For First Time in History, Two Latina Legislators Will Lead Caucus
A Record 15 of 29 Latino Legislative Caucus Legislators are Women
SACRAMENTO – The membership of the California Latino Legislative Caucus today unanimously elected Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to serve as Chair and Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) to serve as Vice Chair. This is the first time in the history of the Latino Legislative Caucus that two women will lead the Caucus.
“The next few years are critical, as we face issues dealing with the upcoming census, immigration, and income inequality,” said Caucus Chair Lorena Gonzalez. “The Latino Caucus has led the way in electing more Latinas to the legislature, saying we need more women at the table to tackle these issues. I am honored that my colleagues have also entrusted the leadership of the Latino Caucus to women: both myself and my colleague, Senator Maria Elena Durazo.”
There are now a record 33 members of the Latino Legislative Caucus, (29 Legislators and 5 statewide officers). 4 of the 6 Latino Caucus members in the Senate are female and half of the Caucus members of the Assembly (11 of 22) are female. Combined, that is a record number of Latinas in the Legislature.
Senator Durazo added, “We had an impressive slate of endorsed candidates running for the California State Assembly and Senate in 2018 General Election, including a record number of Latino candidates. We are pleased we were able to add to the Assembly Supermajority and also elect 5 Latinos to statewide office. We are excited that we have such diverse representation in California, which will translate into better representation for the people of California. As Chair Gonzalez indicated, California leads the way and we are hopeful the rest of the nation will follow in 2020.”
California Latino Legislative Caucus Members Elected to the Legislature and Statewide Offices in 2018
Senator Anna Caballero (D-12)*
Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-14)
Senator Susan Rubio (D-22)
Senator Maria Elena Durazo (D-24)
Senator Bob Archuleta (D-32)
Senator Ben Hueso (D-40)*
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-4*)
Assemblymember Susan Talamantes-Eggman (D-13)*
Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-30)
Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-31)*
Assemblymember Rudy Salas (D-32)*
Assemblymember Monique Limon (D-37)*
Assemblymember Luz Maria Rivas (D-39)*
Assemblymember James Ramos (D-40)
Assemblymember Eloise Reyes (D-47)*
Assemblymember Blanca Rubio D-48)*
Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo (D-51)*
Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-52)*
Assemblymember Miguel Santiago (D-53)*
Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-56)*
Assemblymember Ian Calderon (D-57)*
Assemblymember Cristina Garcia (D-58)*
Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes (D-60)*
Assemblymember Jose Medina (D-61)*
Assemblymember Anthony Rendon (D-63)*
Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-65)*
Assemblymember Todd Gloria (D-78)*
Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-80)*
Attorney General Xavier Becerra*
Secretary of State Alex Padilla*
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara*
Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond*
Board of Equalization Tony Vazquez (District 3)
* denotes returning Caucus member of the Latino Legislative Caucus
