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Democat Janice Hahn, (D-San Pedro), released this statement today:

"I was pleased the President addressed the end of the Iraq war and how we should use that money to invest here at home. The President did an excellent job of describing an American economy that provides equal opportunity while asking for shared responsibility. As he explained, an economy in which a few reap vast wealth while everyone else struggles isn't a country built to last.

"The President also reminded Congress that we have to work together to get things done. I had the pleasure of sitting with my Republican friend Ted Poe last night. Together we have started the bipartisan PORTS caucus which will advocate for safer and more economically vibrant ports which are crucial to creating jobs here in San Pedro and across the country."

Republican Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) had this perspective:

"The American people should be disappointed that instead of conducting a serious discussion with the nation, President Obama instead demonstrated his political agility by taking a stand on both sides of every major issue.

"He profusely praised the military yet he is the strongest advocate for cutting the military. He pledged himself to an 'all of the above' policy to make America energy independent but just a few days ago nixed the Keystone Pipeline, one of the country's most important energy projects. He bragged about bailouts early in the speech and by the end of the speech proclaimed there should be no more bailouts. He puffed out his chest on Iran yet was demonstrably absent when not too long ago the Iranian people marched for democracy in the streets of Tehran.

"The fact the president's speech was filled with new agenda items is certainly reason for skepticism. Although he'd like us to, we should not forget, in his first two years as President, the Democrat party controlled both houses of Congress when he could have enacted any of the agenda items he advocated this evening. Yet he chooses to skirt responsibility and place blame everywhere else but on himself for his policy failures.

"Perhaps most disturbing was the President's attempt to pit Americans against each other along economic lines. President Obama has put the American people $5 trillion more in debt even while there's been a shameless enrichment of political cronies under this administration. It's enough to make Ulysses S. Grant blush.

"This speech was a missed opportunity. The country needs leadership and statesmanship and tonight we got political posturing."

1. Frank Pereyda
2. Jayme Wilson
3. Gordon Teuber
4. Joe Buscaiono
5. Justin I. Brimmer 
6. Rebecca Chambliss
7. Pat McOsker
8. Warren Furutani
9. M. "Candice" Graham
10. Rudy Svorinich Jr.
11. John. M. Delgado Jr.

1. (James T. Law)
2. Frank Pereyda
3. Jayme Wilson
4. Gordon Teuber
5. Justin I. Brimmer
6. Joe Buscaino
7. Rebecca Chambliss
8. Pat McOsker
9. (Kambiz "Mostofi" Mostofizadeh)
10. (Robert Farrell)
11. Warren Furutani
12. (M. "Candice" Graham)
13. Rudy Svorinich Jr.
14. John M. Delgado Jr.
    

Tamara Washington is a single mother, taking care of her 3 year old son Amir, in Torrance, CA. Tamara believes her hard work will enable her to provide quality healthcare and education for her son. While it has not been easy, many programs and organizations were there to help, including subsidized employment in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Emergency Contingency Fund, which allowed her to obtain a job that enabled her to support her son.

Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin has been selected to a list of the top 10 mayors in California compiled by a state political news publication.

Capitol Weekly selected Gin, 48, from a pool of more than 400 mayors across the state, basing its criteria on mayors believed to be interesting and talented, enjoy their jobs and have high-prospects of upward political mobility.

The weekly news magazine pointed to Gin's diverse background - Gin is a married gay man and an Asian-American - calling him an "intriguing up-and-coming politician. "

Gin, a Republican, was first elected mayor in 2005 and was re-elected in 2009. He ran for Jane Harman's empty congressional seat and finished fifth. Harman's seat representing the 36^th Congressional District was won by Janice Hahn, a former Los Angeles city councilwoman representing San Pedro.

Including Gin, four mayors from Southern California made the list. Among them are Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Based in Sacramento, Capitol Weekly covers state government and politics. It is published every Thursday.

Gin was recently profiled by National Public Radio as part of a six-part series on mayors across the country.

More from Capital Weekly:

Michael Gin has a lot of the qualities you see in many up-and-coming political figures in California.

He's youngish (48), Asian American, and married. More unusually, he's both married to another man -- he and partner Christopher Kreidel were among the same-sex couples married in 2008, when it was legal -- and a Republican.

In 2005, Gin won a runoff in a landslide after the conservative California Republican Assembly hit him with anti-gay attack mailers that even his opponent, councilman Gerard Bisignano, condemned.

In short, Gin is an intriguing up-and-coming career politician. But with his time as mayor set to run out in two years, the question is where could he go?

He ran for Jane Harman's empty congressional seat and finished fifth. A run for the newly redistricted Legislature could be a possibility. If Republicans want to have a future in California, there's an argument to be made they should be promoting people like Gin. But, at least in its current form, the party isn't likely to get behind him for higher office.