Sen. Ted Lieu Sworn In With Humor, Pomp

As about 380 people watched the 28th District’s newly elected state Sen. Ted Lieu's swearing-in ceremony Saturday, the oath, which was administered by Board of Equalization Chair Jerome Horton, included a phrase not found in the regular transcript.

“I, Ted Lieu, do solemnly swear… that I take this obligation freely…with Betty’s permission," Lieu said while standing before an audience at Cal State University Dominguez Hills in Carson.

Audience members laughed along with Lieu’s wife, Betty, and son Brennan. Lieu's other son Austin was home with a fever. After getting a chuckle from the audience, Lieu repeated the phrase again, without mentioning Betty.

Lieu, a Democrat, had already been officially sworn in in Sacramento on Feb. 18, but the local district swearing-in, which was held so his constituents and supporters could attend, had more of a celebratory feel.

Lieu to replace the late Sen. Jenny Oropeza, who died less than two weeks before the November 2010 election, in the state Senate's 28th District, which includes Hermosa Beach. 

Lieu previously served in the Assembly from 2005-2010. His weekend ceremony was marked by humor and pomp and circumstance.

Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster served as the master of ceremonies and the Torrance Firefighters Color Guard presented the flags to the sound of bagpipes played by the Nicholson Pipe and Drum Band.

Attendees included numerous mayors and council members from the cities that comprise the 28th District, and also included U.S. Rep. Laura Richardson, and the Assembly members who Lieu has worked with in the past and can expect to work with again.

“As we talk about the future of California during these difficult times, I’m absolutely comforted knowing that those of us on the Assembly line, we could go over to the other house … and talk to our good friend Ted Lieu when we need our legislation passed in his house,” said Assemblyman Warren Furutani of the 55th District, which overlaps with part of Lieu’s 28th District.

The two keynote speakers, State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and State Controller John Chiang, were among those who praised Lieu.

“Ted was a sound, strong voice calling for calm, calling for bipartisan work to keep the California dream afloat," Chiang said, remembering Lieu's leadership two years ago when California first struggled with a deep budget deficit. "He would call me at 4:30 and 5:15 a.m. and leave messages as we discussed ideas to keep California solvent." 

The tone of political discourse must change in order for California to move forward, Lieu said in his speech.

“If you listen to the governor of Wisconsin or some talk radio, you will be given a barrage of negative information and somehow believe that working families are the cause of our economic crisis. That is simply false,” Lieu said.

He added that the state needs to “fundamentally transform California’s economy” and focus on areas where it can be competitive internationally, such as in aerospace, green technology, biotechnology, Silicon Valley, Hollywood and tourism.

“Let’s start building state policy around these clusters, whether it’s hiring credits for key industries or workforce training,” he said. “We need to have a vision and a plan of how we get there, and we need to start focusing on areas where we can compete and jettison those where we cannot.”

Lieu also thanked his wife of almost 10 years.

“During this time I’ve learned and gleaned two things as a husband: one, that one shall never embarrass one’s wife in public, and two, you can never give your wife enough flowers,” he said.

But when the second principle conflicts with the first, Lieu added, the second wins, “and I’ve got two dozen roses for you,” he said to Betty.

As she walked toward to Lieu to take them he added, “That wasn’t taxpayer funds.”

Related: