester from 1974 to 1978. Her other work in the private sector has included Public Affairs Region Manager at Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
from 1995 to 2000; Vice President for Prudential Securities
Prudential Securities
Prudential Securities was the financial services arm of the insurer, Prudential Financial. In 2003, Prudential Securities was merged into Wachovia Securities, a division of Wachovia Bank.-History:...
in Public Finance, Director of Community Outreach for Western Waste Industries, and Director of Marketing for the Alexander Haagen Company.
Hahn was elected to represent the Fifteenth District on the Los Angeles Charter Reform Commission, serving from 1997 to 1999. As a Commissioner, she fought for many of the reforms included in the new charter, including Area Planning Commissions, local representation on the citizen commissions governing Los Angeles International Airport and the Port of Los Angeles, and a system of neighborhood councils.
Los Angeles City Council
She has been called "one of the most pro-labor members" of the City Council, and a "consistent opponent of layoffs and furloughs for city workers." Hahn walked the picket lines with unionized dockworkers in 2002. After the Bush administration suggested it would intervene in the labor dispute by using government troops to operate the ports, Hahn urged non-intervention. "'There's no room for the federal government. There's only one reason for them to get involved, and that's to break the union,' she said." She was the leading force on the City Council behind both the passage of a living wage ordinance for the hotel workers along Century Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the provision of improved health benefits to LAX employees.
Hahn cites her efforts to clean up the Port of Los Angeles as one of her main accomplishments while on the City Council. The 2006 Clean Air Action Plan, which she and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa pushed forward, set a goal of reducing pollution by 45 percent within five years and shifted the movement of goods at the ports to off-peak traffic hours. Hahn also supported the addition of the Clean Trucks Program that requires the 16,000 diesel trucks serving the ports meet 2007 EPA emission standards within five years. She has noted that the ports have been Southern California's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses and diesel emissions and that the Clean Trucks Program also provides for improved working conditions, wages and benefits for port truckers. Prior to the Clean Air Action Plan, she had already shifted about 35% of goods to be moved during off-peak hours. Hahn also helped advance redevelopment projects at the Port of Los Angeles in both San Pedro and Wilmington.
On the City Council, Hahn was a major proponent of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression programs. She led the campaign to pass Measure A, which would have dedicated a sustainable revenue stream for those programs, but fell just shy of the two thirds percentage needed to pass. On a smaller level, she expanded the Gang Alternatives Program to all elementary schools in her district.
1998 Congressional campaign
Hahn made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
in 1998. Incumbent Congresswoman Jane Harman had resigned to run unsuccessfully for Governor of California. Hahn won the Democratic nomination but was defeated in the November 3, 1998 election by Republican State Assemblyman Steven T. Kuykendall
Steven T. Kuykendall
Steven T. Kuykendall is an American politician and former Republican member of the House of Representatives from from 1999 to 2001 in the 106th Congress. He defeated Democrat Janice Hahn in the 1998 election with 49% of the vote. He was defeated for reelection in 2000 by his predecessor Jane...
; receiving 47 percent of the vote to Kuykendall's 49 percent.
2010 statewide campaign
In 2010, Hahn ran for California Lieutenant GovernorCalifornia lieutenant governor election, 2010
- Others :- Democratic primary :-General election:- General results :- Official campaign Web sites :**********...
but was defeated in the primary by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, finishing second in a field of three candidates.
2011 Congressional campaign
On February 7, 2011, Hahn announced her intention to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in the special election to fill California's 36th Congressional District seat vacated by Congresswoman Jane HarmanJane Harman
Jane Margaret Lakes Harman is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1993 to 1999, and from 2001 to 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
's departure to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Hahn was one of sixteen candidates from all parties who competed in the special election primary
California's 36th congressional district special election, 2011
A 2011 special election in California's 36th congressional district filled the vacancy in California's 36th congressional district after the resignation of incumbent Jane Harman on February 28, 2011, who vacated her seat in the U.S. House of Representatives to become head of the Woodrow Wilson...
on May 17, 2011. She finished first with 24 percent of the vote; Republican Craig Huey
Craig Huey
Craig Alan Huey is an American Republican Party politician and a businessman who runs and owns two direct marketing companies as well as several websites that provide guidelines for voting...
finished second with 22 percent. Because no candidate received more than 50 percent, Hahn and Huey, the top two finishers, faced off in a special runoff election on July 12. Many had expected Debra Bowen
Debra Bowen
Debra Lynn Bowen , a member of the Democratic Party, has been Secretary of State of California since January 8, 2007. Before that she was a member of the California State Legislature from 1992 to 2006. In March 2008, she was given the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential...
, the third place finisher and California Secretary of State, to secure one of the top two spots.
The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, endorsed Hahn in March 2011, a move the Daily Breeze called "significant" because of the fundraising and get out the vote power of the large organization. As of March 23, 2011, Hahn had received endorsements from Senator Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is the senior U.S. Senator from California. A member of the Democratic Party, she has served in the Senate since 1992. She also served as 38th Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988....
, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca
Lee Baca
Leroy David "Lee" Baca is the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, California. Baca holds a Doctorate of Public Administration from the University of Southern California....
, California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez, California State Senator Ted Lieu
Ted Lieu
Ted W. Lieu is a Democratic Party California State Senator, who has represented the 28th Senate District since February 18, 2011, after being elected to fill the seat of deceased Senator Jenny Oropeza...
, Torrance Firefighters Association Local 1138, and other notable figures such as former LA Laker Earvin “Magic” Johnson and environmentalist and actor Ed Begley Jr. On April 25, 2011, Hahn secured the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times. Following her victory in the primary, Hahn was endorsed by California Democrats Governor Jerry Brown
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown, Jr. is an American politician. Brown served as the 34th Governor of California , and is currently serving as the 39th California Governor...
, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
(who defeated Hahn in the 2010 primary race for Lieutenant Governor), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer
Steny Hoyer
Steny Hamilton Hoyer is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1981. The district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C.. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
of Maryland. Emily's List
EMILY's List
EMILY's List is a political action committee in the United States that aims to help elect female candidates to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1984....
, an organization that supports women candidates who support abortion rights also endorsed Hahn. On June 5, 2011, Hahn was officially endorsed by primary opponent Marcy Winograd, California State Controller John Chiang
John Chiang
John Chiang Hsiao-yen , formerly surnamed Chang , is a Kuomintang politician in Taiwan.-Biography:He and his twin brother, Winston Chang, both illegitimate, were born the sons of Chiang Ching-kuo and his mistress Chang Ya-juo in Guilin amid the Sino-Japanese War...
, Assemblyman Warren Furutani
Warren Furutani
Warren T. Furutani , represents the 55th Assembly district of California. He is a Democrat and a fourth-generation Japanese American. Furutani was elected in a special election in 2008. He replaced Laura Richardson who won a special election to replace Juanita Millender-McDonald as the member of...
and Assemblywoman Betsy Butler
Betsy Butler
Betsy Butler is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. She is a Democrat representing the 53rd district, encompassing parts of Los Angeles and the South Bay...
, as well as the gun-control group Brady Campaign
Brady Campaign
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence are affiliated non-profit organizations in the United States. They are named after James Brady who was permanently disabled as a result of an assassination attempt on U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981...
.
A poll conducted by the Daily Kos and Services Employees International Union shortly before the July 2011 election had Hahn in the lead over Huey by 8 points, (52 percent to 44 percent) with 4 percent undecided. Her final margin of victory was 9 points, 54.56 percent to 45.44.