Garamendi sworn in as congressman

A swearing-in ceremony is being held in Washington, D.C., today for John Garamendi, who won a special general election Tuesday for an open U.S. Congress seat in the East Bay.

MOST POPULAR: Video, stories and more
SIGN-UP: Get breaking news sent to you from ABC7

Garamendi will be sworn in by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco as the new representative of California's 10th Congressional District, which includes much of Contra Costa County, as well as parts of Alameda, Solano and Sacramento counties.

Tuesday's election filled the seat vacated by Democrat Ellen Tauscher, who was nominated in March for a State Department position that she accepted in June.

Garamendi, who was serving as the state's lieutenant governor, received about 53 percent of the vote, compared to nearly 43 percent for Republican David Harmer.

He will serve the rest of Tauscher's term, which ends in January 2011.

Garamendi said Tuesday that he had spoken with Pelosi about flying out to Washington immediately after the election so he could be sworn in and participate in a House vote on a health care reform bill that could take place as soon as this weekend.

Garamendi's spokeswoman Beth Willon said today that he would be resigning from the lieutenant governor position right before the swearing-in ceremony.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will then have to choose a replacement for the lieutenant governor position.

Garamendi's swearing-in ceremony was scheduled to take place at noon EST on the House floor.

       Today's latest headlines | ABC7 News on your phone
Follow us on Twitter | Fan us on Facebook | Get our free widget

Get more Politics »

politics

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•