Karen Bass
From Ballotpedia
| Karen Bass | ||
 | ||
| U.S. House, California, District 33 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2011-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 3, 2013 | ||
| Years in position | 1 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Leadership | ||
| Assistant Whip, United States House of Representatives | ||
| 2011-present | ||
| Speaker, California Assembly | ||
| 2008-2010 | ||
| Majority Floor Leader, California Assembly | ||
| 2006-2008 | ||
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $174,000/year | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 2, 2010 | |
| First elected | November 2, 2010 | |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| California Assembly | ||
| 2004-2010 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | California State University, Dominguez Hills | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | October 3, 1953 | |
| Place of birth | Los Angeles, California | |
| Profession | Physician Assistant, Instructor, Health Non-Profit | |
| Religion | Christian | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Bass is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 37th District as a Democrat. She was displaced from her current district, the 33rd by redistricting.[1] The open primary election will be held on June 5, 2012.
Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Bass is a "rank-and-file Democrat".[2]
Career
Below is an abbreviated outline of Bass's academic, professional and political career:[3]
- 2011-Present: U.S. House of Representatives, California's 33rd congressional district
- 2011-Present: Assistant Whip
- 2005-2010: California State Assembly
- 2008-2010: Speaker of the California Assembly
- 2006-2008: Majority Floor Leader
- 1990: Graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills with B.S.
Committee assignments
U.S. House
2011-2012
Bass serves on the following committees:[4]
- Budget Committee
- Foreign Affairs Committee
- Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights Ranking Member
- Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Issues
Political positions
Percentage voting with party
November 2011
The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Karen Bass voted with the Democratic Party 95.2% of the time, which ranked 9 among the 192 House Democratic members in 2011.[5]
State budget crisis
As the state of California faced ongoing budget deficits and turmoil in 2009, Joe Mathews of Blockbuster Democracy writes, "No one understands the political dynamics of volatile state revenues better than Ms. Bass....after negotiating three rounds of budget cuts in the past year she has grown weary of deficit politics."[6]
The California Commission on the 21st Century Economy, a commission Bass pushed to create at the end of 2008, announced at the end of July 2009 that it recommends that California adopt a flat, or flatter, personal income tax and cut or repeal corporate and sales taxes. The commission was asked to provide recommendations to reduce the volatility in tax revenues.[6]
Redistricting
Bass contributed $20,000 in February 2010 to an effort to repeal Proposition 11, the 2008 ballot proposition approved by voters that created the California Citizens Redistricting Commission.[7]
Legislative scorecard
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score. [8],[9]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Bass ranked as a 91.[10]
Sponsored legislation
Bass's sponsored legislation while a member of the state legislature includes:
- AB 262 - American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan
- AB 1327 - State Capitol Sustainability Task Force
- AB 1402 - Family connection grants
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Elections
2012
Bass is running for re-election in the 2012 election for the U.S. House, representing California's 37th District as a Democrat. She was displaced from her current district, the 33rd by redistricting. She is running unopposed in the June 5, 2012, open primary.[11]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Bass won election to the United States House. She defeated James L. Andion (R) in the general election.[12]
| U.S. House, California District 33 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Karen Bass |
86.1% | 131,990 | |
| Republican | James L. Andion | 13.9% | 21,342 | |
| Total Votes | 153,332 | |||
2008
In 2008 Bass was re-elected to the California Assembly's 47th District. Bass (D)) finished with 134,003 votes while her opponent Lady Cage-Barile (R) finished with 23,642 votes.[13]
| California State Assembly District 47 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Karen Bass (D)
| 134,003 | |||
| Lady Cage-Barile (R) | 23,642 | |||
Campaign donors
2010
Bass won re-election to the U.S. House in 2010. During that election cycle, Bass's campaign committee raised a total of $932,281 and spent $768,919.[14]
His top 5 contributors between 2009-2010 were:
| U.S. House, California District 33, 2010 - Karen Bass Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | $932,281 |
| Total Spent | $768,919 |
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $27,917 |
| Total Spent by General Election Opponent | $24,917 |
| Top contributors to Karen Bass's campaign committee | |
| California Assn of Physician Groups | $12,650 |
| National Amusements Inc | $12,600 |
| Time Warner | $12,600 |
| Service Employees International Union | $11,300 |
| FedEx Corp | $11,000 |
| Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee | |
| Health Professionals | $73,700 |
| TV/Movies/Music | $52,400 |
| Lawyers/Law Firms | $48,650 |
| Real Estate | $33,400 |
| Building Trade Unions | $31,900 |
2008
Karen Bass commemorates one-year anniversary as speaker |
Below are Bass's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2008 election:[15]
| Contributor | 2008 total |
|---|---|
| CA Building Industry Assoc | $20,036 |
| California Democratic Party | $16,613 |
| California Teachers Association | $14,400 |
| Service Employees Local 721 | $14,400 |
| Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters | $14,400 |
Fined over gift disclosure
In February 2010 Bass agreed to pay a fine of $600 for failing to disclose gifts from interest groups. Thirty other California lawmakers agreed to pay fines as well.[16]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term Karen + Bass + California + House
- All stories may not be relevant to this official due to the nature of the search engine.
Personal
Bass is divorced and has one child.
External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Congressional profile at GovTrack.us
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress.org
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Current Bills Sponsored at StateSurge.com
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at Follow The Money
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Profile at Facebook
- Profile at Twitter
- Official Flickr account
- Official LinkedIn account
- Official Youtube channel
References
- ↑ Los Angeles Times "Tony Strickland, Karen Bass set for congressional runs," Accessed March 4, 2012
- ↑ Gov Track "Bass" Accessed May 22, 2012
- ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "Karen Bass," Accessed November 12, 2011
- ↑ Representative Karen Bass, Proudly Representing the 33rd District of California "Committees and Caucuses"
- ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party"
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wall Street Journal, "Democrats for a Flat Tax?", July 11, 2009
- ↑ From The Capitol, "Redistricting Commission repeal gets boost from House Dems", February 2, 2010
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard", December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene", December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly", Downloadable 2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard
- ↑ California Secretary of State, Official candidate list
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
- ↑ California State Assembly election results
- ↑ Open Secrets "Karen Bass 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed November 12, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money - 2008 Campaign contributions
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "California lawmakers agree to pay fines over gift disclosure," February 2, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Diane Watson | U.S. House of Representatives - California, District 33 2011-Present | Succeeded by ' |
| Preceded by ' | California Assembly - District 47 2004–2010 | Succeeded by Holly J. Mitchell |
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