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About Myself
I was born in Pittsburgh on September 4,
1942, and raised in New York City. I moved to the San
Diego area in 1970. My wife, Jane, and I have two adult
children. My son Adam lives in the San Diego area with his
wife, Kim, and my granddaughter Madeline! My daughter,
Erin, is a middle-school teacher in Westchester, New York.
Since I was a young
boy, I have been interested in science and the way in which
scientific advancements change society. I also have been committed to
the battle for justice and equality.
*My "mugshot" after
being arrested
in Jackson, Mississippi.
In 1961, when I was 18 years old, I spent several months in the
Mississippi State Penitentiary as a
"Freedom
Rider" in the Civil Rights
Movement.
My political optimism stems from those times: by our individual
involvement, we can change history! And my commitment to a world free
of racism and discrimination continues on.
In 1970, after
receiving a Ph.D. in the History of Science from Cornell University, I moved to San Diego and began teaching at San Diego
State University. During my twenty years as a Professor of History at SDSU,
I challenged my students to do more than think "grand" thoughts. I
taught them that ideas don’t mean anything unless they are put into
action to help people and to make the world a better place. It's a
lesson that I continue to impress on others while in the United
States Congress.
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Running for public office!
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In
the late 70s, the Principal for my children’s local elementary school
announced that the school was going to be closed. As a parent, I was
frustrated with the local School Board, and I felt that my children
were not getting the education or attention that they deserved!
That led me to my first run for public service on the San Diego School
Board in 1979--and I will never forget it! |
My
"back to basics" approach toward education - including mandatory
homework - won me wide support with parents all across San Diego. During that time,
we hired a more responsive Superintendent, test
scores went up, and millions of dollars in bureaucratic waste was eliminated.
Because of my demonstrated
leadership on these issues, I was selected as
School
Board President in 1982.
My increasing civic
involvement led to my election to
the San
Diego City Council in 1987. There I started to take on issues such as
bringing good jobs to my community and broadening San Diego’s economic
base.
I also created
the city's first Economic Conversion Committee and wrote the city's
Economic Conversion Plan. I found creative ways to fight neighborhood
crime, including the introduction of Police Walking Patrols and a
Citizen Graffiti Patrol with the area's first 24-hour graffiti hotline.
My ability to
work with my colleagues was seen once again and was chosen by fellow
my Council members to serve as the Deputy Mayor of San Diego
in 1991.
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Bob Goes to Washington!
In 1992, I had
the great honor of being elected to the United States House of Representatives.
The 51st
Congressional District is one of the most diverse areas in the nation.
Encompassing the southern half of the City of San Diego, the South Bay
cities of Chula Vista and National City, and all of Imperial Valley, the
District's population is approximately 55% Latino, 15% Anglo, 15% Filipino and
15% African-American.
In
my
first term in Congress, I became one of only a handful of freshman
legislators to get legislation passed--a critical law
amending the Clean Water Act and allowing San Diego to save billions of dollars!
We also began the process of solving the
seven decades-old problem of millions of gallons of raw sewage flowing
from Mexico--and eventually polluting our beaches.
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The Filner Express!
I have
also been successful on winning funding
and private support
for re-opening the San Diego & Arizona Eastern Railroad.
Appropriately labeled the "Jobs
Train", this
railroad line will finally provide a critical link to points east for local
businesses. It will make our San Diego Port much more attractive
to a wider range of shippers and stimulate thousands of local jobs
in San Diego and Imperial Valley!
As the
Senior Democratic Member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and
Maritime Transportation, I am in a unique position to
provide leadership to many areas of critical importance to Southern
California.
The committee is responsible for the Coast Guard,
the Federal Maritime
Administration, the commercial shipping industry, and the passenger cruise
industry. We also play an important role
in the effort to provide the port security necessary in a post-9/11
world.
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California's Border Congressman!
Our 51st
Congressional District, which is the San Diego-Imperial Valley region,
is uniquely positioned in relation to the emerging opportunities of
Mexico and the Pacific. I represent the whole California/Mexico border
from San Diego to Yuma, Arizona! For 7 terms now, I have worked hard to
both enhance border advantages and to meet border challenges. I am
always looking for ways to open the doors to new opportunities for
the families in our district!
My work on
U.S.-Mexico relations led
President Clinton to ask me to join him on
an international mission to meet with former Mexican President Ernesto
Zedillo. In 2004, with President Vicente Fox, I once again
stepped forward to encourage increased cooperation and
collaboration between our two great nations.
I have taken the lead in securing critical funding and support for the
International Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Tijuana River Valley.
And I have taken
on a similar goal for the New River in the Imperial Valley. To
kick-start the clean-up efforts for the New River, I secured several
million dollars for the affected communities. We must continue to
fight for a clean and healthy environment for our
families!
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Fighting for us!
My proudest
service in Congress is on the Veterans Affairs Committee. Recently, my
leadership led to the beginning of the end to the "veteran’s disability tax".
My “Military Survivors Equity Act” led to military widows being
able to retain their full survivors’ benefits. My legislation
also provided health care for Filipino-American veterans of World War
II.
Caring for our
veterans and their families is one of the costs of war. They make
incredible sacrifices for our country and should be able to depend on
the health care and pensions promised by our Government. We must keep
the promises made to our veterans!
As your
Congressmen, I have brought home millions of dollars to improve roads,
bridges and other critical infrastructure. Soon there will be
funds to study a high-speed magnetic-levitation train from San Diego
to a potential new airport site in Imperial Valley;
this
would create thousands of jobs in an area where the unemployment rate
hovers near 30%.
Many
American families
suffer from sub-standard healthcare,
especially minority populations. I am working for approval of the “Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act”,
which will provide grants to improve the health in border communities
and to combat HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, diabetes, heart disease,
stroke, asthma, sickle cell anemia disease and other public health
problems.
These are only
some of the matters that I have been working on since I have been your
Congressmen. I will continue to fight for economic and
educational opportunities for all Americans. I urge you to help me
continue the work I’ve started for a better California--and for a
better America!
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