Sacramento, Elk Grove voters should give this representative another term in Congress

Among the bills Congress passed in a fit of accomplishment this summer was legislation to subsidize the domestic semiconductor chip industry to shore up domestic manufacturing, prevent supply chain disruptions and protect national security. Despite its bipartisan origins, the legislation survived a cynical attempt by Republicans to hold it hostage in a tantrum over another legislative achievement, the Democratic majority’s sweeping bill to address climate change, lower prescription drug costs and increase corporate taxation.

President Joe Biden’s signing of the semiconductor legislation last month was a victory for the productive pragmatism of the Democratic majority and particularly one of its members, Sacramento Rep. Doris Matsui, one of a bipartisan group of four who kicked off the effort to bolster the sector in 2020. “Since we started this effort, the global chips shortage has only grown more severe and the need for legislation more pressing,” Matusi said on the House floor.

The achievement was the latest example of why the Democratic stalwart deserves reelection to Congress.

Recent years have also seen Matsui become a compelling and outspoken opponent of anti-Asian racism amid its pandemic-era resurgence and, before that, Donald Trump’s prohibition of immigration from predominantly Muslim countries. Born amid a grim expression of racism turned federal policy, in an Arizona internment camp for Japanese Americans, the Sacramento Democrat is herself a striking example of prejudice overcome.

Elected to Congress soon after the 2005 death of her husband, Rep. Robert Matsui — who was an infant when his own family was interned — she has been handily reelected eight times, extending a family legacy in Congress dating to 1979.

After last year’s redistricting split Sacramento and rearranged representation of its suburbs, Matsui, currently in the 6th Congressional District, announced a run for reelection in the new 7th. Expected to be safely Democratic, the district encompasses about half of Matsui’s old district, including downtown Sacramento and other city neighborhoods, along with adjacent suburban and Delta territory outside the old 6th, including Elk Grove, West Sacramento and Isleton.

In June’s top-two primary, Matsui faced an energetic challenge from the left by Jimmy Fremgen, a fellow Democrat, substitute teacher and former congressional and legislative aide. But Fremgen finished a distant third behind Matsui and Republican Max Semenenko, a North Highlands small-business owner.

In her current term, Matsui has championed legislation to document and combat anti-Asian American hate crimes and increase awareness of internment. She also supported Biden’s decision to stop barring asylum seekers from the country on public health pretexts, which divided her caucus.

Testifying about the hate crime bill to a House subcommittee last year, Matsui drew a parallel between her parents’ experience of mass race-based federal imprisonment and the stoking of anti-Asian bigotry at the highest levels of government during the pandemic. “We’ve seen the consequences when we go down this path,” she said. “My family has lived through these consequences. This is what we are working to root out from the deepest place in our social conscience.”

A member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which conducts oversight of the Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Department, Matsui has also backed measures to increase social media transparency, encourage modernization of mental health care and lower vehicle emissions. Her record has earned voters’ continued confidence.

This story was originally published September 7, 2022 at 5:00 AM.