Congressman-elect Dr. Ami Bera, D-Calif., who heads to Washington, D.C. come January, has succeeded in getting some prime office space on Capitol Hill. He has also begun hiring staff for both his district office and in Washington, D.C. 

It might turn out to be a tough two years for Bera who has to prove his metal in light of his small margin of victory over his Republican opponent Dan Lungren. For starters, amidst much jockeying by freshmen congressmen, Bera has succeeded in securing office space in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill, he said in a press release. 

The only Indian American in the House of Representatives, Bera has not shied from hiring an Indian American as his chief of staff in  Washington. He has also not shied from touting his ultra-Liberal credentials in his hiring. For his chief of staff, Bera has hired a high-performing Democratic Party operative with proven Liberal credentials. 

Mini Timmaraju, formerly with the Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), and well-known Democratic Party operative, is going to be Bera’s chief of staff.  

Timmaraju was the director of the office of the president of Planned Parenthood at its New York City office. She served in various capacities with Planned Parenthood before that, both in California and Texas. Timmaraju was also the district director for Congressman Nick Lampson, D-TX, which Bera said was a plus for running Congressional office in the capital and back home in District 7, where he narrowly beat his Republican opponent Dan Lungren. 

One of Bera’s top priorities is implementing provisions of Obamacare, and Timmaraju’s stint with PPFA would be an asset. 

She has also been a consultant to numerous state and local elected officials, candidates and non-profit organizations. 

Bera spent two weeks on Capitol Hill familiarizing himself with his new duties and has been assigned Room 1408 in the Longworth building. A rising star in the Democratic Party for having defeated an ensconced Republican incumbent, Bera may get some appointments to committees as he desires. But the coming 2 years will be a tougher test because of the small margin of his victory in District 7, which had a nail-biting finish from the counting of provisional and absentee ballots.  

“I’m doing everything I can to be prepared to represent the people of Sacramento County,” Bera is quoted saying in a press release. “I’m thrilled Mini will be leading my team. Her experience running a Congressional district office will ensure that both our DC and District staff is focused on serving the needs of the people of Sacramento County and her experience at PPFA working on issues affecting access to affordable health care at the national level will be an important asset to my team.”

 

A graduate of the University of California-Berkeley, Timmaraju got her law degree at the University of Houston Law Center. From 2003-2005, she was the executive director of the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus where she is credited with running a very successful political and fundraising program to re-elect 4 incumbent senators as well as pick up 4 additional seats for the Senate Democratic Caucus. She also worked with several non-profits to foster outreach to and voting by minorities.