By Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint
We all know by now that with Senator Kamala Harris becoming Vice President of the United States, her seat in the U.S. Senate will be vacant as of January 20, 2021. While she is the first African American woman to represent the State of California in the U.S. Senate, she must be replaced in that position by the next African American woman to hold that position. This newspaper believes that Barbara Lee must be that woman. Her life and record more than qualifies her for that position.
For more than 30 years she has served this state as an elected official. First elected to the State Assembly in 1990, she served for 6 years before being elected to the State Senate where she authored 67 bills. She was the creator and presided over the California Legislative Black Caucus before being elected to the U.S. Congress in 1998 from the States 9th and now 13th Congressional District. She is former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, serving from 2009 to 2011, and is currently a member of the House Budget and House Appropriations Committees. She is qualified to represent the State of California in the U.S. Senate and Governor Gavin Newsom should make that appointment rather than call for a special election.
This is a good time to remind the Governor that Black women are the heaviest voting group in America and certainly responsible for the Democatic successes of 2020. This is the time to continue that trend and while Congresswoman Karen Bass has her successes, this newspaper wants to be on record as supporting Congresswoman Barbara Lee for the next U.S. Senator from the State of California.
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Dr. John E. Warren, Publisher, CEO
