Legislature's female ranks may shrink this year

Legislature's female ranks may shrink this year

Argus, The ( Fremont-Newark , CA )

June 7, 2006

THE California Legislature, once a nearly all-male political bastion, experienced gender integration during the 1990s, thanks to term limits that opened up dozens of seats to newcomers, court-ordered redistricting that reduced incumbents' advantage and a "year of the woman" drive.

From a handful, the ranks of women quickly expanded to nearly a third of the 120-member Legislature, and they made their presence known on issues � albeit not without some intergender friction, such as a conflict about the rules governing alimony.

Matters reached a flash point in 2001, when the Legislature drew new legislative districts as part of a bipartisan deal, and it became apparent that the all-male team of negotiators had created state Senate districts that effectively blocked the senatorial ambitions of several female Assembly members.

"Whether it was intentional or not, there are more women who stand to lose under the proposed Senate plan," Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, one of those effectively barred from the Senate, complained.

With resentment about redistricting still simmering, gender conflict flared as the 2001 session drew to a close. The Assembly's male leadership pointedly sidetracked a couple of female-authored bills as a gesture toward the business community, and Assemblyman Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles, uttered some fighting words in accusing Sen. Jackie Speier,

D-Hillsborough, of reneging on a promise to amend a bill. "It's a terrible bill and it was dishonestly moved," a very angry Wright declared, adding, "This woman utterly disregarded the process. ... She believes it is not necessary to have any consideration about honor."

Wright had been the author of the alimony overhaul legislation that was enacted one year and then repealed the next at the behest of women's groups, and his "this woman" remark sparked a brief but very sharp gender war that ended only when Wright apologized.

Ever since the Wright blowup, gender relations in the Capitol have been fairly cordial, women have made some inroads into leadership positions, and four female legislators are seeking statewide office this year, albeit by running against each other.

Speier and Sen. Liz Figueroa, D-Fremont, are seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor (with Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi the third Democrat) while Sens. Debra Bowen of Marina Del Rey and Deborah Ortiz of Sacramento vie for the

Democratic nomination for secretary of state.

All of that notwithstanding, the 1991 redistricting deal could have a telling effect this year. The California Elected Women's Association has calculated that with six of the Senate's 12 women being forced out of the Legislature by term limits and 13 women running in primaries for the 20 Senate seats up this year, a best-case scenario is that the ranks of female senators will remain unchanged, while at worst, the 12 female-held seats could drop to seven.

There are 25 women in the 80-member Assembly, and 11 are being forced out by term limits. There are 78 women running for the Assembly in the primary, 31 percent of the 250 Assembly candidates, and the Elected Women's Association calculates that its optimum outcome would be a gain of four women, while the downside potential ranges to a loss of four female-held seats.

Continuing a recent trend, three women seeking Assembly seats this year are the spouses of retiring male legislators. But it's not a one-way street; Assemblywoman Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park , is being forced out of the Legislature by term limits, and her husband, Mike Eng, is seeking her seat.

Rachel Otte Michelin, the executive director of the Elected Women's Association, says she's concerned that the ranks of female legislators have peaked. She notes that of 308 legislative candidates on the primary ballot, just 91 are women, and the pool will shrink as fewer women seek and win local offices that are steppingstones to the Legislature.

"With the largest number of women being termed out of the Legislature in decades, it is crucial that there should be a farm team of women," she said in a recent letter to supporters.

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Dan Walters writes for the Sacramento Bee.

Section: News