| Loretta Sanchez | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 47th district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Christopher Cox |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 46th district |
|
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Bob Dornan |
| Succeeded by | Dana Rohrabacher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 7, 1960 Lynwood, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic (1996–present) Republican (19??–1996) |
| Residence | Anaheim, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Chapman University Kogod School of Business |
| Occupation | Financial analyst Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Loretta Sanchez (born January 7, 1960) is the U.S. Representative for California's 47th congressional district, and previously the 46th, serving since 2003. She is a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.[1] The district lies in central Orange County.
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Sanchez was born in California and graduated from Katella High School in Anaheim in 1978. Her father was a unionized machinist and her mother worked as a secretary. Her Mexican immigrant parents had seven children.[2] She joined the United Food and Commercial Workers when she worked as an ice cream server in high school, and received a union scholarship to college. She received her undergraduate degree from Chapman College in Orange in 1982, obtained her MBA from American University in Washington, DC in 1984, and was a financial analyst until entering the House. Sanchez describes herself as growing up a "shy, quiet girl" who did not speak English. She credits government with much of her success in public life.[3]
In February 2006, Sanchez withdrew from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus's political action committee, along with 5 other members, because the caucus chairman, Joe Baca, authorized political contributions to members of his family who were running for state and local offices in California.[4] Sanchez and other CHC members also claim that Baca was improperly elected chairman of the caucus in November 2006 because the vote failed to use secret ballots, as required in the group's bylaws.[5] On January 31, 2007, Sanchez quit the CHC because she claimed that Baca repeatedly treated the group's female members with disrespect. Other female lawmakers have made the same complaint about Baca.[6] In the election for caucus chairman, only one female member of the 23-member Caucus voted to support Baca's candidacy.[7]
According to Loretta Sanchez, Linda Sanchez, and Hilda Solis, Baca also called Loretta Sanchez "a whore" while speaking to other lawmakers.[4][8] Baca denied the charge. Politico.com reported that Sanchez claimed California Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez heard the comment from Baca and repeated it to Sanchez, yet Núñez claimed not to recall any such comment.[9] Sanchez, however, claimed after the article was published that she had never mentioned Núñez to Politico.com.[10]
Sanchez began her political career as a Republican, changing parties in 1996. Sanchez has stated she is a moderate Democrat, but, in 2009, Sanchez had a 0% approval rating from the American Conservative Union.
She represents a district in Orange County, long a bastion of suburban conservatism, and is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition and the New Democrat Coalition; she reportedly voted with Nancy Pelosi 97.8% of the time during the 111th Congress.[11]
Sanchez is known for her interests in education, crime, economic development, and protections for senior citizens.
National Journal rated her votes in 2006 in three areas: Economic, Social, and Foreign. The ratings are: Economic = 71 liberal/28 conservative; Social = 80 liberal/19 conservative; Foreign = 70 liberal/28 conservative.[12]
She staunchly opposed the Republican's Head Start program overhaul in the 108th Congress, invoking her experience growing up poor and challenged by a speech impediment. "I know about these kids, because I am one of those kids", she said during debate on the bill. "It hurts to hear you talk about how we are not successful, or how we are losers. But we are very successful. We have had a lot of successes with Head Start", she said. Sanchez has asserted that conservative Republicans are not committed to improving public education.[13] When President Bush's 2003 budget proposal threatened to cut education grants, she responded, "If he can run deficits for the military, then he can run deficits to educate our children."[3]
Sanchez is the second-ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee. She is also a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, and the most senior woman on that committee. Loretta has fought to reform both the law and culture of the U.S. military relating to investigation of sexual crimes, prosecution of sex offenders and care of sexual assault victims. Her leadership contributed to a decision to examine the problem of sexual assault at the military service academies, which revealed that the problem was much more prevalent than previously thought. As a result, she led the fight to change sexual assault provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. In early 2011, Sanchez introduced a bill requiring the United States Department of Homeland Security to issue rules governing searches and seizures of the laptops, cellphones, and other electronic devices of American citizens returning to the U.S. from abroad.[14]
Sanchez is regarded as a liberal on social issues. She voted against a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and supports abortion rights. She also sought to reverse the ban on abortions at overseas military bases and installations. In August 2000, Sanchez refused to relocate a political fundraiser she had planned at the Playboy Mansion in California. As a result, Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew cancelled her scheduled speaking role at the Democratic National Convention. Sanchez's address was reinstated just before the convention, when she agreed to relocate her fundraiser to Universal Studios.[15]
According to Congressional Quarterly, "In 2002, Sanchez voted against reviving fast-track procedures for congressional action on trade deals. And, coming from a district with one of the largest ethnically Vietnamese communities outside Vietnam, she voted against a trade agreement with Vietnam, saying that political and human rights conditions in that country needed improvement. Her outspokenness led the Hanoi regime to refuse to allow her into the country late in 2004 when she applied for an entry visa to meet with dissidents."[3] By April 2006, Sanchez had been denied a visa to visit Vietnam four times by the country's officials.[16] In honor of International Human Rights Day, she joined a bipartisan group of 11 House Members that issued a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung calling for the release of two U.S. citizens arrested by the Government of Vietnam.[17]
On October 10, 2002, Sanchez was among the 133 members of the House who voted against authorizing the invasion of Iraq, but she has voted in favor of every appropriation bill for the war in Iraq. She opposed the troop surge in February 2007.[18] On March 7, 2007, Sanchez led a female congressional delegation to visit troops in Iraq. This was her third visit to Iraq.[19]
Sanchez has a strong record on supporting human rights and is a member of the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus. Two major votes include voting yes in 2001 to keep the Cuba travel ban until political prisoners are released, but later voting in 2009 to lift the travel ban unilaterally, and yes to acknowledge the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s.[20] She voted to implement the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act of 2007.[21]
Sanchez has stated that she was briefly denied access to a United Airlines flight in October 2006 because her name appeared on a no-fly list set up after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Sanchez said she was instructed to check in with a United employee, who told her she was on the terrorist watch list. The employee asked her for identification.
