Originally published in Roll Call on January 27, 2005
Copyright 2005 Roll Call, Inc.
by Chris Cillizza ROLL CALL STAFF
House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) waded into the race for
Democratic National Committee vice chairman Wednesday, signing a letter
backing Rep. Mike Honda (Calif.) for the post over another House
Democrat.
The missive, signed by 18
members of the California Democratic delegation, calls Honda a "shining
star" and points out that he is the only Californian in the race and
the only "WesternRegional candidate."
Honda
also received the endorsement of the vast majority of the
CongressionalHispanic Caucus on Wednesday with the notable exception of
Democratic Caucus Chairman BobMenendez (N.J.), who plans to stay
neutral.
"We in the CHC are fortunate to
have developed a special relationship with Mike, and we are impressed
by Mike's own long and special relationship with the Hispanic
community," wrote the Members.
Honda is not the only Member of Congress in the race; New YorkRep. Greg Meeks is also seeking the slot.
In
addition to Honda and Meeks, former Puerto Rico Secretary of State
Alvaro Cifuentes, DNC Deputy Chairman Ben Johnson, and NelsonDiaz, who
is also Puerto Rican, are running.
Even with
two Members involved, the contest has been almost entirely overshadowed
by the heated DNC chairman race that is being cast as crucial to the
future of the Democratic Party.
The leading contenders in that race appear to be former Vermont Gov.Howard Dean and former Texas Rep. MartinFrost.
House
MinorityWhip Steny Hoyer (Md.) has endorsed Frost, though no other
members of either House or Senate leadership have formally backed a
candidate.
Pelosi and Senate
MinorityLeader HarryReid (Nev.) urged former IndianaRep.Tim Roemer to
make the race but insist that the move did not constitute a formal
endorsement.
Both positions will be filled during the DNC's winter meeting inWashington,D.C., on Feb. 10-12.
UnderDNC
bylaws, there are five vice chairman slots available in addition to the
chairmanship. There must be an even number of men and women in the
posts.
Given that no woman is in the
running for chair and the fact that Association of Democratic State
Chairs President Mark Brewer is guaranteed a seat, that leaves only one
other seat for a male. Traditionally, that final seat is filled by a
Latino or
African-American, according to a knowledgeable party source.
That seat is the one Honda, Meeks and the three other candidates are hoping to win.
Honda, first elected to a San Jose-area open seat in 2000, served as a deputy chairman at the DNCduring the 2004 campaign.
In
that capacity, Honda said he "put together a model to work with
Asian-American communities" that raised more than $5 million for the
DNC. The effort was formally known as the Asian Pacific Islander
American outreach program.
Honda, a Japanese American, said his interest in serving as vice chairman is based on the work he began in the previous cycle.
"I
would be in a position at the DNC to work with the chair to develop an
organization to address local constituencies and percolate it up to the
national level," said Honda.
Meeks was elected in a February 1998 special election to a district centered in Queens.
Following
the 2002 election he campaigned to be vice chairman of the Democratic
Caucus but came up 39 votes short of SouthCarolina Rep. James Clyburn
on the first ballot. He did not seek a second ballot.
John Bresnahan contributed to this report.