By Clifford L. Williams,
Globe City Editor

“Today as we celebrate 10 years, we’ve shortchanged this magnificent person, Barbra Lee,” said Assemblyman Sandré Swanson. “Because it’s been more than just 10 years. To understand her, to appreciate her, you have to appreciate the decades she has been working on our behalf of and for this community.”
    Swanson made these remarks at a rally on Saturday at Lakeside Park in Oakland to celebrate Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s 10th anniversary as a member of Congress.
   “Barbara Lee stands for three things” said Swanson. “They are commitment to family, commitment to community and commitment to God. That’s Barbara Lee.
    “When you understand Barbara Lee, you will see a young, articulate, energetic activist from the ’70s who stood on the campus of Mills College and advocated an end to the war in Vietnam, fought to end apartheid, fought to eradicate AIDS in Africa, and who is now advocating for the end of U.S. occupation in Iraq.”
    Lee took the stage at the bandstand and addressed the more than 200 people who came out to support her reelection campaign.

    “Ten years may seem like a long time, and to be able to prepare for the next 10 years, hopefully, I need your continued support, your push, that strong engine of motivation and spirit,” she said. “This is the most enlightening, most progressive and smartest congressional district in the country, and my colleagues know that.”


    Lee listed a litany of goals and objectives she has for the district’s future.
    “[In] my district, from Albany to Castro Valley, the needs are great. Our children deserve the quality public education that they thought they would get when they enrolled in public schools. We have to bring more federal dollars in this district for public education.
   “I like earmarks. Don’t let them tell you earmarks is a dirty word,” said Lee. “Earmarks is your tax dollars, our federal money coming back into this district for community clinics, schools, public transportation, crime prevention, after-school programs, recreational programs and for green jobs industry. That’s what earmarks are for.
    “The speaker appointed me to the Appropriations Committee. That’s the committee that decides the spending priorities of this country. It took me nine years just to get there. Again, the time goes fast, and 10 years is a long time. But we’ve done a lot, and we have so much more to do.”

    Rally participants included local R&B sensation Goapele, DJ D Sharp, hip-hop artist Tony Vic and the Prescott Clowns.
    For more information, call Lee’s reelection campaign office at (510) 663-1207 or visit 1736 Franklin Street, Ste. 400, in Oakland.

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