A New Force in the House

On Jan. 6 Rep. Tony Coelho of Merced will become the first member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California to hold an elected leadership position in the House. Coelho was chosen by the Democratic caucus this week to be the House majority whip, or assistant majority leader, in the 100th Congress. Only one other Californian has held a majority leadership position in the House, John J. McFall of Manteca, who was the whip during 1972-76, in the days when the post went to the Speaker’s personal choice.

Coelho’s election to the No. 3 House job represents a spectacular rise for the 44-year-old Coelho, who has served only four terms in the House. Coelho generated support from fellow members over the past six years by toiling in the vineyard of modern politics: raising campaign funds as the chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This used to be a thankless and relatively fruitless job, but Coelho adopted modern fund-raising techniques and collected more than all of his predecessors combined.

He was criticized for relying too heavily on business contributions and corporate lobbying groups rather than traditional Democratic sources, and for being too passionately partisan. But Coelho says that this will change with the responsibilities of his new position under Speaker-elect Jim Wright (D-Tex.) and Majority Leader Thomas S. Foley (D-Wash.). “You’re going to see a different style,” Coelho said. “I intend to be part of the team.”

Coelho, a potential Speaker one day, is representative of the bright, aggressive young California members of Congress who are working their way up the leadership ladder of the 435-member House and will be influential there for years to come. Once known mostly for sheer numbers and its occasional eccentrics, the 45-member California delegation now is being recognized for its talent and influence as well.