PD Editorial: Mike Thompson and Jared Huffman for Congress

Sometimes, choosing the right candidate for political office is easy.

Case in point: Sonoma County's congressmen, Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson. They are familiar to North Bay voters, they're pragmatic legislators willing to reach across the partisan aisle, and they deliver for their constituents.

For that alone, they stand out in the 113th Congress, which will be remembered more for its petty squabbles and partisan stalemates than any long-lasting achievements.

Huffman, D-San Rafael, arrived in Washington last year, representing the newly reconstituted 2nd Congressional District, which stretches 400 miles along the North Coast from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border.

He was instrumental in the expansion of the California Coast National Monument to include the Point Arena-Stornetta Public Lands in southern Mendocino County. The monument designation, sought by environmental and business interests, will protect about 1,200 scenic acres and build on the Mendocino Coast's growing reputation as a tourist destination.

Huffman managed to secure House approval of a monument bill as a freshman member of the minority party and despite a Republican majority that's usually antagonistic toward public lands proposals. President Barack Obama used his executive authority to establish the monument before the Senate acted on the legislation.

Huffman also is working closely with law enforcement, water and conservation agencies to crack down on environmental damage caused by unscrupulous growers who divert streams, poison plants and animals and clear cut timber for illegal marijuana fields.

Thompson, D-St. Helena, is a co-sponsor of the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking Act.

Serving his eighth term and representing the 5th Congressional District, which goes from Clear Lake to Concord and includes much of Sonoma County, Thompson serves on the Intelligence and Ways and Means committees. He also is chairman of a House task force on gun violence.

In the latter role, he has worked since the Newtown massacre to win support for legislation that respects Second Amendment rights and enhances public safety by, among other things, extending criminal and mental health checks to all commercial firearms sales.

Thompson recently secured a long-sought change in Medicare policy that benefits physicians and senior citizens in Sonoma County. His legislation classified the county as a metropolitan area, rather than a rural area, which will trigger larger physician reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. Some doctors weren't accepting new Medicare patients, and low reimbursement rates also have complicated efforts to attract new physicians to Sonoma County.

Neither Huffman nor Thompson is running unopposed.

In the 2nd District, Democrat Andy Caffrey, a former Earth First activist, and Republican Dale K. Mensing, a supermarket cashier, are on the ballot.

Thompson's 5th District challengers are Douglas S. Van Raam, a stagehand/landscaper who ran for president in 2008 and 2012 as a member of the Free Soil Party, and James Hinton, a former online poker player who proselytizes the healing qualities of marijuana. Both of them are running as independents.

None of the challengers offers a serious alternative to the incumbents, each of whom is able to run on a record of solid accomplishments. For the House of Representatives, The Press Democrat recommends Jared Huffman and Mike Thompson in the June 3 primary.