Tauscher to Bring California Experience to Administration

On Thursday, May 28 East Bay Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher delivered her final farewell to some 200 Commonwealth Club members and guests at Lafayette’s Veterans Memorial Hall. Though she covered a lot of ground in a wide-ranging discussion of policy and her past, she opened her remarks with anecdotes about her daughter, Katherine, and her tremendous love for California.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Tauscher, who served California’s 10th district for past 12 years, will be leaving her post to become senior adviser on arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament issues to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton. In this position, Tauscher will take on national and global security relations, and international peacekeeping policy direction. In the conversation with Commonwealth Club CEO and President Dr. Gloria Duffy, herself a former nuclear arms negotiator for the Clinton administration, Tauscher told audience members she is committed to upholding The Constitution, and trusting her conscious as well as her constituents.

“The United States needs a new visibility,” said Tauscher, “to show that we can indeed lead the world in issues of security and arms negation.”

Though unable to discuss details of nuclear policy due to her pending Senate confirmation process, as the conversation turned to issues of nuclear nonproliferation, Tauscher shared her expertise and voiced her pledge to moving U.S. policy toward total nuclear disarmament.
She addressed a wide range of topics -- from U.S. national security policies to where Tauscher’s daughter was going to college, (Bucknell, to play Division I Volleyball). When asked about her future with the Obama administration, Tauscher described how she believes America “can have national security and civil rights at the same time.” When questioned about the state of our economy Tauscher emphasized, “The U.S. needs to get ‘back to basics’ and is in need of a complete overhaul, like putting Humpty Dumpty back together again.”

Regarding the 10th District, Tauscher expressed her admiration for what she called the “California lifestyle” and how she believes the state can be a leader in both alternative energies and transportation innovation for the rest of the country. Advocating for high-speed rail and enhanced carbon-free methods of transportation such as bicycles, Tauscher said that Californians “have more opportunity and more reason to get it right than anyone else.”

Tauscher, who is currently the chair of the Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee, has served as the representative of California’s 10th Congressional District since 1997. She has strengthened and expanded nonproliferation programs by creating the White House Office of the Coordinator on Nuclear Non-proliferation and a commission to study our nation’s role in the nuclear arms debate. Before running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, Tauscher was an active fundraiser for the Democratic Party. She chaired Dianne Feinstein's successful 1992 and 1994 Senate campaigns. Previously, Tauscher worked as an investment banker and became a member of the New York Stock Exchange. The Newark, New Jersey, native earned her B.S. from Seton Hall University in 1974. She lives in Alamo, California.

– Written by The Commonwealth Club's Media and Public Relations Department

Newsom Rides the Media Circuit to the Commonwealth Club

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has been popping up in some unlikely places lately. He appeared last week as a panelist on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, is slated to speak in Oakland tomorrow night and even chatted with the mortal enemy of "San Francisco liberal Democrats" Sunday morning on Fox News. It seems Newsom's exploratory foray into a possible run for governor is in high gear, to be topped with a conversation at The Commonwealth Club of California Wednesday night. (Check out recent appearances of the mayor on MSNBC's Morning Joe here and CNN Newsroom here.)

Newsom's increased visibility during the past week might be designed to increase an early Field Poll that gave the liberal Democrat just 10 percent of the vote. To be fair, the poll was questionable, because it included Sen. Dianne Feinstein who has declined to state whether she will run (yet she still topped the poll with 38 percent).

The HBO appearance may be instructive about how Newsom plans to run as the progressive candidate on the Democratic side. On the show, he spoke candidly on topics such as gay marriage and medical marijuana (unequivocally supporting both) and skillfully wove his talking points regarding his accomplishments in the city. Though Newsom was an early supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential aspirations, he might stand to benefit from the coattails of President Obama's liberal resurgence across the country. One theme likely to be espoused by Newsom in the race is his talking point touting the existence of universal health care in his city. If President Obama follows through on his pledge to offer health-care legislation nationally by mid-year or later, Newsom might get a bounce. And as one of the first politicians to stick his neck out for gay marriage, the mayor might lead the way on two popular statewide issues that could vault him from a dark horse candidate to serious contender.

Former Governor (and former just about everything in California politics) Jerry Brown is hoping to represent the state's future with an eye at its past. The other challenger, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, suffered somewhat of a letdown last week despite winning re-election. With only 15 percent of the electorate voting, Villaraigosa garnered just 128,000 votes, raising statewide electability questions.

If Newsom's past media appearances are any indication, his remarks at the Commonwealth Club should be candid -- and palatable to the hometown San Francisco audience.

--Steven Tavares

Meg Whitman Wants the Governor's Office

Former eBay president and CEO Meg Whitman has thrown her hat into the ring by announcing her intention to run for the California governor's office. The business leader, who was an advisor to Republican Sen. John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, is expected to make a high priority out of California's business competitiveness.
That was also the focus of her September 23, 2008, speech to The Commonwealth Club (see video below.) In it, she openly questioned whether California's tax and regulatory environment would allow a company like eBay to be born and thrive today like it did.
"A significant portion of our population is unsuited for today's high-paying jobs," she told the audience. "You can't grow your business if you can't find the people you need, and if you can't find the people you need, you have to move the company to where those people are. We need to make education a priority in California."

Whitman joins a possible field of candidates including current San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, former Governor and current state Attorney General Jerry Brown, current U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and others. His possible candidacy is likely to be brought up when Newsom speaks to The Commonwealth Club in San Francisco March 11. For information on that event, go here.