By Janet Fernandez
While this election cycle nationally did not see a broken glass ceiling by electing its first woman president, in California women and racial minorities were able to make history in state and local races.
Newly-Districted Cities See Positive Effects
This November saw 21 cities have their first by-district elections in hopes of gaining more minority representation for their respective councils.
The districting seems to have worked for Anaheim, which will see its first Latino on the council in Jose Moreno who will represent District 3. Moreno led the lawsuit to change the city’s at-large elections to districted elections. (KPCC)
Garden Grove will also see its first councilmember of Latino decent with Kim Nguyen, a Vietnamese-Latina, who beat out her opponent with a 57.3 percent vote to represent District 6. (Voice of OC)
For San Juan Capistrano’s first districted election, voters elected its first former socialist candidate, Sergio Farias, who had help from a conservative activist. This unlikely partnership revived his campaign against favored candidate Nathan Banda. (OC Weekly)
In Woodland, where Latinos make up half of the city’s population, residents will see a city council with a Latino majority for the first time. Enrique Fernandez, 27, won District 4 and Xochitl Rodriguez, 33, won District 5, joining three other current Latinos on the council. Rodriguez will also be the first Latina to serve on the city council. (Sacramento Bee)
Millennials For The Win
Woodland isn’t the only city to have elected young council members. Several young candidates made history across the state in multiple ways.
The City of Stockton elected its first black and youngest mayor, Michael Tubbs. Tubbs, 26, was able to beat incumbent Anthony Silva with a wide margin, 70.4 percent to 29.6 percent. (Record Net)
Berkeley voters also elected their youngest mayor, Jesse Arreguin, 32. He is also the city’s first Latino Mayor. He spent eight years on the city council and appealed to progressive voters who want change and the housing crisis addressed. (CBS SF BayArea)
The Milpitas city council will welcome Anthony Phan, 22, as the youngest and also the first Vietnamese-American elected council member. Meanwhile, Richard Tran will be the first Vietnamese-American mayor elected to office in the city. (Mercury News)
History-Makers Seek to Return
Watsonville, which was previously districted, has seen a tight race for District 2. Oscar Rios is hoping to make his return to the council and currently has a four-vote lead over incumbent David Hermosillo. Rios formerly served 17 years on the council and notably became the first mayor of any city in the U.S. of Salvadorian descent when he was elected in 1992. (Santa Cruz Sentinel)
And while nationally the House, the Senate, and the Presidency will be dominated by Republicans, this election saw California keep a Democratic stronghold and gain a supermajority in the State Legislature. (LA Times) Josh Newman (D) was able to snatch the 29th Senate District seat from Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) who made history in her own right two years ago when she became the first Taiwanese-born woman to serve in the state Assembly having won the 55th Assembly District. (SGV Tribune)
Asian Americans Win Big in NorCal
Even though Chang was unable to win the Senate seat, other Asian American candidates were able to make gains across several local seats.
Merced County elected Lee Lor to District 2 Supervisor. The Merced Sun Star reports that she is the first Hmong American woman to hold an elected position in the Central Valley and the second in the state. Incumbent Hub Walsh was predicted to be the winner but as votes kept being counted, Lor took that lead with 53.56 percent and Walsh ceded his seat. (Merced Sun Star)
The City of Elk Grove will be making history as voters elected its first Hmong Mayor, Steve Ly, who came to the United States as a refugee at the young age of 4. (KCRA 3)
After 60 years as an incorporated city, Fremont has elected its first female and Asian-American mayor, Lily Mei. (East Bay Times)
In Vallejo, current Councilmember Bob Sampayan ran for Mayor and won, making him the first elected Filipino-American mayor in the city. (Inquirer.net)
Women and Democrats Dominate In State Races
Californians elected Kamala Harris to the U.S. Senate, making her the state’s first black senator and the nation’s second black female senator. She is also the first Indian-American to serve in the U.S. Senate. (LA Times). Harris beat out Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Orange) who would have been the first Latina Senator had she won. That title went to Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada instead. (NY Times).
Ro Khanna (D) from Silicon Valley will join Kamala Harris (D) in D.C. as one of the first Indian-Americans to be elected to Congress after beating out incumbent Mike Honda (D). (LA Times) Congressman Ami Bera (D) will keep his seat after a close race, making him the longest Indian-American serving in Congress.
Three California Latinos—Nanette Barragan (D-Los Angeles), Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara), and Lou Correa (D-Orange County)—were elected to Congress, increasing the Latino membership to 31, making it the largest Congressional Hispanic Caucus in history. (LA Times)
The 48th Assembly District has elected Blanca Rubio, the first immigrant to represent a roughly majority Latino district and the first woman to represent the majority-Democratic district since Hilda Solis in the 1990s. (San Gabriel Valley Tribune)
More good news for women, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors will see its first ever 4-1 female majority after Kathryn Barger and Janice Hahn replaced Supervisors Don Knabe and Michael Antonovich in Districts 5 and 4, respectively. The Board will also see its first 4-1 Democratic majority with Hahn joining Hilda Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas and Sheila Kuehl. (LA Times)
California continues to be a leader in progressive change, breaking barriers and showcasing its diversity.