Diane E. Watson
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Diane Watson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 33rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office  June 5, 2001
Preceded by	Julian Dixon
Born	November 12, 1933 Los Angeles, California
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	none
Residence	Los Angeles, California
Alma mater	UCLA, California State University, Los Angeles, Claremont Graduate University
Occupation	psychologist, health specialist, college administrator
Religion	Roman Catholic

Diane Edith Watson (born November 12, 1933), American politician, has been a member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing the 33rd District of California (map). Her district is located entirely in Los Angeles County and includes much of Central Los Angeles, including some wealthy neighborhoods such as Los Feliz. She ran unopposed in the 2006 Congressional mid-term elections.

Life before Congress

Born in Los Angeles, California, Watson was raised Catholic. ¹ She was educated at Los Angeles City College and the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her BA in 1956. Watson became a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

She earned an MS from California State University, Los Angeles in 1987 and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University the same year. She also attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Watson was a practicing psychologist, a faculty member at California State University, and a health occupation specialist with the Bureau of Industrial Education of the California Department of Education before entering politics.

Watson was elected to the California State Senate from 1978 to 1998. The longtime chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, she gained a reputation as an advocate for healthcare for the poor and children.

President Bill Clinton appointed her as United States Ambassador to Micronesia in 1999 before she was elected to the US House of Representatives.

US House committee assignments

• Foreign Affairs Committee
  • Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health
  • Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Environment
• Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  • Subcommittee on Domestic Policy
• Chair of the Congressional Entertainment Industries Caucus
• Co-chair of the Congressional Korea Caucus
• Co-chair of the U.S.-UK Caucus

Views in Congress

Congresswoman Watson supports military withdrawal from Iraq ², opposes media consolidation ³, supports expanding welfare coverage ⁴ and opposes President Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security⁵. Watson opposed Bush's tax cuts, saying they were unaffordable.

She was one of the 31 members of the House who voted not to count the electoral votes from Ohio in the United States presidential election, 2004. ⁶

In 2006, the National Journal ranked Watson as the most liberal member of Congress.⁷

On the issue of Cherokee Freedmen membership in the Cherokee tribe, Watson noted that 20,000 Cherokee lived in California. She opposed the Cherokee Nation's March 2007 vote to amend its constitution to limit membership to only those descendants with at least one Indian ancestor on the Dawes Roll. She noted that when freedmen were granted citizenship 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 its gaming privileges unless the Cherokee granted descendants of Cherokee freedmen membership in the tribe.⁸

Support of Clinton over Obama

In the 2008 Democratic primary, Watson's district went overwhelmingly for Illinois Senator Barack Obama by a margin of 61-29. As a superdelegate, Watson continued to support New York Senator Hillary Clinton.

Watson defeated her challengers in the California June 3 primary, and defeated Republican David Crowley in the November 4, 2008 General Election for US Representative of the 33rd District.

Rep. Diane Watson with Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony

References

External links

• U.S. Congresswoman Diane Watson official House site
• Huffington Post: Rep. Diane Watson blog entries by the congresswoman
• Diane Watson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Federal Election Commission — Diane E E Watson campaign finance reports and data
• On the Issues — Diane Watson issue positions and quotes
• OpenSecrets.org — Diane E. Watson campaign contributions
• Project Vote Smart — Representative Diane E. Watson (CA) profile
• SourceWatch Congresspedia — Diane Watson profile
• Washington Post — Congress Votes Database: Diane Watson voting record
• Hundreds attend PLP fundraiser The Royal Gazette, January 15, 2007
• - The Royal Gazette, Congresswoman backs US cleanup of Morgan's Point (Bermuda) even though the US was cleared of financial responsibility for the clean-up in 2002 payout