EMILYs List Endorses Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee for Mayor of Oakland
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, endorsed former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee for mayor of Oakland, California. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement:
“EMILYs List is proud to endorse former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee to become Oakland’s next mayor. With over 30 years of experience in Congress, she has a proven track record pushing for systemic change, and securing billions in federal investments for housing, health care, and education for her constituents. At a time when we need bold, unwavering leaders to stand up for our freedoms, we are thrilled to support Lee in this election.”
Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee served in the California state Assembly from 1990 to 1996 and in the state Senate from 1996 to 1998, providing leadership rooted in the needs of her community. She was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998, where she served for more than 30 years. While in Congress, she secured billions of dollars to improve Oakland’s neighborhoods through funding for public safety programs, manufacturing, and for K-12 and community college education. While in office, Lee also fought to repeal the Hyde Amendment which restricts federal funding for abortion care, and was a co-founder of the Congressional Out of Poverty Caucus that fights for economic justice.
EMILYs List has supported Lee in previous elections to serve the citizens of Oakland. If elected, she would be the first Black woman to serve as mayor of Oakland.
###EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Over nearly 40 years, EMILYs List has raised nearly $950 million to help Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the most impactful independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 192 women to the House, 29 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,600 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
