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New California Senate leader Monique Limón, ‘kind, generous’ and a “badass”

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By George Skelton

Capitol Journal Columnist

People often ask me how things have changed at the state Capitol since I began covering news there many decades ago. My latest short answer: Look at the new California Senate leader.

In fact, look at the entire Senate. Actually, the other legislative house, too, the Assembly.

There was only one female legislator when I arrived very young and green in 1961. She was an Assembly member, Democrat Pauline Davis from mountainous Plumas County in the northeast. You can thank her persistence for highway rest stops.

There wasn't one Latino in the entire 120-member Legislature. The first two in modern times were elected the next year.

Today, the new Senate president pro tem — Democrat Monique Limón of Goleta in Santa Barbara County — is the upper house's first Latina leader and the first mother who is leader of the Senate. And there are more female senators than males, 21 to 19.

The Assembly's getting there, too. Women hold 38 of the lower house's 80 seats. In all, 49% of all legislators are women — 59 of them.

A woman wasn't elected to the Senate until 1976 when conservative Democrat Rose Ann Vuich, a farm owner, won a seat from Dinuba in the San Joaquin Valley. Vuich made it clear she was "not a part of the women's liberation movement." But whenever a male colleague rose to address the "gentlemen of the Senate," she reminded them of her presence by ringing a small bell.

Even by 1980, only 9% of California legislators were women. The first Latina senator — Democrat Hilda Solis, now a Los Angeles County supervisor — wasn't elected until 1994. Now, there are 13 Latina senators, including three Republicans.

The first female Senate president pro tem, Toni Atkins of San Diego, was elected leader in 2018. She's also the only person to have been chosen as both Assembly speaker and Senate pro tem.

There have been three female Assembly speakers, including current L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. The first was Republican Doris Allen of Orange County in 1995, a puppet of departing Democratic Speaker Willie Brown. She was quickly recalled by her constituents.

Six of the last 10 speakers have been Latinos. But before Limón, there was only one Latino Senate leader: Democrat Kevin de León of Los Angeles.

OK, all this history may be interesting. But so what? What difference has it made to California citizens?

"A couple of areas have been the most profound," says veteran Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), who served in the Assembly in the 1990s and was elected to the Senate in 2018.

"Healthcare and child care. When I first came, I don't remember child care being a big-deal issue. I certainly don't remember access to healthcare being an issue. The presence of women has highlighted those things."

I asked the new Senate leader. Women have provided the Legislature with more "diversity of experiences," Limón answers. And child care has been made more than just a women's issue, she adds. "It's an economic issue. It enables workers to go to their jobs."

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But Latinos? How has their vast increase at the Capitol helped California Latinos?

Not much, complains Mike Madrid, a GOP strategist who has written a book on Latino politics.

"It's been more about representation than results," Madrid says. "Representation is not enough. The metrics are worse now than they were years ago: poverty rates, home ownership, 50% of Latino children on Medi-Cal."

Madrid says Latino politicians have been too focused on immigration issues and not nearly enough on what their constituents really care about: economic opportunity and living costs.

What needs to be done for Latinos? "Housing, housing, housing," Madrid says. "Why aren't Latinos leading this fight?"

Madrid notes that recent reforms of the much-abused California Environmental Quality Act, which has stymied housing development, were pushed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and white legislators.

Limón says she and Democrats are currently focused on a proposed $10-billion housing bond they're trying to place on the June primary election ballot. It would help finance housing construction for low-income people. But apparently not the middle class.

Limón, 46, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, has a much calmer personality than many of her rough-hewn male predecessors.

She's "kind, generous and sweet," Sen. Angelique Ashby (D-Sacramento) told the Sacramento Bee.

But her demeanor masks an inner toughness. You don't rise to Senate leadership — second only to the governor in raw power — by being a gentle wimp.

At her recent oath-taking ceremony in the Senate chamber, Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Panorama City) called Limón in Spanish a "badass."

Limón appointed Ashby the Senate majority leader, the second in command. Menjivar was named Democratic Caucus chair, a post Limón previously held.

A liberal progressive, Limón was the Democrats' overwhelming choice for the top job, Umberg says, because "she seems to be fair, a critical quality in a pro tem. She has intestinal fortitude and will stand up to institutional interests. She cares about the [legislative] institution and is pragmatic."

Longtime Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) says, "She's easy to get along with, but she's outcome-oriented."

No male bothered to run for Senate leader, Laird says, because the men mostly felt the selection of a woman was inevitable since they now hold the house majority. Limón beat out two other women: Ashby and Sen. Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach).

Limón named Laird chairman of the crucial Budget Committee. But she appointed women as chairs of the five deep-diving budget subcommittees.

Other major committees will be headed by a gender mix. For example, women were named chairs of Appropriations, Education, Environmental Quality, Governmental Organization and Health. Men will lead such key panels as Energy, Housing, Insurance, Judiciary (Umberg), Public Safety and Revenue and Taxation.

We won't know for months how any of this will turn out substantively. But it's the continuation of a big shift toward more female power in California's Capitol.