New in CW 11.30.06 (My last week)

For those of you who do not know, this is my last week at Capitol Weekly. I am joining the Capitol bureau of the Sacramento Bee next month, after a short jaunt of doing normal things that do not involve writing stories about California politcs. I will still be covering Capitol politics at the Bee and the paper is launching a very exciting Web site early next year that I will be heavily involved with. More details to come... And, with that, on to this week's story: Swanson takes office after years toiling behind-the-scenes After more than three decades of working behind-the-scenes on the East Bay's political stage, Sandré Swanson is finally stepping into the spotlight. A 30-year staffer to two of Oakland's best-known--and most liberal--politicians, Congresswoman Barbara Lee and former Congressman and Mayor-elect Ron Dellums, Swanson won his own Assembly seat in a landslide election earlier this month. "I've already had one career and now I am trying to make a contribution to my community," said Swanson, whose district represents part of Oakland, Alameda and Piedmont.