California Rep. Jackie Speier’s near-death experience as an aide to Rep. Leo J. Ryan while investigating Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple followers vaulted her to national prominence.
Ryan was one of five people killed when cult members opened fire on the fact-finding team as they were boarding a plane to leave Jonestown in Guyana. Speier was hit by five bullets. The same day, the remaining 900 members of the Peoples Temple — many former residents of the Bay Area — died in a mass murder-suicide.
Speier announced Tuesday she was retiring. Here is a look at her life and political career in pictures:
Jonestown shooting
A Nov. 1978 file photo shows Congressman Leo J. Ryan, right, with congressional staff member James Schollaert, left and Ryan aide Jackie Speier, center, aboard the aircraft carrying them to Guyana. Ryan was killed and Speier was injured in the Nov. 18, 1978 tragedy. Schollaert remained in Georgetown and was not injured. Greg Robinson San Francisco Examiner via AP
Jackie Speier, legislative assistant to slain Rep. Leo Ryan (D-Calif.), manages a smile as she is wheeled on a stretcher at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Nov. 20, 1978. Speier, who was wounded during the attack in Guyana, was transferred from Andrews to a shock trauma unit in Baltimore, Md. Bob Daugherty AP
Jackie Speier who served as legislative assistant to Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif., speaks reporters at Arlington Hospital in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 15, 1979, where she is recovering from injuries sustained in the Jonestown ambush which claimed the life of Ryan and others. Her right arm is still in a cast. Associated Press
Jackie Speier, former legislative aide to slain Rep. Leo Ryan, D-Calif., testifies before an unofficial congressional hearing on the cult phenomena Monday in Washington, February 5, 1979. Speier still wears a type of brace on her right hand as she continues her recovery from injuries sustained during her escape from Guyana. CHARLES HARRITY Associated Press
Jackie Speier, former aide to late Congressman Leo Ryan, D-Calif., poses in her home in suburban San Francisco with a bust of the congressman, Nov. 13, 1979. On a fact finding mission with Congressman Ryan to Jonestown, Speier’s arms and legs were ripped with bullets on the Port Kaituma airstrip in Guyana. Congressman Ryan was killed. The bust, sculpted by Bruce Kueffer of Belmont was delivered to her recently. Sal Veder AP
At the state Capitol
Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, D-South San Francisco, speaks at a news conference on Feb. 7, 1988, with a scale model of a proposed statue to honor women veterans at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. A resolution of support was approved by the Assembly 63-0. Skip Shuman Sacramento Bee file
Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, D-South San Francisco, speaks with Assemblyman Richard Katz in the Assembly chambers Wednesday, Jan. 28, 1993. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
Assemblywoman Jackie Speier talks in her office about the details of some legislation with legislative assistant Anne Marie Shanks on Jan. 28, 1993. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
Assemblywoman Jackie Speier, D-Burlingame, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Stephanie Sierra, at a celebration on Aug. 26, 1995, of the 75th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. Speier was a featured speaker at the event, held on the west steps of the state Capitol. DICK SCHMIDT Sacramento Bee file
State Sen. Jackie Speier is attends Senate Pro Tem John Burton’s final press conference at the state Capitol on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2004. Speier has been a advocate of consumer rights while at the capitol. José Luis Villegas Sacramento Bee file
From left, state Sens. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, Denise Ducheny, D-San Diego, Martha Escutia, D-Whittier, and Deborah Ortiz, D- Sacramento, dress in aprons as a protest at the Capitol on Monday, May 24, 2004, about evangelical minister Ralph Drollinger’s April 26 bible study lesson, which he does for Capitol lawmakers and staff. He concluded the April 26 lesson by saying that it is sinful to be away in Sacramento four days a week while your kids are at home in another city - if you’re a woman. John Decker Sacramento Bee file
State Sen. Jackie Speier D-Hillsborough, reaches for a coaching book as she talks in her state Capitol office Thursday, July 14, 2005, about the potential conflict of interest for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to receive millions of dollars from body building magazines and then vetoing a bill that would restrict supplement use by high school athletes. Brian Baer Sacramento Bee file
State Sen. Jackie Speier stands in her Capitol office views a selection of photographs of Jacqueline Kennedy by Jacques Lowe, the Kennedy family photographer, on March 31, 2005. Speier is sponsoring an exhibit of photographs will be hung in the Capitol as part of a leukemia and lymphoma society awareness campaign. Jay Mather Sacramento Bee file
State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, smiles as she is interviewed about the governor’s veto of her dietary supplement bill on the Al Franken radio show as he broadcasts from the Crest Theater in downtown Sacramento on Wednesday March 29, 2006. Brian Baer Sacramento Bee file
State Sen. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, goes through boxes in her office Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2006 as she prepares to move out. Speier termed out this year. She was first elected to the Assembly in 1986. Randy Pench Sacramento Bee file
Later days
Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, seated from left, applauds with Pat Ryan and Erin Ryan, daughters of late congressman Leo Ryan, at a ceremony renaming a post office after Ryan, on Monday, Nov. 17, 2008, in San Mateo. Ryan was killed at an airstrip in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978 while investigating the Peoples Temple. Speier was an aide to Ryan and was also shot. Jeff Chiu AP
Congresswoman Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, left, and state Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, right, hold up fists after a press conference advocating the end to the so-called “pink tax,” where womens products are priced higher than the same products marketed to men, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Senate Bill 873 would make it illegal to charge customers different prices on the basis of gender for substantially similar goods. Renée C. Byer rbyer@sacbee.com
This story was originally published November 16, 2021 at 12:02 PM.
Bee visuals editor Nathaniel Levine joined the staff in 2003. His work has received awards from the Society of News Design, the Best of the West journalism competition and the California News Publishers Association, among others. A native Californian, Levine grew up in Grass Valley and attended UC Davis.
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