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Today, millions of California voters will go to the polls and decide who will be the successor to Senator Laphonza Butler, who was appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom this past October to fill the vacancy left by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the longest tenured woman in the history of the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Butler, who became, upon her appointment, the first Black LBGTQ person to serve in the Senate, was previously President of EMILY’s List and a widely-respected labor organizer, among other well-earned garlands. But after being sworn in, Butler announced she would not seek election to a full term.
Over the past year, four contenders have emerged to succeed her: Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Barbara Lee, Rep. Katie Porter, and Steve Garvey, former MLB player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres (and the only Republican with a realistic shot).
California has a nonpartisan blanket primary, in which all candidates of all party affiliations appear on the same ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election in a head-to-head match-up. Thus, it is possible we could see two Democrats battling it out in the general election.
I didn’t know much about Congressman Schiff before last year. I knew he was the lead impeachment manager during the first impeachment trial of then-President Donald Trump, for which he earned widespread praise. I knew he was the Chair of the House Intelligence Committee for four years before being kicked off by then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy in a shameless act of political retribution.
I knew he was strong in his convictions. I knew he wouldn’t back down from a fight, especially when faced with the childish obstruction of House Republicans. I knew he was well-liked by his colleagues and Hill staffers. I knew he was a pretty good writer, based on his long history of thoughtful public remarks.
Of course, the sad thing about working in politics and living in D.C. is that there are numerous Members of Congress who have some combination of the above attributes and will still inevitably disappoint you. It’s not so much that I’ve become jaded over the years—far from it—as I’ve become cautious when assessing elected officials.
So, last summer, when a good friend invited me to a campaign fundraiser for Congressman Schiff’s senatorial bid, I agreed to go but didn’t expect much. In fact, when a work obligation popped up later for that same night, I didn’t give a second thought to texting my friend that I couldn’t go. She called me and said that the Congressman would be having a second fundraiser in town the following week and urged me to go. She even bought my ticket.
”You have to meet him,” she said. “He’s a great man and a great leader. You just have to meet him.”
I agreed and showed up to the event near the end of the Congressman’s stump speech—which was rather good—and listened to him answer any and all questions from attendees. No holds barred. He was impressive in his answers, and I remember thinking that he certainly seemed more tuned-in than most of his colleagues.
A bit later, after the formal Q&A ended, I walked up to the Congressman with a question about the Equality Act, something I always ask federal elected officials in order to gauge how much they know. You’d be surprised—or perhaps, you wouldn’t—by how little some Members of Congress understand about the holy grail of LGBTQ rights legislation.
In short, the Equality Act would ban all forms of discrimination against LGBTQ people throughout the United States. Currently, there is no protection against anti-LGBTQ discrimination in nearly 30 states when it comes to housing, credit, jury service, education, health care, etc.
The problem, of course, is that the legislation has been effectively blocked by congressional Republicans—namely, Sen. Mitch McConnell—for many years.
Congressman Schiff calmly walked me through his thoughts, which initially started with the basics of the Equality Act and its necessity for a free and fair country for all citizens.
Most of the time, these exchanges are rather short. An elected official might spend 30 seconds with me talking about the legislation and then do that typical D.C. move of signaling through body language and a subtle tone shift that they wanna move on to the next voter.
But Mr. Schiff didn’t do that. After laying out the basics, he began to delve into the particulars of the bill and the endorsements it had received from faith leaders and business owners and the specific challenges in engaging with congressional Republicans.
I could tell there were others standing around me, hoping to talk to the Congressman about their own thing. They were waiting politely, but he was in no hurry to move on. He was not rushed, and he kept solid eye contact with me as he started offering details about the struggle for LGBTQ rights that, quite frankly, he had no business knowing.
I forget the exact story on trans rights he brought up, but it was a news item that was published the previous day. I’m not kidding when I tell y’all that maybe 50 people in the country actually cared enough to know details about this particular news item, and nearly all of them were LGBTQ advocates. At the time, had I been asked, I would have been absolutely certain that no Member of Congress was up-to-speed on it.
And so, I was gobsmacked/astonished/delighted when the Congressman went into detail about the trans rights news item and asked me questions in an effort to fill in any knowledge gaps he might have.
He wasn’t showy at all. He wasn’t performing. I felt like I was having a productive and genuine conversation with an elected official who wanted to find a solution and wasn’t afraid to admit when he didn’t know something (which, by that point, was amusing given how much he clearly did know).
Within a matter of minutes, I quickly found out that Adam Schiff is one of the most well-prepared folks serving in Congress and certainly one of the more empathetic.
It didn’t end there. Not even close. He had his staff follow-up with me, and a few months later, his office was instrumental in organizing a congressional briefing, in partnership with GLAAD, on LGBTQ rights for interested Members of Congress and Hill staff.
The briefing itself was a success, but it stuck with me for a different reason. The Congressman was only expected to show up at the beginning, offer some brief remarks, and move on to the next thing. This is very common on the Hill given the packed schedules of Members.
Except he didn’t do that. After he gave his remarks, he sat in the front row and attentively listened to GLAAD’s presenters for the entire briefing. He never checked his phone. He didn’t glance at his watch. He didn’t make an excuse midway through and quietly duck out, which would have been perfectly understandable.
What sticks with me about this moment is that Congressman Schiff already knew almost all the information being presented in that briefing. I know that because of the knowledge mastery he had demonstrated at the fundraiser earlier in the year.
And yet, he still sat through the entire briefing. He asked questions when it was appropriate. He engaged meaningfully. He made everyone at that briefing feel like we had a champion in our corner, and he did so without a hint of self-congratulation.
Look, I don’t live in California, and I don’t get a vote in this race. I care about this campaign because the U.S. Senate is so often a dumpster fire, and any given individual senator has the power to singlehandedly bring the policy process to a screeching halt, like Tommy Tuberville blocking military promotions in an effort to prevent access to reproductive health care for women service members.
There has never been a greater need for strong leaders of character in the U.S Senate, but moreover, there’s never been a greater need for the senator who makes a point of being deeply informed and committed to a good faith process that centers knowledge and common sense.
I’m quite jealous of you Californians. Today, you get to cast a vote for Adam Schiff to be your next senator, and I can’t tell you how thankful I am that your vote will ensure the entire country benefits from his leadership in the Senate.
We all need him there, and he appears to be right on time.
For more information on how to vote today, visit this website to look up your voter registration and polling location.
And if you’d like to financially contribute to Mr. Schiff’s senatorial bid (and I highly encourage you to do so), click here.
Allow me to offer you the thanks of a grateful nation in advance.
The Casual Greatness of Adam Schiff