Feb. 11, 2010
5:00 p.m.
Congresswoman Diane E. Watson has decided to retire from the US House of Representatives.
Some are calling he departure a "generational shift change of leadership" within the African American political community here.
Born in Los Angeles, Watson is a lifetime resident of California’s 33rd Congressional District, which includes Culver City, portions of the City of Los Angeles, and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
It is being reported that State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass will consider seeking the safely Democratic seat, which has been held by black politicians for generations.
Bass is the first black woman to hold the speaker's post in Sacramento, and she is leaving the Assembly at the end of 2010. Bass has been under attack for having a "failed Speakership" from both sides of the political isle in Sacramento.
I wonder if popular Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti will enter this campaign? Garcetti's city council district overlaps lots of Watson's Congressional District, and has become very popular within this diverse community
According to the Associated Press, Watson said she was stepping down to spend more time with her 100-year-old mother, who recently broke her hip.
California's ethnically diverse 33rd Congressional District is located entirely within Los Angeles County. The 33rd has a portion of central Los Angeles, and includes all of Culver City within its borders, as well as parts of unincorporated L.A. County.
The district begins on the west about a mile inland from Venice Beach, and spreads to Figueroa Avenue on the East in Los Angeles. The District spreads North to take in Koreatown, Hancock Park, the Wilshire corridor and the "Miracle Mile" district, Little Armenia, Hollywood, Los Feliz and Silver Lake.
The 33rd District includes the neighborhoods of Baldwin Hills, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire, View Park, and Windsor Hills. Noteworthy landmarks and locations within the district include Exposition Park, LA Coliseum, Sony Studios, University of Southern California, Grauman's Chinese Theater, the Kodak Theater (home of the annual Academy Awards ceremonies), West Los Angeles College and the Kenneth Hahn Regional Park.
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Watson, 76, an ambassador to Micronesia during the Clinton administration, was the first black woman to serve on the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Her election in 1975 came at a time of racial friction over mandatory school busing.
She was elected to the state Senate in 1978, serving until 1998. She was first elected to Congress in 2001. Representative Watson attended Birdie Lee Bright Elementary School (formerly 36th Street School), Foshay Junior High School, and Dorsey High School. After graduating from High School, Congresswoman Watson attended Los Angeles City College and matriculated at UCLA, where she received a B.A. in Education. She also holds a M.A. in School Psychology from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the Claremont Graduate School.
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