Received some word from Congresswoman-elect Terri Sewell this week, who has attended New Member Orientation.

She says she has attended a lot of workshops and Democratic Caucus meetings. On Friday, she participated in the lottery to select the new office space for Congressional District 7.

Earlier in the week she was asked to second the nomination of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to be the Democratic Party’s minority whip. All the places change in the House of Representatives now because the Democratic Party lost its majority standing. A minority whip’s role in party politics is to monitor legislation and secure votes for legislation on the floor.

Sewell also is drawing a lot of media attention. The St. Petersburg Times has named her as one of the 10 freshmen in Congress to watch.

USA Today used Sewell as part of its story on trivia about incoming members of Congress, pointing out she is the first woman and the first black woman elected to Congress from Alabama. What USA Today failed to mention is Sewell is the only freshman Democrat who has never been elected to office before.