Bass Becomes First Black Woman to Lead Assembly

SACRAMENTO (AP)— Los Angeles lawmaker Karen Bass was elected the next speaker of the state Assembly on Feb. 28, 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 Nunez, 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.”

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.