If You Like George Miller, You'll Like Mike Thompson

Martinez voters were shocked last year when they learned they will lose the representation of Congressman George Miller, D-Martinez, in the area north of Highway 4 after this year's election and 37 years of service.

But when they get to know Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Napa, they'll know they aren't missing too much. The two have been friends as well as colleagues ever since Thompson first went to Congress in 1998 after leaving the state Legislature.

Thompson,  in an interview with Martinez Patch, said he was looking forward to representing Martinez, as well as working this summer for regaining Democratic control of the House of Representatives. 

Thompson and Miller are aligned with the liberal wing of the party, although Thompson perhaps leans slightly to the right. He's a member of the Blue Dog Caucus, a group of financially moderate Democrats in the House who support business development, but who are sometimes challenged as being too conservative.

But Thompson is quick to point out that, although Miller isn't a member of the caucus, he has a record of fiscal responsibility. He noted that Miller, when he was a member of the budget committee, spearheaded the move for pay-as-you-go budgeting, which slashed deficits but was abandoned after the Bill Clinton administration.

Thompson is a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and the Select Committee on Intelligence and Terrorism.

One area in which he has worked closely with Miller is the plight of the Delta and its water users, including all of Martinez. But he didn't need to go to Washington to know its importance to the area.

"I first got elected (to the Legislature) in 1999 because of the Peripheral Canal," Thompson said, noting he defeated the then-minority leader of the state Senate, who was the only Northern California legislator to support the Delta water diversion plan.

"I know how important it is to the Delta, agriculture, fisheries and the environment," he said. "We lose big if (Delta resource planning) isn't done according to science."

On other issues, Thompson offered these remarks:

• Defense authorization extension: "I voted against it," he said. "It's time to come back from Afghanistan. We need to change course -- to be doing an counter terrorism campaign, not a counter insurgency campaign. It appears the administration is moving toward counter terrorism." That would reduce the defense budget.

• Unemployment extension: House Speaker John Boehner "made a critical mistake" in his last-minute reversal during the holidays of the legislation to extend unemployment insurance and other budget matters.

"He shined a light on what these guys are doing or not doing," Thompson said. "They should be trying to fix problems, not create problems."

• Martinez marina: Although he is not yet technically representing Martinez, he said he is working with Miller on getting help for the financially-challenged marina. "It's a critical issue" for Martinez, he said, adding, "I'm all in."

Thompson said the Democrats are planning tough campaigns across the country in an effort to take back the House, especially in districts involving about 80 Tea Party members, many of whom defeated Democrats in 2010.

"I'm optimistic" Democrats will prevail," he said. But if not, "no matter what happens, I'll work just as hard to make things better for the people of California."

Thompson's district, which becomes District 5 with this year's election, has been extended south of his home area in Napa and Solano Counties into north Martinez, as well as Crockett, Rodeo, Hercules and Pinole, also currently in Miller's district. As both the new and old districts are heavily Democratic in voter registration, and since Thompson has enjoyed Miller-like popularity in the last-several elections, he is favored to win his party's nomination in June and win the seat in November.

Miller, assuming a near-certain re-election, will continue to represent southern portions of Martinez after the November election.

Filing for candidates for Congress on the June 5 ballot begins Feb. 23 and ends Mar. 9. To date, there are no announced challengers to either Miller or Thompson.