Speier, ‘MeToo’ Spearhead in House, Shoots Down Governor Run Rumor
Former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown speculated about her plans in newspaper column
Rep. Jackie Speier tamped down gossip from the New Year’s weekend that she was considering entering the California governor race with a statement Wednesday flatly denying any such claims.
“I still have a lot of work to do in Washington,” the Bay Area Democrat said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Chronicle columnist and former San Francisco mayor Willie Brown wrote in a column last Friday that his phone was “lighting up” with texts that Speier was spending the weekend in Palm Springs with aides and “mulling a possible run for governor.”
Speier silenced the ensuing chatter through a spokesman Wednesday.
“I’m not sure who Willie’s source is, but the only thing accurate about the post was that I was in Palm Springs with my family,” she said.
“Willie was smoking something before it became legal on January 1st,” Speier said, hinting at the recent restrictions lifted from recreational marijuana in the Golden State.
Speier stepped into the spotlight this past fall after spearheading efforts in the House to overhaul sexual harassment policy on Capitol Hill, where she revealed she was a victim of unwanted sexual advances in her career as an aide.
She also has served in a high-profile role on the House Intelligence Committee investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections.
Speier ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in California in 2006 before she was first elected to the House in 2008.