Barbara Lee Re-elected as U.S. Representative

Mills College Weekly

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a Mills alumna, was re-elected as a
U.S. Representative for the Ninth District on Nov. 2.

Lee won with 83.5 percent of the vote, with 75 percent of the
precincts reporting, compared to her win by 80 percent in the last
election.

Lee, the only congressperson to vote against the war in Iraq in
2002, was first elected to congress in 1998. In the past six years
of her term, she’s helped to secure over $5 million in
funding for HIV and AIDS care and services in Alameda County and 15
billion through the U.S. Leadership against Global Aids,
Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, for treatment and prevention
of the pandemic in Africa.

Lee has pushed for improvements in healthcare by introducing the
Universal Healthcare Act and has expanded prescription drug
coverage for seniors and other Americans. She’s also fought
the sky rocketing prices of real estate and supports affordable
living.

Lee raced against Claudia Bermudez, a Republican and Jim Eyer, a
Libertarian.

Bermudez emphasized the importance of national security
post-9/11, improving education in Oakland public schools and
establishing policies that support success among immigrants.

Jim Eyer’s platform focused on improving federal laws,
regulations and programs, protecting personal privacy, preserving
liberty, and empowering small businesses.

Lee hosted an Early Election Rally on Saturday Oct. 30, in
Lakeside Park in Oakland.

Nina Rubenstein, a freshwoman at Mills, was present at the
rally.

“Barbara Lee is my icon she is the reason I love politics,
she votes with a conscience and that’s what I appreciate
about her,” Rubenstein said.

Lee strongly encourages early voting and started her speech by
thanking her “home base the Ninth district for keeping our
hope alive, my energy comes from the people of District
Nine.”

Lee has been all over the country pushing people to vote
early.

“The last ten days I have been to, Orlando Florida,
Jackson, Florida, Hollywood Florida, and Fort Lauderdale Florida,
with such faces as Ashley Judd [and] Kirsten Dunst to make sure
they aren’t stealing the vote again and I am here today to
tell you that we as Democrats are winning in Florida.”