SACRAMENTO – Los Angeles lawmaker Karen Bass was elected the next speaker of the state Assembly on Thursday, becoming the first black woman to lead either house of the Legislature.
Bass, 54, was elected to the 80-member chamber in 2004 and is known for writing legislation on child welfare and social justice issues. She also was one of the top supporters of Barack Obama’s campaign in California.
She will work alongside Speaker Fabian Nu ez, also a Los Angeles Democrat, before making the full transition into the role later this year.
“This is an amazing, amazing moment,” Bass told her fellow Assembly members after the unanimous voice vote. “Thank you so much for your vote of faith and confidence in me as your next speaker.
“I am deeply honored and deeply humbled by the trust you have placed in me. I will work to be worthy of that trust every day I am speaker.”
Nu ez, who will be termed out of office this year, said the selection of Bass marked a new chapter in California history.
Bass will become just the second black woman leading a state legislative chamber but the first with day-to-day responsibility, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Center for American Women and Politics at the State University of New Jersey.
In Washington, Sen. Rosa Franklin holds the largely honorary title of Senate president pro tem.
“The wisdom of this caucus today is going to break that glass ceiling,” Nu ez said in nominating Bass to succeed him.
He noted her work ethic and her ability to work well with the 47 other Assembly Democrats and with minority Republicans.
“She is intelligent, she is committed to good public policy, and she is unflappable. I’m really looking forward to working with her,” said Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who will take over the top post in the Senate when the current president pro tem, Don Perata, is termed out office this year.
Bass will become the 67th speaker of the Assembly, considered the second most powerful job in state government behind the governor.
Like its companion position in the Senate, the Assembly leadership role has become a revolving door since California voters passed the term limits law in 1990. Assembly members are limited to three two-year terms.
Bass will hold the position for only a short time. She pledged Thursday not to seek another office, such as the state Senate, before she is termed out in 2010.
How productive those years will be in large part will depend on her relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and her Republican counterpart, Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines of Clovis.
Before the vote on the Assembly floor, Villines said he had spent long hours negotiating with Bass on legislation and praised her as “a greater partner.”
“I think you are very good for this house,” he said.
