Jackie Speier, U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district. Karen Lorraine Jacqueline 'Jackie' Speier is an American politician who currently serves as a U.S. Representative for California's 14th congressional district, serving in Congress since 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 12th District from 2008 to 2013, includes the northern two-thirds of San Mateo County and the southwest quarter of San Francisco. She represents much of the territory that had been represented by her political mentor, Leo Ryan. In 1978, while working as his aide, Speier survived five gunshot wounds she received when Ryan was assassinated during the Jonestown massacre. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. House Office of Photography)
U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Francisco/San Mateo) announced Tuesday she will not seek reelection in 2022 after more than a decade in Congress.
In a video shared on social media, Speier recalled being shot five times at the Jonestown massacre in Guyana in 1978 while working as a staffer for U.S. Rep. Leo Ryan, who was fatally shot on the trip to investigate Jim Jones and the People’s Temple, a cult that had previously been based in his Peninsula congressional district.
Speier survived and said her career in public office, which has taken her from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to the state Legislature to being elected to the seat in Congress in 2008, has been “a remarkable journey that has surpassed my wildest dreams.”
Speier has been active in legislation for women’s rights in Congress, including helping to craft a law that went into effect in 2019 that mandates anti-harassment training in congressional offices and that members of Congress must cover the costs for their harassing behavior rather than taxpayers.
She also serves on the House Armed Services Committee and House Intelligence Committee, overseeing changes to military affairs, including passing amendments to address sexual violence and misconduct among the troops.
However, she said in announcing she will not seek reelection that it was “time to be more than a weekend wife, mother and friend.”
Speier has a husband, Barry Dennis and two children, Jackson and Stephanie, according to her office.
Last modified November 16, 2021 10:44 am
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