Jonestown Survivor Elected To Congress

Ex-Calif. Lawmaker Jackie Speier Wins Special Election To Replace Late Tom Lantos

(AP)  Former state lawmaker Jackie Speier, a survivor of the Jonestown tragedy three decades ago, won a special congressional election to fill the seat of the late Rep. Tom Lantos.

With her win Tuesday, Speier, a Democrat, avoided a runoff in the contest to replace the 14-term congressman, who died in February. Speier, a former state assemblywoman and senator, also plans to seek a full term in 12th Congressional District later this year.

Speier, 57, had nearly 78 percent of the vote in unofficial returns. She needed more than 50 percent to avoid a June 3 runoff election. Also on the special election ballot were a fellow Democrat, two Republicans and a member of the Green Party.

In 1978, Speier was an aide to Rep. Leo Ryan and accompanied him on a mission to Guyana. The purpose was to investigate claims that Peoples Temple leader Jim Jones was holding followers against their will at the California-based group's Jonestown compound in the South American country.

An ambush at the Jonestown airstrip left Ryan and four others dead and Speier severely wounded. Jones and his followers then committed mass murder-suicide, drinking cyanide-poisoned punch. More than 900 people died, including hundreds of children.

Speier lost a special election to fill Ryan's seat in 1979 but went on to represent the area as a San Mateo County supervisor and in the state Assembly and Senate. In 2006, she narrowly lost a campaign for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

She had been endorsed by California's leading Democrats in Congress - Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her election Tuesday makes her a Democratic superdelegate; she told The Associated Press she supports Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Also Tuesday, an ex-Senate aide defeated a former city councilwoman in a runoff election in Texas as Houston-area Republicans chose a nominee for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's old congressional seat.

Pete Olson, a former aide to U.S. Sens. Phil Gramm and John Cornyn, overpowered Shelley Sekula Gibbs with 68 percent of the vote to her 31 percent in unofficial, complete returns. The winner will face first-term Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson in November.

Sekula Gibbs, a former Houston City Council member, had been the top vote-getter in a 10-person Republican field in the March 4 primary.

In the race for district attorney of Harris County, which includes Houston, Pat Lykos, a former police officer and judge, defeated Kelly Siegler, a flamboyant prosecutor, with 53 percent of the vote to 47 percent to gain the Republican nomination.

Chuck Rosenthal resigned as district attorney amid a contempt of court charge and a scandal involving racist and sexual e-mails found on his county computer, as well as political campaign material that wasn't supposed to be on a government-owned machine.

[deemsnyd]

This headline is misleading. I thought one of the cool-aid drinkers survived and was going to get to be in the big government.

[jetlizhan]

i remember the jonestown massacre - i was living in greensboro, nc at the time and when my son brought in the morning paper, i could not believe what i was reading!! over 900 dead by drinking poison-laced kool-aid. still unbelievable that it happened.

[ianlou]

This headline is misleading. I thought one of the cool-aid drinkers survived and was going to get to be in the big government.

Posted by deemsnyd

I thought that too, but it didn''t make sense when I read she''s a Democrat. I assume Jonestown was full of religious right conservatives.

Is my assumption wrong?

[homespunlady]

I helped with the military funeral detail for the Rep.

It took a very long time for me to lower my anger level about how Jones and his fanatical followers poisoned all those children - some were placed with him as FOSTER kids and all those kids had NO choice in the matter.

I''m glad to know that she''s recovered well from what was a horrible and senseless act by that religious megalomaniac and his adoring adult followers.

It''s a lesson in why we should NOT be SHEEP and willingly give up our freedoms and rational thought in order to be "members" of ANY group religious, political or otherwise that attempts to be all controlling.

Unfortunately it also is a lesson that each generation seems to have to learn anew.

[aerodog]

homespunlady: Well said!

[taddles-2009]

"Is my assumption wrong?

Posted by ianlou at 02:34 PM : Apr 09, 2008"


Yes, unfortunately I think it is...you can''t pick the people in your party.

[mudrose-2009]

Lovely we now have a representative in congress that can be and obviously was subjected to Cult Mentality. Bring it on Nancy.

[billorights]

Is my assumption wrong? - Posted by ianlou at 02:34 PM : Apr 09, 2008

On many things.

[p-syrus]

This headline is misleading. I thought one of the cool-aid drinkers survived and was going to get to be in the big government.

Posted by deemsnyd
------------------

AMAZING! Corporate media intentionally distorting the news in order to increase the "interest level"?

Who would have thought it might happen?

[obamasgranny]

Speaking of Jonestown,..my grandson brought me some Kool-Aid, He said it was delicious and most "Typical white women" love it,..I refused to drink and so should you!!

[usbrit-2009]

Muddy''s proving she can''t read again. Ms. Speier was a member of the group that went down to investigate the cult. She was not one of them.

[mrnwa4life]

Lovely we now have a representative in congress that can be and obviously was subjected to Cult Mentality. Bring it on Nancy.
----------------------
Hey moron, go back and read the article again. It says she was an aide to Senator Ryan and accompanied him on the mission to Guyana. She was not one of the cult members.

[mrnwa4life]

***, I need to read it again. Leo Ryan was a Congressman not Senator.

[obamasgranny]

Maybe she can investigate the Obama supporter''s!!
Kool-Aid,..Get your Kool-Aid!!

[stn_sage]

Well, she''s got ''pretty big shoes to fill''! Tom Lantos was a seasoned politician. I hope the people in her district watch her closely and vote her out if she doesn''t perform! There''s too much ''dead weight'' in Congress as it is, we don''t need anymore!

Fortunately, there''s around thirty Reps who aren''t running for re-election and this significant loss of ''dead weight'' should help a lot!

[dante805]

Just what we need - another Lefty Kool-Aid drinker and thinker.

[ianlou]

Is my assumption wrong? - Posted by ianlou at 02:34 PM : Apr 09, 2008
On many things.
Posted by BillORights

Bill, have you ever asked that question? I doubt it.

[blackspirit3]

YEAH LETS NOT FORGET REV JIM JONES - WHILE WE LEAP ON REV WRIGHT WORDS. LET''S IGNOR WHAT THAT DIRTY SO CALLED JESUS LOVER DID.

[homespunlady]

Speaking of CULT MENTALITY Terrorislamh fits the bill exactly.

CLOSED MINDED through and through he/she believes if an article mentions any of the NUMEROUS rant triggers terrorislamh has we get subjected to endless gobbledygook raving over and over - JUST LIKE what Jim Jones did to his "TRUE BELIEVERS"!!

Megalomania DOESN''T have a political party.

Maligning every group OUTSIDE a SMALL SET OF CULTISH BELIEFS is exactly like the MENTAL ILLNESS that Jim Jones portrayed.

Sorry terrorislamh, I''m NOT INTERESTED in joining YOUR closed minded CULT.