Jackie Speier

Although she had to wait until almost the end because of her lack of seniority, Congresswoman Jackie Speier let the former chief executive officer of American International Group (AIG) have it right between the eyes Tuesday.

During a hearing on AIG's recent $85 billion federal bailout by the House Government Oversight Committee, the newly minted representative lashed into the insurance giant's two former CEOs, Martin  Sullivan and Robert Willumstad.

"Shame on you. The shareholders of that company have nothing and you walked away with $15 million," the San Mateo Democrat directed toward Sullivan, referring to the so-called "golden parachute" compensation package the executive walked away with.

Three Northern California members of Congress - all Democrats, and all from the Bay Area - make the list of richest elected representatives in Washington D.C., according to a new list compiled by Roll Call of the 50 wealthiest congressional members. Eight politicians from all of California make the list.

U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) ranks eighth on the list, with an estimated value of $52.34 million. With her husband, financier Richard Blum, Feinstein has a diversified and lucrative stock portfolio that grew by $1.8 million in the last two years. She also owns homes in Hawaii and Tahoe City.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. - Delegate Greg Conlon is frank about his status as a Republican congressional candidate on the Bay Area peninsula, the heart of Democratic territory: "It's lonely."

Conlon, an Atherton resident who's attending this week's Republican National Convention as a guest, is hoping to run a credible challenge in California's 12th Congressional District against recently-elected U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough).

Although she is facing another election this November, U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier is ready to tell her constituents how her first 100 days in office have gone this Saturday.

Speier (D-San Mateo), who ran for and won a April 8 special election for the seat held by the late Tom Lantos, will hold two town hall meetings to let her constituents know how her time in office has gone so far.

Around here -- from Ventura to Orange County -- the only Speier in the newspapers this week was Justin Speier, a relief pitcher for the Angels. U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier's (D-San Mateo) me-too* proposal to lower the speed limit in many urban parts of the country to 60 miles-per-hour didn't merit coverage in the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Times or the Ventura County Star. Not that I saw, in any event.

Maybe Southern California media know how unappealing to citizens is the idea of not being able to drive as fast as you can when you can on the freeways here. Maybe, like me, they wish they could go 60, even 40, on the 101 or 405 or 10 or 5, where I more often seem to drive about 20 alongside Lambos and Bentleys whose burn rate is incalculable.

State Senate candidate Mark Leno: File PhotoState Senate candidate Mark Leno has won the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier.

“Mark is a class act, stands on principal and never ducks a vote,” said Speier. "Mark has proven to be an uncompromising progressive voice in Sacramento, and I'm proud to endorse Mark Leno for State Senate."

Leno, a San Francisco state Assemblyman who is facing term limits, is challenging incumbent Senator Carole Migden in a June 3 Democratic primary. Also running in the primary is Joe Nation, a former Assemblyman from Marin. The seat encompasses parts of San Francisco and Sonoma counties and all of Marin County.

Speier won an April special election for the San Mateo-area seat of former U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, who died earlier this year.

As the newest member of the House of Representatives, Democrat Jackie Speier, who won the seat left open by Tom Lantos’ death, is maintaining a skeleton staff in both Washington and San Mateo, combining her own aides and confidantes with a few members of the Lantos inner circle.

“She’s kind of pulling it together,” said Alex Tourk, who ran Speier’s campaign for the seat. “It’s going to be a little of both (Speier and Lantos).”

Jackie Speier kept her promise, beginning her career in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday with a scathing speech on the War in Iraq. Speier was sworn in yesterday as the Congresswoman from California’s 12th district, two days after she won a massive 77% in a special election to replace the late Tom Lantos.

Jackie Speier, who won a resounding victory in yesterday's special election to replace Tom Lantos in Congress, will travel to Washington today and will be sworn in as a Member of Congress on Thursday.

Congresswoman-elect Jackie Speier will replace the late Tom Lantos in the 12th district
Former Democratic state Senator Jackie Speier won Tuesday’s congressional special election to replace the San Francisco Peninsula’s late and very great U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, who died in February.

The Associated Press reported that the 57-year-old Speier had a solid lead including about 77 percent of absentee ballots in San Mateo and San Francisco counties, with those ballots covering more than half of the election’s vote count. Speier was projected to win the 50-percent-plus-one margin needed to avoid a runoff and head to Washington without further challenges to fill out the rest of Lantos’s 2006-08 term.