| |
Hilda Solis is an unabashed liberal and an unwavering advocate for labor, the environment and the underdog. That makes the Los Angeles congresswoman a hero to some and a determined - some say "inflexible" - foe to others. Either way, she is gaining national stature as a comer in Democratic politics.
As a young girl, Hilda Solis was riveted by stories her father Raul, a Teamsters union steward, told about his dealings with company higher-ups. Each day after work, her father shared with his large, close-knit family, his frustrations, struggles and victories on behalf of laborers, many of whom were Spanish-speaking immigrants. The stories had an indelible impact on Solis, the third of seven children and the first in her family to go to college.
"My father helped to organize a group of factory immigrants and basically helped them get their pensions, better wages and all the safety and protection items they needed to work with in an unsafe environment," said Solis, now a Democratic congresswoman from El Monte. "He'd come home and tell us about the problems he faced with management. He always reminded us that it was important to stand up for your rights, and regardless of who you are and where you come from, to hold your head up high with dignity and respect. Those are really important principles that I still carry today."
These lessons learned as a child from her father, a native of Mexico, and her mother, Juana, an assembly-line worker from Nicaragua, have anchored the 44-year-old Capitol Hill dynamo and have helped build the foundation of her barrier-breaking political career. It explains her fervor for workers' rights and her unwavering dedication to issues affecting the underdog. And it accounts for the single-mindedness in Solis' approach that has some of her critics calling her unyielding, unreasonable and anti-business.
But Solis' family life also has kept her grounded and attuned to the values that first attracted her to politics and public service, friends and colleagues say.
"She's real; she's not phony," said Art Torres, chairman of the California Democratic Party. "I think a lot of that comes from her parents. They have been a very wonderful force in her life. They taught her a lot, especially about the labor movement."
From her early days as a young intern in the Carter White House to her upset victory last year over 18-year incumbent Representative Matthew G. Martinez (D-Monterey Park), which catapulted her to the halls of Congress, Solis has amassed a series of ground-breaking firsts. Leading the pack
She was the first in her family to earn a college degree. She was the first Latina elected to the California state Senate and, in her first year in Congress, served as freshman class whip for Democrats, responsible for coalescing votes from new lawmakers on key legislation. Solis also is the first female and woman of color to receive the Profiles in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation in Boston for her work on environmental justice issues.
Speaking from her Washington, D.C., office earlier this year, Solis said that it wasn't easy breaking ahead of the pack. "It's a lot of sacrifice," said the petite, raven-haired lawmaker. "But I think there are a lot of good people who supported me along the way. A lot of it comes from the support that I received from my family and also other community leaders."
Displayed prominently in Solis' D.C. office are framed articles and cover stories about her - from diverse publications such as George, Hispanic and People magazines. There are pictures of Solis with Democratic leaders like Al Gore and California Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante. On one wall is a painting of the Capitol dome framed by the San Gabriel Mountains - a piece she commissioned to remind her of her district, her roots. On another corner is a framed poster of the late labor leader Cesar Chavez, scrawled with a dedication by his widow Helen, stating, "Hilda, thank you for your many contributions to the farm worker movement. Viva la causa!"
Solis, an outspoken, unabashed liberal, credits role models like labor activists Delores Huerta and Chavez of the United Farm Workers union, who helped inspire her. Huerta, for instance, "would just keep fighting and fighting for the underdog," she said. "And that taught me a lot. The discipline that she has. It's just incredible. ...So people like that I run into inspire me, and I connect with them. And it's good because then you can help to share that with other people and hopefully motivate them to get involved as well, to take that extra risk."
Indeed, it is this willingness to go out on a limb - for causes and issues dear to her heart - that has formed the hallmark of Solis' political career. Although merely a freshman in Congress, Solis has already established a substantial political record in state and local politics.
After earning a bachelor's degree in political science from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, and while working on her master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, Solis served in the White House Office of Hispanic Affairs during the Carter administration. She later worked as an analyst for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C.
