Whereas: Stories from the People’s House

Caucuses, Committees, and Congressman Tony Coelho: An Oral History Update

In 1965, Tony Coelho joined the staff of U.S. Representative Bernice Frederic Sisk of California, beginning what would become a 24-year career both working for and serving in Congress. From his time as Sisk’s policy aide, committee director, and administrative assistant (chief of staff in today’s parlance), Coelho rose to become a U.S. Representative from California’s Central Valley.

As a Member, Coelho built relationships with lawmakers through his active participation in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). Coelho quickly left his mark on Capitol Hill as chairman of the DCCC before becoming the first elected Democratic Whip, the first Hispanic American in Congress to serve in House Democratic Party leadership, and the first Hispanic American lawmaker of either party to serve in a formal leadership capacity.

In a recently published oral history, Coelho reflected on the role caucuses and committees played throughout his steady rise on Capitol Hill, enabling him to earn the trust of his colleagues and learn to operate the levers of political power.

In this interview, Coelho explored the growth of the CHC, explaining how he was the first individual of Portuguese descent to join. He also provided a behind-the-scenes look at the history of the DCCC and how he sought to improve the organization’s fundraising power. Finally, Coelho discussed how he won election as Democratic Whip in 1986 and how he operated the Whip’s Office until his resignation in June 1989. In reflecting on the CHC, DCCC, and the Whip’s Office, Coelho unpacked how leaders can build coalitions within the House to help them govern.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus

Tony Coelho was born in Los Banos, California, into a family of Portuguese descent. In his oral history, Coelho recalled his early life working on the family dairy farm, participating in 4-H Club activities, and taking cattle to the local fair. His experience in agriculture proved helpful when he was hired by Representative Sisk, who served on the House Agriculture Committee and whose district encompassed farming communities throughout California’s San Joaquin Valley.

While serving on Sisk’s staff, Coelho gained valuable experience on Capitol Hill and eventually won election to represent California’s Fifteenth District when Sisk retired. Representative Edward R. Roybal of California, who had founded the Congressional Hispanic Caucus with the goal of drawing attention to issues facing Hispanic communities in the United States, asked Coelho to join the group, making him the first Portuguese American to do so. “Portugal is part of the Hispanic Peninsula,” Roybal told Coelho, “and so you need to join the Hispanic Caucus.”

Despite his initial doubts, Coelho accepted the offer, reflecting on how his upbringing in a Portuguese home shaped his legislative agenda. “We’re Portuguese Americans and we care about people and there’s a lot of stories of what my mother and father did when we were very poor, but we were always helping people,” Coelho concluded. “I think it was inbred and I felt it—and still do.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Coelho’s Portuguese roots ran deep, and so did his familial ties to the Democratic Party. Coelho credited his uncle for helping him secure a position on Sisk’s staff and pointed out that his family had been Democrats since the days of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. “My grandfather on my mother’s side was a staunch Democrat because he gave Roosevelt credit for saving agriculture and saving the dairy industry,” Coelho recalled. “My family was aggressively Democrats in appreciation of what the Democrats had done for agriculture in those days.”

Although Coelho entered a House that had been controlled by the Democratic Party for almost every Congress since Roosevelt’s election in 1932, the political winds had started to shift. Republican Ronald Reagan’s victory in the 1980 presidential election caused Democratic leadership to look for new ideas. During Coelho’s first term in Congress, Daniel David Rostenkowski of Illinois, the incoming chair of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, approached the young Californian and asked him to consider running for chairman of the DCCC. Coelho entered the race and defeated several more senior Members.

As DCCC chair, Coelho earned the trust of his colleagues by demonstrating his prowess as a fundraiser and campaign strategist. From 1981 to 1987, Coelho helped the party expand its majority in the House and push back against President Reagan’s legislative agenda. “I set up this campaign and in ’82, we picked up 26 seats,” Coelho proudly remembered. With a reinforced majority in the House, “we became the veto to the Reagan administration.”

Democratic Whip

During his decade in Congress, Coelho ascended the ranks of the Democratic Party and set his sights on the position of Democratic Whip, responsible for helping the Speaker and Democratic Leader assess where the caucus stood on certain issues and for corralling votes. Traditionally, the Whip was an appointed position, but in 1986 the Democratic Caucus changed its rules to make the Whip an elected position. In his oral history, Coelho recounted how he lined up votes and secured support to become the first Democratic Whip elected by his peers. He was re-elected in 1988. As Whip, Coelho was adept at mobilizing Democratic votes to back the party’s legislative agenda.

Coelho’s career on Capitol Hill can help historians better understand how lawmakers have used coalitions and caucuses to advance the interests of their constituents and those of their colleagues. Organizations unify behind common goals and leaders like Coelho are entrusted with power because of their ability to implement change. Coelho credited his skill as Whip to his ability to earn the trust of his colleagues and to decipher where they stood on an issue. “Everything about the House,” Coelho explained, “is one big family and its relationships and your word is critical. If you keep your word, you become influential because they know they can depend on you.”

This is part of an ongoing series on recently published oral histories designed to highlight new additions to the House oral history collection.