In 1994, Sanchez ran unsuccessfully as a moderate Republican for the Anaheim City Council under her then married name, Loretta Brixey.
In 1996, Sanchez changed parties and ran as a moderate Democrat in the 46th District against six-term Republican incumbent Bob Dornan. The bitterly fought race saw Sanchez charge that Dornan was out of touch with his constituency, especially after a distracting run for the 1996 Republican Presidential nomination. The 46th had always had a Democratic tilt, but became even more Democratic after the 1990 census when it received a considerably larger number of Hispanics than had previously been in the district. Sanchez won by 984 votes, and Dornan contested the election, alleging that many votes were cast by people who were not American citizens. A Congressional investigation found evidence that 624 votes were indeed cast by non-citizens. An additional 124 votes had already been thrown out by California officials. These votes were not enough to throw Sanchez's victory into doubt, so the investigation was halted and the outcome was upheld by a Republican-controlled Congress,[22] making Sanchez the first American of Mexican heritage to represent Orange County in Congress. Dornan continues to assert that illegal voter registration of non-citizens was decisive in Sanchez's victory. In consultation with the INS, the House committee identified as many as 4,700 questionable registration affidavits;[23] but the probe was dropped before these affidavits could be investigated. As Article I Section V of the Constitution of the United States provides that "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members" the investigation was without binding authority.[24]
In a 1998 rematch, she heavily defeated Dornan and has not faced serious opposition since. Her district was renumbered the 47th District after the 2000 census. During that redistricting process, Sanchez hired lobbyist Michael S. Berman, brother of California Democratic Congressman Howard Berman,for "redistricting consulting" on her behalf. She paid Berman $20,000 for his work.[25]
In 2006, she defeated Tan D. Nguyen (R) with 62% of the vote.
During California's Gubernatorial recall campaign, Sanchez was one of the first Democrats to break from Governor Gray Davis and state that a Democrat should run to succeed Davis in case the recall measure passed. Though she recommended that the Democratic candidate be California’s Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein, Sanchez stated that if no other serious Democratic contender stepped forward, she would be willing to run herself. Many California Democrats ultimately adopted Sanchez’s position, paving the way for Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante to enter the race.
Sanchez won against Republican nominee Rosemarie Avila and American Independent Robert Lauten.
Sanchez was challenged by Republican nominee Van Tran and Independent candidate Ceci Iglesias. According to Roll Call, Sanchez considered running for governor or for the U.S. Senate in 2010.[26] In November 2005, she opened an exploratory committee called People for Loretta 2010.[27] However, in June 2009, she announced she would run for reelection to the House.[28]
In September 2010, Loretta Sanchez appeared on the Spanish language network, Univisión and said that "the Vietnamese and the Republicans are – with an intensity – trying to take away 'our' seat", referring to her Vietnamese-born opponent, Van Tran.[29][30][31] Sanchez also described Tran as "anti-immigrant".[31]
In September, 2011 Sanchez's campaign treasurer, Kinde Durkee, was arrested on suspicion of mail fraud. Sanchez and several others of Durkee's client found their campaign funds wiped out. Sanchez's chief of staff, Adrienne Elrod, remarked that "Kinde was someone whose services and counsel we trusted for many years. These charges if true are disheartening and a betrayal by a long time Democratic treasurer for many candidates and committees.”[32]
In November 2002, Sanchez's younger sister, Linda, who is nine years her junior, was elected for the new 39th District. They are the first pair of sisters to serve simultaneously in the United States Congress.
In November 2010, Roll Call and the Orange County Register reported Loretta's engagement to retired Army Colonel Jack Einwechter. Einwechter is currently a lawyer practicing in Washington, D.C.
The Hispanic Caucus Controversy (see above) was parodied on The Colbert Report on February 7, 2007.[33]
Loretta Sanchez appeared as herself in the September 10, 2007 episode of The Closer entitled "Til Death Do Us Part, Part II". Within the fictional narrative of the show, she was briefly seen on the program Larry King Live being interviewed about a criminal legal case.
In 2008 sister congresswomen Loretta Sanchez and Linda Sanchez published the joint memoir Dream in Color: How the Sanchez Sisters Are Making History in Congress.[34]Publishers Weekly reviewed the book and wrote:
"Linda and Loretta Sanchez present their compelling story—noteworthy not only for their history-making achievements (including first sisters or women of any relation to serve together in Congress, first woman and person of color to represent a district in Orange County, first Latina on the House Judiciary Committee and first Head Start child to be elected to Congress) but also for its “American Dream” aspect—their parents immigrated from Mexico and despite lacking a formal education managed to send their seven children to college. Interweaving childhood vignettes with accounts of serving in Congress, both from California, this refreshing book evades many of the tropes of the typical political memoir—perhaps because these two women are not typical politicians."[35]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob Dornan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 46th congressional district 1997–2003 |
Succeeded by Dana Rohrabacher |
| Preceded by Christopher Cox |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 47th congressional district 2003–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Steve Rothman D-New Jersey |
United States Representatives by seniority 133rd |
Succeeded by Pete Sessions R-Texas |