Her first foray into elected office was a stint on the Rio Hondo Community College Board of Trustees from 1985 to 1992. In 1991, Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina appointed her to serve on the Los Angeles County Insurance Commission. Solis later won election to the state Assembly in 1992, emphasizing a platform that centered on environmental protection, education, labor and women's rights. She was elected to the state Senate in 1994 and became the first Latina in the upper house, and at age 37, the state's youngest senator. She easily won re-election in 1998. Challenging Martinez
In 2000, she went head-to-head against veteran incumbent Martinez for his seat in the 31st Congressional District, a largely working-class area stretching from East Los Angeles to Azusa where Latinos make up half the voters. Martinez was considered vulnerable because he was viewed as lackluster, if not inattentive and ineffective. Solis had the backing of her core group of supporters - a coalition of labor, environmental and women's groups (including the national Democratic, pro-choice group, EMILY's List) - but some politicians (particularly incumbent lawmakers) criticized Solis for targeting a colleague to further her own career.
In the end, a tenacious Solis stunned many with her surprising 62 percent to 29 percent primary election victory. Because the district is heavily Democratic (no Republican even bothered to run), Solis was assured victory in the November general election. For his part, Martinez was so incensed that he became a Republican for the very short remainder of his career.
"Frankly, when she first announced her intention to run for Congress, people thought she was a long shot," said David Allgood, Southern California director of the California League of Conservation Voters, which endorsed Solis. "She took on an incumbent who was well-known and had a long history. But clearly on policy and skills as a legislator, she had it all over him. She did a masterful job of talking about the issues."
During her tenure in state government, Solis was a vigorous advocate of women's rights, working families and environmental protection. She authored a number of bills addressing domestic violence (16 of which were signed into law), spousal rape, women's health, raising the minimum wage and increasing environmental protection. Her bill, SB 115, dubbed the "environmental justice bill," was intended to protect poor and minority neighborhoods from environmental pollution and other toxic hazards. It later garnered her the JFK Profiles in Courage award and increased her national visibility.
Solis said she was inspired to write the ground-breaking environmental legislation after witnessing how her own blue-collar, heavily minority community in San Gabriel Valley became devastated by pollution. The area contains eight gigantic garbage dumps (including Puente Hills, reportedly the biggest landfill west of the Mississippi), hundreds of acres of rock mining pits and the contamination of the nearby San Gabriel Basin by perchlorate, a toxic rocket-fuel additive.
Solis, however, wasn't always successful, especially with some of her more controversial, hard-fought efforts. For instance, her bill attempting to raise the minimum wage was vetoed in 1995 by then-Governor Pete Wilson. But with the support of organized labor and a $50,000 contribution from Solis' own campaign war chest, she led the victorious effort to pass Proposition 210, a ballot initiative which increased the minimum wage from $4.25 to $5.75 an hour.
Her first attempt to push through the environmental justice bill failed after Wilson vetoed it in 1997. She subsequently wrote a weaker version of the bill, which required local governments to consider existing pollutants and the impact of new development projects - such as waste dumps or other hazard-producing industries - on local communities. Governor Gray Davis signed this measure into law in 1999. It is considered the first law of its kind in the country.
"Her bills weren't as strong as she wanted to pass, but they were certainly important first steps," said Allgood.
Art Pulaski, executive officer with the California Labor Federation, called Solis "a warrior for working families." He added, "She is a true believer. I've found her to be someone of high integrity who acts on closely held personal values even at times when it is risky. She is not one who takes a poll, senses the direction of the wind and follows. She stays true to her values. She is a true leader." A captive of labor, environmental interests?
But Solis' convictions have irked conservative colleagues who view her as a captive to labor and environmental interests, unwilling to hear opposing perspectives. Senator Ray Haynes (R-Riverside), for instance, said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, that when it comes to labor and environmental concerns, Solis "will carry their water, no matter what."
