Diane Edith Watson is a former
US RepresentativeThe 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...
for , serving from 2003 until 2011. She is a member of the
Democratic PartyThe 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...
. The district is located entirely in Los Angeles County and includes much of Central Los Angeles, as well as such wealthy neighborhoods as Los Feliz.
A native of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Watson is a graduate of the
University of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, and also holds degrees from
California State University, Los AngelesCalifornia State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
and
Claremont Graduate UniversityClaremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
. She worked as a psychologist, professor, and health occupation specialist before serving as a member of the
Los Angeles Unified School BoardLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
(1975–78). She was a member of the California Senate from 1978 to 1998, and the
US Ambassador to MicronesiaThis is a list of ambassadors of the United States to the Federated States of Micronesia.Following World War II, the Federated States of Micronesia, along with several other island nations, were part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, under U.S. administration. Micronesia...
from 1999 to 2000.
Watson was elected to Congress in a 2001 special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative
Julian C. DixonJulian Carey Dixon was an American politician from the state of California.Dixon was born in Washington D.C. and served in the United States Army from 1957 to 1960. He graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1962. He was elected to the California State Assembly as a Democrat in...
. She has been re-elected four times, but retired after the end of the
111th CongressThe One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
.
Early life, education and career
Born in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Watson was raised Catholic. She was educated at Dorsey High School,
Los Angeles City CollegeLos Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
and the
University of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, where she earned her
BAA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in
EducationEducation in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
(1956). Watson became a member of
Alpha Kappa AlphaAlpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
.
She earned an
MSA Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
from
California State University, Los AngelesCalifornia State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
in
School PsychologySchool psychology is a field that applies principles of clinical psychology and educational psychology to the diagnosis and treatment of children's and adolescents' behavioral and learning problems...
(1967) and a
PhDPHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in
Educational AdministrationSchool leadership is the process of enlisting and guiding the talents and energies of teachers, pupils, and parents toward achieving common educational aims. This term is often used synonymously with educational leadership in the United States and has supplanted educational management in the United...
from
Claremont Graduate UniversityClaremont Graduate University is a private, all-graduate research university located in Claremont, California, a city east of downtown Los Angeles...
in 1987. She also attended the Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Watson taught
elementary schoolAn elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and was a school psychologist in the
Los Angeles public schoolsLos Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
. She has lectured at
California State University, Long BeachCalifornia State University, Long Beach is the second largest campus of the California State University system and the third largest university in the state of California by enrollment...
and
California State University, Los AngelesCalifornia State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
. She was a health occupation specialist with the
California Department of EducationThe California Department of Education is a California agency that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement...
's Bureau of Industrial Education.
Watson was elected to the
California State SenateThe California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
from 1978 to 1998. The longtime chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, she gained a reputation as an advocate for
health careHealth care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
for the
poorPoverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
and
childBiologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren. Term limited, she was replaced by
Kevin MurrayKevin G. Murray is an attorney and a former US Politician. He was the first California Assemblyman to serve alongside his father.-Education:Murray attended California State University, Northridge, earning a BSBA...
.
When, in 1988, the US government proposed the addition of the category of "bi-racial" or "
multiracialThe terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from multiple races. Unlike the term biracial, which often is only used to refer to having parents or grandparents of two different races, the term multiracial may encompass biracial people but can also include people with...
" to official documents and statistics, some African American organizations and African American leaders such as Watson and Representative Augustus Hawkins were particularly vocal in their rejection and opposition of the category. They feared massive defection from the
African AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
self-designation.
In 1992, Watson ran for the
Los Angeles County Board of SupervisorsThe Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five-member nonpartisan governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district. They were as of December 2, 2008:*District 1: Gloria Molina...
. After a hard-fought campaign that often turned negative, Watson narrowly lost to former Supervisor Yvonne Burke, who was supported by US Representative
Maxine WatersMaxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
.
President
Bill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
appointed her United States Ambassador to
MicronesiaThe Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...
in 1999.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights is a subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
- Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment
- Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade
The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade is a standing subcommittee within the House Foreign Affairs Committee.-Jurisdiction:...
- Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
- Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
The Subcommittee on Domestic Policy is a standing committee within the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Jurisdiction includes domestic policies, including matters relating to energy, labor, education, criminal justice, the economy, as well as the Office of National...
- Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement (Chairwoman)
- Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives
Caucuses
- Chair of the Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus
- Co-chair of the Congressional Korea Caucus
- Co-chair of the U.S.-UK Caucus
- Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...
Congresswoman Watson supports withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, opposes media consolidation, supports expanding welfare coverage and opposed President Bush's proposal to privatize
Social SecurityIn the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
. Watson opposed the
Bush tax cutsThe Bush tax cuts refers to changes to the United States tax code passed during the presidency of George W. Bush and extended during the presidency of Barack Obama that generally lowered tax rates and revised the code specifying taxation in the United States...
, saying they were unaffordable.
She was one of the 31 members of the House who voted not to count the electoral votes from
OhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
in the
United States presidential election, 2004The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
.
In 2006, the
National JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
ranked Watson as the most
liberalSocial liberalism is the belief that liberalism should include social justice. It differs from classical liberalism in that it believes the legitimate role of the state includes addressing economic and social issues such as unemployment, health care, and education while simultaneously expanding...
member of Congress.
On the issue of Cherokee Freedmen membership in the Cherokee tribe, Watson noted that 20,000 Cherokee lived in California. She opposed the
Cherokee NationThe Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...
's March 2007 vote to amend its
constitutionA constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
to limit membership to only those descendants with at least one
IndianNative Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
ancestor on the Dawes Roll. She noted that when freedmen were granted
citizenshipCitizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
in the tribe in 1866 by a treaty which the Cherokees made with the US government, it was without restriction to those freedmen with Indian ancestry. Appeals to the Cherokee Nation's position were pending, in part because the tribe excluded descendants of Cherokee freedmen and intermarried whites from voting on the amendment. In June 2007 Watson introduced a bill to sever US relations with the tribe and revoke its
gaming privilegesNative American gaming enterprises are gaming businesses operated on Indian reservations or tribal land in the United States. Indian tribes have limited sovereignty over these businesses and therefore are granted the ability to establish gambling enterprises outside of direct state...
unless the Cherokee restored membership in the tribe to descendants of Cherokee freedmen.
Political campaigns
In the 2008 Democratic primary, Watson's district went overwhelmingly for
IllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Senator
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
by a margin of 61-29. As a
superdelegate"Superdelegate" is an informal term commonly used for some of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the presidential nominating convention of the United States Democratic Party....
, Watson continued to support
New YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Senator Hillary Clinton.
Watson defeated her challengers in the California June 3 primary, and defeated Republican David Crowley in the November 4, 2008, election.
External links