California: Twentieth District

Rep. Jim Costa (D)

Jim Costa (D) Elected 2004, 2d term up
Born:	04-13-1952, Fresno
Home:	Fresno
Education:	CA State U. Fresno, B.A. 1974
Religion:	Catholic
Marital Status:	single
Elected  Office:	CA Assembly, 1978-94; CA Senate, 1994-2002.
Professional Career:	Consultant, 2002-04.
DC Office	1314 LHOB, 20515 202-225-3341 Fax: 202-225-9308 Website: www.costa.house.gov
State Offices	Bakersfield:661-869-1620; Fresno:559-495-1620;
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California’s Central Valley by car seems a monotonous landscape: mile after mile of farmland with mile-square grid roads, cut across by diagonal railroads and canals, with an occasional cluster town. The land is hilly and gets more water near the Sierra Nevada, and this is where you find the larger cities. On the other side are the Westlands, where the land is flatter and the water scarcer. Its 600,000 acres are the nation’s largest irrigation district. Here the land was always developed and sold in large plots; it has some of the world’s largest farming operations today. And it produces plenty: alfalfa, cantaloupes, cotton, grapes, lima beans, olives, peaches, plums, raisins, sugar beets, tomatoes, walnuts, wheat. The owners are a hardy lot, but like most entrepreneurs they have been happy to have government help over the years: crop price supports (in the case of cotton), agricultural research, exceptions to the immigration laws, irrigation systems and (most important) subsidized water. They have fought hard against liberals’ efforts at change, from Governor Jerry Brown’s attempts to encourage Cesar Chavez’s United Farm Workers in the 1970s to former House Natural Resources Committee Chairman George Miller’s 1992 law to draw off more water to the Sacramento delta and charge higher prices for it in the Valley. But the greatest threats could come from conservatives: Congress has deadlocked on guest worker programs pushed by Valley members. Farmers also worry that Los Angeles users might outbid them for water. But the Bush administration has signed contracts that deliver water to them for $31 an acre foot, while southern California cities pay more than $200 for water from the state.

The 20th Congressional District of California includes most of the Westlands of the Central Valley, from Bakersfield to a point northwest of Fresno. Its irregular boundaries were drawn to maximize the Hispanic population and Democratic percentage, so the 20th includes the old downtown neighborhoods of both Bakersfield and Fresno, but not their more affluent neighborhoods; it includes heavily Latino towns like Delano, long Chavez’s headquarters and the site of a potentially large natural gas discovery, but not more Anglo places like Tulare. Just 36% of Fresno’s population is included within the 20th and just 18% of Bakersfield’s; the district’s Hispanic population is 63%, about double that in other Central Valley districts. This is the most Democratic Valley seat between Sacramento and Los Angeles, though in 2004 George W. Bush won 48% here and in 2006 Arnold Schwarzenegger won 54% in the governor’s race.

The congressman from the 20th District is Jim Costa, a Democrat elected in 2004. Costa was born in Fresno and worked on the family farm. In 1978 he was elected to the Assembly where he was known as a moderate Democrat. In 2002 he was forced to retire because of term limits. He turned down an opportunity that year to run in the less familiar 18th District against the politically vulnerable Gary Condit; he founded a consulting firm instead. In 2004, when Cal Dooley retired after 14 years, Costa entered the race and started off with wide name recognition—his former state Senate district covered the entire congressional district. But in the March primary, he faced a bruising challenge from Lisa Quigley, chief of staff to Dooley. Quigley grew up in the Central Valley, but she hadn't lived in the district in nearly two decades, not since she left for the University of California at Berkeley and a career on Capitol Hill. Costa, a third-generation farmer and a Fresno native, questioned her residency and her agricultural credentials. Quigley, who was endorsed by Dooley and national abortion-rights groups, bashed Costa's legislative record and painted him as a special interest lobbyist. In the final days Quigley ran ads mentioning Costa's 1986 arrest for soliciting a prostitute and a 1994 incident in which police found drug paraphernalia in his home. Costa shrugged off the attacks and won the primary by an unexpectedly large 73%-27%.

In the general, Costa began as a clear favorite in this Democratic-leaning district. But state Senator Roy Ashburn, the Republican nominee, ran a formidable campaign. He focused on cultural issues, including same-sex marriage, hoping to win Latino votes. He criticized Costa for supporting tax policies that he said hurt low-income families. He brought in Vice President Dick Cheney, Speaker Dennis Hastert and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and benefited from $1.5 million in ads from the National Republican Congressional Committee that claimed, “Jim Costa—he's gonna cost ya.” But Costa's lengthy legislative record didn't readily lend itself to the “liberal” label. He criticized Ashburn as an “extreme partisan” who would be a tool of the Republican leadership. In a relatively low turnout, Costa won 53%-47%. In Fresno County, which cast 42% of the vote, he won 61%-39%. Costa also carried Bakersfield-centered Kern County, 55%-45%. Ashburn won in the geographically central Kings County 61%-39%, but its vote was too little to make a difference. After the election, Ashburn attacked the 22d District’s Bill Thomas and other Republican moderates for “sabotaging” his efforts.

In the House, Costa got seats on Agriculture and Resources, both important committees to the Valley. His voting record placed him toward the center of the House. He cosponsored a bill that would require states to establish independent commissions to perform redistricting. In the majority, he became chairman of the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, a panel of interest to many Democrats who criticized recent sweetheart deals for offshore oil and gas leasing.  He also was named as vice-chair of the Transatlantic Legislators' Dialogue, a biannual meeting between members of Congress and European parliaments to discuss global issues. In 2006, he had no opposition in the primary or general election.

Committees

• Agriculture (12th of 25 D)
  Conservation, Credit, Energy & Research; Livestock, Dairy & Poultry.
• Foreign Affairs (23d of 27 D)
  Middle East & South Asia; Europe.
• Natural Resources (12th of 27 D)
  Energy & Mineral Resources (Chmn.); Water & Power.

Presidential Vote

District Demographics (More Info)

• Cook Partisan Voting Index: D + 5
• Area size: 4,989 square miles
• Urban Population: 91.2%
• Rural Population: 8.8%
• Population 2000: 639,088
• Population 2005 (est): 683,528
• Median Income: $26,800
• Poverty Status: 32.2%
• Military Veterans: 8.1%
• Race/Ethnic Origin: 21.4% White; 7.2% Black; 5.6% Asian; 0.7% Native Am.; 0.1% Hawaiian; 1.7% Two+ races; 0.2% Other; 63.1% Hispanic Origin;
• Ancestry: 3.2% German%; 2.7% Irish%; 2.3% USA%;
• Occupation: Blue collar 27.2%; White collar 37.8%; Gray collar 35.0%;