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Sara Luterman, The 19th

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    Leadership

    Yuh-Line Niou wants to become the first openly autistic member of Congress

    Sara Luterman, The 19th
    August 11, 2022
    Yuh-Line Niou
    commons.wikimedia.org

    Originally published by The 19th.

    When New York state Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou announced she was running to represent New York’s 10th District in Congress, the field was already crowded. Multiple candidates with national profiles were running, including former New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, sitting Rep. Mondaire Jones, and Daniel Goldman, a Levi Strauss heir who served as the lead House lawyer for the first impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump. DeBlasio has since bowed out of the race.

    Two politicians with local political experience, Niou and Councilwoman Carlina Rivera have surged to the front of the pack in polls. The district is heavily Democratic, and the winner of the primary is likely to go to Congress.

    Niou is one of only three openly autistic elected legislators in the United States – Pennsylvania state Rep. Jessica Benham and Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain are also on the autism spectrum. If she wins, Niou will make history as the first openly autistic member of Congress.

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    Leveraging big ideas

    Why retiring from politics is more complicated for women

    Sara Luterman, The 19th
    April 26, 2022
    Sen. Dianne Feinstein

    Sen. Dianne Feinstein arrives at the Capitol on Monda as the Senate returned from a two-week recess.

    Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

    Originally published by The 19th.

    Over the past couple of years, there has been a stream of reporting and rumors about the mental capacity of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who at 88, is currently one of the oldest members of Congress. Most recently, multiple colleagues told the San Francisco Chronicle that they no longer believe Feinstein is fit to serve, with one saying the senator forgot who they were multiple times during a conversation.

    In a phone call, Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle’s editorial board that she had not heard concerns about her cognitive ability directly. “I’m not isolated. I see people. My attendance is good. I put in the hours … And so I’m rather puzzled by this,” she said. Feinstein’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The 19th.

    Regardless of her capacity, the reporting has raised questions about Feinstein and retirement once again. Feinstein still has two years left to her term and told the San Francisco Chronicle she intends to complete it. She has not yet said whether she will run again in 2024.

    Most Americans who continue working past the traditional retirement age of 65, when people qualify for Medicare benefits, do so because they cannot afford to stop. In an AARP survey of older adults from 2018, money was cited as one of the most common reasons respondents put off retirement. This is not an issue for Feinstein: The website Open Secrets, which tracks money in politics, estimates that Feinstein is the second wealthiest person in the Senate.

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