Doris Matsui is ducking her district when it needs a public leader | Opinion
Last March, roughly 100 people turned up at the west steps of the Capitol in a rare public rebuke of Rep. Doris Matsui of Sacramento. They were there to demand more accessibility to the venerable politician — a woman who has represented Sacramento for 20 years.
“We need more AOCs and Bernie Sanders in Congress,” town hall co-organizer Francesca Wander told The Bee at the time. “We need fewer complacent, quiet, timid representatives who do nothing more than stay in the halls of Congress and vote ‘aye’ or ‘nay’ on legislation.”
Democrats across the country are facing the heat from Democratic voters who — polls say — are frustrated with a party that is perceived to be too old, too passive and too bereft of ideas and energy to fight back against President Donald Trump.
Criticism of Matsui is even more direct: Her constituents want her presence.
For two decades, Matusi, 80, has been a low-key insider who meets with business leaders, politicians and constituents, mostly in private settings or before friendly audiences such as the annual Tower Bridge Dinner or the State of the Downtown Breakfast.
She’s also been a reliable vote for Democrats. She is pro-choice, opposed the repeal of Roe v. Wade. She supports gun control legislation, votes to continue stem cell research, supports American energy independence, and opposes offshore drilling. Matsui also earned a 100% rating on LGBTQ issues from the Human Rights Campaign.
Where is Doris Matsui?
Yet Matsui has avoided live questions at extemporaneous town hall meetings in Sacramento.
This should be a bare minimum requirement of any congressional representative, but Matsui has failed to meet it.
When The Bee Editorial Board interviewed Matsui in late June, we asked her directly if she would commit to meeting with voters at town hall meetings, where she would face live questions from constituents.
Matsui spoke a great many words in response when we asked this question — and every other question — but she never fully committed to anything.
Afraid of town halls?
“We’ll think about all things, whether it’s productive or not,” Matsui said in response. “I really believe that a wonderful town hall meeting is where people actually speak and hear people and not having the people in the audience intimidated. Talking about civility, there has been a decrease in that, obviously…I really believe that we can solve things more. We can listen to each other and not shout at each other, And that’s what we’re looking at right now. I want my constituents to feel that they can speak out and not feel intimidated at all. I’m trying the best way possible to do that. To get actual dialogue.”
On meeting with special interest groups: “What I have to do as a member of Congress is listen to them all and many times you have to listen to them in small groups because they’re afraid to talk sometimes, or they are embarrassed. They don’t want to tell you stories about what is happening.”
And on meeting constituents where they are: “You know, we don’t do a lot of social media, but now we are because I realize that’s where we communicate now. And I do much more social media…There are people who say to me they want to have a virtual town hall because they don’t want to come in, right?
“We’ll figure that out.”
And then she said: “But you know, I’m looking at this. It’s important for me to communicate with my constituents…I feel, frankly, that I’m hired to do the work and make sure I get stuff done in Washington for the people and they can ask me questions and I’ll answer them. I was looking to see how we do it in a way where people can participate and get some answers. I don’t have all the answers right now. A lot of things are way above my pay grade, but people can give me their opinion and I think that’s important.”
Ducking voters
Matsui’s lengthy non-answers to this fundamental question were disappointing. The right answer is: “Yes, I will have town hall meetings, and here is exactly when and where.”
In early February, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged his caucus to “conduct district-wide outreach to connect directly with our constituents and discuss the challenges we are decisively addressing on their behalf.” Instead, Matsui held a virtual town hall with only two participants: Herself and Jeremy Marcus, her chief of staff.
Marcus asked the questions and Matsui answered from what appeared to be a pre-written script.
The 40-minute virtual “meeting” on Matsui’s YouTube channel was not what anyone could describe as voter engagement. Nor was it in the spirit of urgency that Jefferies had imparted to Democrats.
Constituents demand more
“I don’t care about your BS, lady!!,” one viewer wrote in the comments section of Matsui’s YouTube page. “I care about being able to afford food, pay my bills, fill up my gas tank and right now it’s not possible. Help me with that!!!!”
“Just reading pre-made answers to pre-screened questions,” wrote another. “She needs to get on a plane and do this live. They all need to be feeling the heat, before they really don’t have any power anymore. I don’t care what letter is by their name.”
Matsui’s party has been lambasted for having so many octogenarian leaders who cling to power. At 80, Matsui is younger than several Democrats in the House of Representatives.. Regardless, Matsui plans to run again for office next year, when she will be 82 on Election Day.
Our problem with Matsui
Our issue with Matsui transcends her age. It’s that she doesn’t seem willing or able to change with the times. Her attitude is that she knows best, that only she can do this job right now, and everyone should just accept that.
“You know, it’s great to have energy, but you have to have effective energy,” Matsui said. “You have to know what you’re doing. You have to know how to do it and you need to know that there are some things where experience matters. But I also need to say this, ‘I’m not going to be here in 10 years.’”
If Matsui sounds like a politician settled comfortably in a safe seat, it’s because she is.
Matsui too comfortable
For 20 years, the Democratic field has been effectively cleared for Matsui; she’s never faced a serious challenger since she first ran in 2005 to replace her late husband, Rep. Robert Matsui, who died in office that year.
The Matsui name is an institution in Sacramento. A Matsui has served the voters of Sacramento in Congress since January 1979, 46 years and counting. The federal courthouse in Sacramento is named for Mastui’s late husband, as is a riverfront park. It’s an amazing story considering the families of Robert and Doris Matsui were rounded up and shipped to Japanese internment camps during World War II. Doris Matsui was born in an Arizona internment camp. Robert Matsui was pivotal in passing the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, which resulted in a formal apology and reparations from the U.S. government to Japanese Americans unjustly interned in camps during the war.
Matsui’s signature achievement has been better protecting Sacramento from flood risk by steadily delivering funds for levee improvements and a new emergency spillway at Folsom Dam. She deserves credit for playing her role in a team effort across the state. Equally important to those gains were the late Dianne Feinstein and the now-retired Barbara Boxer in the U.S Senate. And the project ideas came from a local flood control team, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, that helped to develop winning projects and lobbied ferociously in Washington for funding.
Time to retire?
When we endorsed Matsui in 2024, we did so because her competition was neither serious nor qualified, and we had hoped that she would consider retiring after her current term was done. We felt that by 2026, she would see it was time to make way for a new generation of leaders.
Running again is her prerogative, but continuing to duck unscripted meetings with constituents falls below the bar of representation.
If Matsui is unable or unwilling to speak in settings she or her handlers can’t fully control, but insists on running anyway next year, she will begin to tarnish her outstanding legacy. And voters wanting more may finally demonstrate that her seat is not a lifetime appointment.
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This story was originally published August 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