Fred Main, senior vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce, said that Solis is perceived in some circles as anti-business. "She carried a lot of bills that were anti-business in our view and did so for several years in a row," he said. "A number of [her] bills represented significant cost increases to the business community." He added, "She was a studious, committed legislator. She just had a different view of the world."
But colleagues and supporters brush aside the criticism, saying that Solis listens and works well with a variety of interest groups.
"She has support in her community in the business sector and strong support from labor and environmental sectors, so she has that balance," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, who met Solis about 15 years ago while engaged in community activism on education and women's issues. "She is looked upon as someone with high integrity. ...She is probably one of the most innovative legislators. She is very persistent and dedicated to serving people. She is always able to find a creative way to get to her goals.
Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles), whom Solis endorsed to fill her seat in the upper house, said that the congresswoman "brings passion, integrity, a fighting spirit - really a warrior spirit.
"In many ways, she represents the 'New California,'" Romero added. "She's a woman, a Latina from a union household, the daughter of immigrants. She brings a vision of the American dream. She cares about democracy. She cares about representation. To her, it's public service. To her, it's fighting to give voice to those who have not been represented." A rude awakening
In her first year in the nation's capital, Solis is studying the landscape, picking her fights and trying to adjust to life under a GOP-controlled House. "It's very different from when I used to live here 20 years ago," said Solis. "And obviously, there are a lot of changes here in terms of who's running the White House, who's running Congress. And that has been quite an awakening. A rude awakening."
For now, Solis sees her role as defensive, akin to damage control. "I see myself really trying to combat some of these egregious bills that I think would have a negative impact for Californians and for people in my district," she said, referring to President George W. Bush's tax cut plan and the erosion of some worker safety and ergonomics regulations. "The most recent one is the tax cut, and going home and explaining that to people has been a challenge. ...But I think the public does understand that these cuts are going to weigh heavily on them for years to come and there are going to be a lot of negative impacts as a result of that." She cites cuts in social services and other programs.
Solis, who serves on the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Resources Committee, plans to continue her focus on education, environmental and labor issues. She is also interested in delving into health care, social security and veteran's affairs.
These days, she is enveloped in the typical whirlwind schedule of a new member. On one particularly dreary and overcast spring day, Solis flitted from engagement to engagement, including several hearings and a brief press conference in which lawmakers appealed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to more strongly regulate wholesale power generators and the energy prices they charge.
Solis did not speak during the half-hour press event, instead deferring to her more senior colleagues. She did, however, pose for a series of publicity shots, appearing only in the background. She later hurriedly departed to cast votes on a series of measures, then reappeared nearly an hour later to do a satellite-feed interview in English and Spanish for local television stations. Meanwhile, she had two visitors with appointments waiting in her office.
"It's hectic today, but it was even worse the other day," observed Solis' communications director, Randy Jurado Ertll.
Although still a congressional newcomer, Solis is distinguishing herself. In January 2001, National Journal magazine named her among its "Ten Freshmen to Watch," stating that her election "is a sign of things to come in California and a generational changing of the guard in the Hispanic Caucus."
Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-Santa Ana), a colleague and early supporter of Solis', said that fellow lawmakers are stopping her on the House floor saying, "This woman's great. Where did you find her?"
Even national Democratic leaders look favorably upon Solis, said California Democratic Party chairman Torres. "They recognize the star quality that she has. She can cross the party line. ...My hope is that we can win back the House in 2002, and Hilda can play an important role. It can be an opportunity for her to rise up in the ranks."
For now, more mundane matters take precedence. Solis is spending time networking and meeting other members, getting settled in her committees, learning from senior legislators and flying home most weekends to her district to spend time with constituents, friends, family members and her business-owner husband, Sam Sayyad.
"For me, it's important to focus on getting the feel of the place and letting members know who I am," Solis said. Even so, "you'd be surprised how many people do know who I am. Even the Republicans." |
|
