| Intro | American politician |
| A.K.A. | Eric Michael Swalwell, Jr. |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Politician Association football player Lawyer |
| From | United States of America |
| Type |
Law Politics Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 16 November 1980, Sac City |
| Age: | 39 years |
| Star sign | Scorpio |
Eric Michael Swalwell, Jr. (born November 16, 1980) is an American politician from California, who serves as the U.S. Representative from California’s 15th congressional district. He is a member of the Democratic Party. His district covers most of eastern Alameda County, including Castro Valley, Hayward, Pleasanton, Livermore, Fremont, San Ramon, and his hometown of Dublin. He was elected in November 2012, defeating incumbent Pete Stark, a fellow Democrat almost a half-century Swalwell’s senior, who had held the office since 1973. Swalwell took office on January 3, 2013.
Early life and education
Swalwell was born in Sac City, Iowa and raised in Dublin, California. He graduated from Dublin High School (Class of 1999).
He attended Campbell University on a soccer scholarship from 1999 to 2001. He lost the scholarship after suffering an injury. He then transferred to the University of Maryland, College Park. He received a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics at Maryland, and later earned his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law. He served on the College Park, Maryland city council as its student representative.
“I learned to never stop working. Hard work will always be rewarded. Life’s not fair, not everyone starts at the same starting point. We should strive for that, having everyone start at the same place, but I realized other people would have better opportunities because of where they came from in life, and that the only way I could overcome those advantages was to work hard.”
In 2014, Swalwell announced that he would serve as chairman of Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley’s O’ Say Can You See PAC’s Young Professionals Leadership Circle due to his friendship with the governor. He made clear that his support was about the 2014 midterm elections and not an endorsement of a potential presidential bid by O’Malley in 2016. However, Swalwell did ultimately endorse O’Malley in July 2015.
Local political career
In 2001 and 2002, Swalwell interned for Ellen Tauscher, a United States Representative, in Washington, D.C., focusing on legislative research and constituent outreach and services. He worked as an Alameda County deputy district attorney, a Dublin planning commissioner, and a Dublin city councilman.
U.S. House of Representatives
2012 campaign
Representative Eric Swalwell on the Capitol Hill steps with friends, family, and campaign staff.
In September 2011, Swalwell filed papers to run for Congress in the 15th District. The district had previously been the 13th, represented by 10-term incumbent Pete Stark, a fellow Democrat. Stark had represented the district since 1973, seven years before Swalwell had been born. He took a leave of absence from the Dublin city council in order to run for the seat. While he was running for the seat, an attempted recall of Swalwell from the Dublin City Council was begun, but after he won election to US House, the attempt was later abandoned.
Swalwell was endorsed by the San Francisco Chronicle. During the 2012 election cycle, Swalwell was accused by the Stark campaign of being a Tea Party candidate. The accusation was refuted by Swalwell and the San Jose Mercury News, which also endorsed Swalwell. Stark refused to debate Swalwell during the campaign. In response to Stark’s refusal to debate, Swalwell organized a mock debate with an actor playing Pete Stark, quoting him verbatim when answering the moderator. Other campaign gimmicks included Chinese-manufactured rubber ducks, and a dreadlocked, bearded information man. Swalwell was able to contest Stark in the general election because of a new primary system in California. Under that new system, the top two primary vote-getters (Stark and Swalwell, in this case) advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
In the November 2012 election, Swalwell defeated Stark, 52.1% to 47.9%.
Committee assignments
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Committee on Homeland Security
- Subcommittee on Transportation Security
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Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy (Ranking Member)
- Subcommittee on Oversight
U.S. House career
On December 12, 2013, Swalwell introduced the Philippines Charitable Giving Assistance Act (H.R. 3771; 113th Congress) into the House. If enacted, the bill would allow Americans to deduct from their 2013 taxes any charitable donations made between January 1, 2014 and April 15, 2014 provided they are made for the relief of victims in the Republic of the Philippines affected by Typhoon Haiyan. The typhoon did an estimated $1 billion in damage and killed thousands of people. Swawell said that “Typhoon Haiyan devastated many parts of the Philippines and we should make it as easy as possible for Americans who want to assist those affected by the storm.” Swalwell saw the bill as providing “another incentive for Americans to donate and donate now – when their help is needed most.” On March 25, 2014 this legislation was signed into law by President Obama. On June 17, 2014, as a part of the renaming of multiple post offices around the country, Swalwell introduced HR 1671 to rename the post office in Dublin, CA as the James “Jim” Kohnen Post Office. It was passed by the House of Representatives on a unanimous 398-0 vote and later signed into law.
During a house vote, June 18, 2013 Swalwell recorded a video of his vote against a bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks to his mobile phone and uploaded it to Vine, an internet video service. His posting violated the House rules that state “No device may be used for still photography or for audio or video recording.” He defended the action, stating “We operate under rules that were created in the eighteenth century, and I think it’s time that the Congress start to act more like regular Americans do.”
Political positions
Swalwell has advocated rescinding the No Child Left Behind Act, and increasing funding for education, while decreasing funding for defense. He has also advocated for renewable energy jobs to be created with federal stimulus money. He has stated he would attempt to raise the Social Security cap, with wealthier Americans paying into the program. He has proposed the idea of a “mobile Congress,” with members casting votes remotely, while spending more time in their districts. In March 2013, Swalwell led in the writing of an open letter to John S. Pistole, Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), opposing the new policy which would allow passengers to bring knives on board airplanes. He is also a supporter of same-sex marriage and abortion rights.