How Katie Hill woke up a new generation of voters
On the eve of the 2018 midterm election, Melainey Foerster, a student at Hart High School in Santa Clarita, was on her way to canvass for then-candidate Katie Hill when her car was T-boned by another driver.
Melainey went to the hospital with a severe concussion and some nerve damage to her neck. When she was released after midnight, she asked her parents to take her to Hill’s headquarters.
“Weren’t we supposed to do door hangers tonight?” she asked her mom.
At the campaign office, she was given a lollipop and told to go home. She was still in her hospital gown.
That’s the kind of passion Hill inspired in the 25th Congressional District, which encompasses the northern San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita and the Palmdale area. Hill ended up whomping her opponent, veteran Republican Rep. Steve Knight, becoming the first openly bisexual woman in Congress.
Then came a divorce filing, leaked naked photos, an admission about a relationship with a female campaign subordinate, an accusation of an affair with a male congressional staffer, her resignation and a painful goodbye from the House floor that was both apologetic and righteous.
Hill is the victim of revenge porn.
“We will not be broken,” Hill said. “We will rise and we will make tomorrow better than today . ... I yield the balance of my time for now, but not forever.”
I was sad to see her go, but happy she left with her head held high.
I’ve talked to many of Hill’s constituents and campaign volunteers. They’re angry and heartbroken.
“We won on ideas ... not smear campaigns,” said Bonnie Nikolia, 34, a mother of four and a nursing student.
Elise Levine, 52, a Hill volunteer who lives in Westwood, said, “I think she was completely railroaded by Republican men.” Levine was disappointed Pelosi didn’t fight for the congresswoman.
Melainey, 17, and still unable to vote, was in class at Sonoma State last week when news about Hill pinged on her phone.
“I felt my whole heart drop out of my chest,” Melainey said. “I can’t even describe how upset and sad I was to hear that was happening to her.”
I imagine there are many young women who watched Hill’s extraordinary rise, thinking maybe they could run for public office one day.
“I remember thinking if a young woman from a small town, her first time running, could do something so big, then I could do something like that,” said Melainey, who estimated she knocked on 3,000 doors for Hill.
There’s a silver lining in this mess: Hill’s fans are determined not to lose the seat to a Republican. Democratic California Assemblywoman Christy Smith has announced she will run in the special election to replace Hill. And so have a bunch of Republicans, including George Papadapoulos, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, who spent 12 days in jail after pleading guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia.
“Katie had a gray-area relationship,” said Arcadia elementary school teacher Meghan Curry, 30, who canvassed for Hill. “But literally someone who has been in jail is going to run? Give me a break.”
Like Hill, Smith is social-media savvy; she has already trolled Papadopoulos with a video posted on Twitter.
“Hey George, welcome to the race,” said Smith, standing in front of a map. “Hey guess what? This is California, and as soon as you can identify my district on here, you let us know.”