Ellen Tauscher, a centrist East Bay Democrat who was elected to seven terms in Congress and then served in the Obama administration, has died. She was 67.
A statement released by her family said that Tauscher "lost the battle against pneumonia." Tauscher posted on Facebook earlier this month that she was recovering from pneumonia. She said it was a complication from surgery to treat esophageal cancer years ago.
Her family said that she was surrounded by relatives when she died peacefully at Stanford Medical Center on Monday.
“Ellen was a force to be reckoned with from the time she was a young girl growing up in Harrison, New Jersey. She succeeded at everything she did and made her mark wherever she went," the statement said.
Representing parts of Contra Costa, Alameda and Solano counties, Tauscher, a former stockbroker, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996, when she upset conservative incumbent Bill Baker, the last Republican to represent the Bay Area in Congress. She served in the House until 2009, becoming the chair of the strategic forces subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee.
In 2009, early in her seventh term, she left Congress to become undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, under Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
"It was a really hard decision for her," former Secretary Clinton told KCBS Radio on Tuesday. "I couldn't imagine anybody better than Ellen" to spearhead the Obama administration's arms control efforts. "Although it was a big loss for her district and for California, it was a big gain for the country and the world, because she was primarily responsible for negotiating the new START treaty that cut the number of nuclear weapons between the United States and Russia, so it was a real signature accomplishment of hers."
Clinton told KCBS Radio she is "devastated" by Tauscher's death. "It's a terrible loss, obviously, for those of us who knew her and loved her. We are devastated by Ellen's passing. She was a leader who brought people together." Clinton described Tauscher as "a steady hand. I'm mourning her personally, but I'm also sad that someone with her talents and her experience is no longer with us."
When Tauscher first ran for office in 1996, then-President Bill Clinton came to the East Bay to campaign for her, beginning a friendship with the Clintons that lasted until her death. "She had an energy about her, she had a twinkle in her eye," Secretary Clinton said. "She drew people toward her. She was infectious, just so bright and smart and happy." Clinton added that had she won the presidency in 2016, she intended to offer Tauscher a key position in her administration, perhaps even a Cabinet post. "No doubt about it. I don't know if she wanted to go back into government, but I would have certainly thought hard about trying to persuade her to do that, because she just was so talented. She's the kind of public servant that we need more of in America right now."
East Bay Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who was mayor of Concord and then a Contra Costa County supervisor when Tauscher represented his district in Washington, was stunned by the passing of his longtime colleague and friend.
"It's just a huge personal and professional loss," he told KCBS Radio. "She was a wonderful friend." He last spoke with her a few weeks ago and was texting her recently, hoping to visit her in the hospital, but Tauscher told him to wait since she was still in the intensive care unit. "I'm still in a state of shock," DeSaulnier said. "She was smart, she was unintimidated by anything or anyone. We were very lucky to have her in this country, and in the Bay Area. We are for the better for her existence and for her participation in our lives."
Another mentor, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, also expressed her sorrow. "The passing of Ellen Tauscher is a loss for us all," Feinstein said. "Ellen was brilliant, gracious and generous and always did her level best to lift up those around her. Ellen was a best friend and I’ll never forget her." Tauscher chaired Feinstein's first two campaigns for the U.S. Senate.