Font ResizeThe 64-year-old veteran Democratic California politician won Tuesday's special 10th Congressional District election to replace Ellen Tauscher, who resigned in June and took a high-level State Department post.
He was expected to resign as lieutenant governor and be sworn into office Thursday on the floor of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
"This is the perfect job for John," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University in Sacramento. "He has been aspiring to this job for years and just didn't know it. He is the best equipped freshman congressman we have ever sent to Washington."
Garamendi served 16 years in the Legislature, followed by two nonconsecutive stints as state insurance commissioner. He also worked in the Clinton administration as a deputy secretary of the interior, where he helped develop water and environmental policies.
Late Tuesday night, Garamendi sounded eager to leave behind a post where a megaphone served as his only source of political clout.
He had booked a midmorning Wednesday flight to Washington, D.C., time the self-professed policy wonk said he would spend pouring over the 1,100-page health care reform bill he may vote on as early Thursday evening.
As California's first
"I will be ready to vote for (the bill) unless there are significant changes," Garamendi said. "It has a good public option, which was one of my basic requirements, and insurance reform."
Garamendi is no average freshman member of Congress.
He is well acquainted with the legislative process and many of the key players, or, as they say, he already knows where to find the bathroom.
The Walnut Grove rancher will occupy Tauscher's palatial old office in the Rayburn building until the start of the next term and Congress' regularly scheduled office assignment shuffle.
He will then undoubtedly find himself in less spacious accommodations more in line with his low seniority.
Back home, Garamendi's new constituents worry more about their representative's pending committee assignments than his office address.
"John will be an excellent representative in terms of the broader debate on health care, energy and foreign policy," said Orinda Councilwoman Amy Worth, who also sits on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. "But if you look in terms of the specific needs of this district and the East Bay, transportation is critical."
Tauscher's departure left a big hole in the Bay Area's representation on the House Transportation Committee, where the ranking Democrat was a strong and recognized voice for the region and California.
The national transportation spending plan comes up for reauthorization next year. Its formulas and policies will dictate how much federal money will flow back into the Bay Area for roads, transit and bridge projects.
Garamendi has said he wants a seat on the Transportation Committee but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will make the final decisions.
One move Garamendi will not make is into a house with a District 10 address. The bulk of the district is in Contra Costa, with smaller segments in Alameda, Solano and Sacramento counties.
He and his wife, Patti, have lived in their Walnut Grove home since 1977. It sits across the Sacramento River from the District 10-District 3 boundary.
Campaign opponents attempted unsuccessfully to paint him as a carpetbagger with no ties to the district.
"The voters clearly don't see a need for me to move into the district," Garamendi said. "My front yard borders the district. I have represented this area for many years. So, the answer is that we will be living in Walnut Grove."
Reach Lisa Vorderbrueggen at 925-945-4773 or www.ibabuzz.com/politics.
Watch the swearing-in ceremony and speech of Congressman-elect John Garamendi at approximately 9 a.m. online at C-Span: www.c-span.org/Watch/C-SPAN_wm.aspx.
