Why Sacramento area voters should give this representative another term in Congress

Sacramento area Rep. Ami Bera endured bitter campaigns, a fund-raising scandal and a series of close elections in his early runs for Congress. This year, thanks to a solid record in office, a favorable new district and less convincing opposition, the congressman appears to be enjoying a relative stroll toward a sixth term, and deservedly so.

The Elk Grove Democrat is running to represent Sacramento County’s new 6th Congressional District, which does not include his hometown but does encompass Rancho Cordova and other parts of the old 7th District, which he currently represents. The new district, which also includes Citrus Heights and part of the city of Sacramento, decisively favored Joe Biden in the last election.

The congressman is facing another district-hopping hopeful in Tamika Hamilton, a Republican Air Force veteran from Dixon, in Solano County. Hamilton had success raising funds and mounting an unexpectedly vigorous challenge to another local Democratic congressman in a relatively safe district, Rep. John Garamendi, whom she was expected to challenge again before district lines were redrawn. Hamilton came in second to Bera in June’s top-two primary, advancing her to the November general election and eliminating five other candidates, four Republicans and one Democrat.

A physician and former chief medical officer for Sacramento County, Bera articulated a middle ground on the polarizing subject of pandemic management, focusing on the potential of vaccination and other precautions to speed the recovery of the economy and public education. He has sponsored legislation to encourage development of vaccines, which the House passed in July, as well as to improve tracking and sequencing of viruses and ease health care access on several fronts.

On the House Foreign Affairs Committee, where Bera chairs the subcommittee on Asia, the congressman has drawn needed attention to threats to democracy and human rights in the region. He has sponsored legislation to counter the Chinese government’s economically coercive tactics and strengthen U.S. and international support for Taiwan, which was incorporated into a broader bill to shore up supply chains. And he recently introduced bipartisan legislation to require more China experts within the State Department.

In an interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board, Bera, who has cultivated a centrist profile within his caucus, showed impressive energy and thoughtfulness on finding paths to progress on major issues that Republicans have been particularly loath to address. And, indeed, Bera and his fellow Democrats in the narrow majority recently passed a series of bills making hard-won headway on climate, health care, gun control, manufacturing and more.

On the subject of another intractable issue, immigration reform, Bera said, “I have been talking to Republicans about it because they recognize that we need the food and ag workers. We need the construction workers as well. And I do think you could get an immigration bill done that addressed that necessary workforce and gave some of those folks a pathway to become legal residents and then go on to citizenship.”

Hamilton, a Republican making her second run in a Democratic-leaning district, also takes care to strike a moderate tone. But in her interview with The Bee’s Editorial Board, she was more likely to resort to general platitudes than make specific policy proposals.

Bera bears the scars of a series of hard-fought contests for Congress, but he deserves to win this one easily.

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.