Janice Hahn Sworn In As Member Of Congress

Los Angeles - Janice Hahn was sworn in today as a member of the House of Representatives, one week after winning a special election to represent a district stretching from West Los Angeles to Torrance.

House Speaker John Boehner administered the oath to Hahn in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol.

"I'm humbled to be the first Los Angeles City Council member elected to Congress since Ed Roybal almost 50 years ago," Hahn said during a speech on the House floor.

Hahn, a Democrat who had served on the City Council since 2001, defeated Republican businessman Craig Huey in last Tuesday's 36th District special election, necessitated by the Feb. 28 resignation of Rep. Jane Harman to head the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Hahn got 54.56 percent of the vote to Huey's 45.44 percent.

Her first official vote as a member of Congress was to oppose a Republican-sponsored bill to address the federal budget deficit. The so-called "Cut, Cap, and Balance" bill passed on a party-line vote of 236-177. It is not expected to be passed by the Senate.

Hahn's election to the House marks the first time in 64 years that a member of the Hahn family is not a Los Angeles city or county government officeholder. Her late father, Kenneth Hahn, was elected to the City Council in 1947 and served until being elected in1952 to the Board of Supervisors, a post he held for 40 years.

Her uncle, Gordon Hahn, succeeded his brother Kenneth on the City Council in 1953, serving for 10 years. Her brother, James Hahn, was city controller from 1981-85, city attorney from 1985-2001 and mayor from 2001-2005. He is now a Superior Court judge.

"Our dad taught us that serving others is more than a job. It's a calling," Hahn said in her opening speech.

She recounted what she described as a pivotal political moment in her life -- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s first visit to Los Angeles in 1961. "Not a single elected official wanted to greet or welcome him, except for one -- my father. And that's where I got my political courage," Hahn said.

Her election to Congress leaves Jan Perry as the only woman on the City Council.