Election Results, November 7, 2006

Great Election for Democrats
In Congress, Democrats take control
of House of Representatives
Making Nancy Pelosi of California the
First Woman to be Speaker of the HouseCongratulations to Debra Bowen
New California Secretary of State

The results are in and we wanted you to know right away! A tremendous thank you to all the members of this donor network! Thanks to your generous support CALIFORNIA LIST passed an important milestone this election cycle. CALIFORNIA LIST and our members contributed well over $100,000 to our recommended candidates. Together we can and do change the face of power in CALIFORNIA by electing qualified, dedicated Democratic women to California State government.

Congratulations!
Debra Bowen becomes the seventh woman ever to hold statewide office in California. Of the six prior women in statewide office, five were elected and one was appointed to fill a vacancy. We are proud that we supported Debra and know that her integrity and her strong record as a focused and effective representative will ensure safe electronic elections in the years to come.

A warm welcome to all nine of our new women Assembly members:

Julia Brownley (AD 41, Los Angeles, Ventura)
Anna Caballero (AD 28, Salinas)
Wilmer Amina Carter (AD 62, San Bernadino)
Cathleen Galgiani (AD 17, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus)
Mary Hayashi (AD 18, Alameda)
Fiona Ma (AD 12, San Francisco)
Laura Richardson (AD 55, Los Angeles)
Nell Soto (AD 61, Los Angeles, San Bernadino)
Mary Salas (AD 79, San Diego)

Congratulations to the nine women incumbents in the Assembly, all of whom succeeded in their bids for re-election:

Karen Bass (AD 47, Los Angeles)
Patty Berg (AD 1, Humboldt, Mendocino, Sonoma, Lake)
Noreen Evans (AD 7, Napa, Solano, Sonoma)
Loni Hancock (AD 14, Alameda, Contra Costa)
Betty Karnette (AD 54, Los Angeles)
Sally Lieber (AD 22, Santa Clara)
Nicole Parra (AD 30, Fresno, Kings, Kern, Tulare)
Lori Saldana (AD 76, San Diego)
Lois Wolk (AD 8, Yolo, Solano)

Congratulations are also in order for our four new women in our State Senator:

Patricia Wiggins (SD 2, Humboldt, Mendocino, Napa, Sonoma, Solano)
Ellen Corbett (SD 10, Alameda, Santa Clara)
Jenny Oropeza (SD 28, Los Angeles)
Gloria Negrete-McLeod (SD 32, Los Angeles, San Bernadino)

And for our two Senate incumbents who both won re-election:

Gloria Romero (SD 24, Los Angeles)
Denise Moreno Ducheny (SD 40, Imperial, Riverside, San Diego)

We welcome our two new Board of Equalization members:

Judy Chu (District 1)
Betty Yee (Incumbent, District 4)

Well done to all the women in California who ran excellent campaigns that highlighted important issues for women in this mid-term election.

Democratic Women Candidates for the California State Legislature
November 7, 2006 Results

Executive Branch
Prior to this election, only five women have ever been elected to statewide office in California. Debra Bowen’s victory makes her the sixth women ever to be elected for statewide office in California and the second woman in California’s history to hold the office of Secretary of State.

Congratulations are in order to Betty Yee and Judy Chu for winning seats on California’s Board of Equalization. The Board of Equalization is the panel that oversees California’s $40 billion per year in tax collections and resolves state tax disputes. It is heartening that two of the five members of this important panel are Democrat women. We also appreciate the efforts of Mary Christian-Heising who waged a difficult battle in trying to win a seat in a district that has long been a Republican stronghold.

Proposition 85
Finally, we are heartened to report that Proposition 85 failed by a margin of 8.4%. Proponents of Proposition 85 sought an amendment to the State Constitution requiring parental notification by physicians at least 48 hours before performing an abortion on a minor. This proposition was yet another attempt by the religious right to erode protection for abortion. The defeat of Proposition 85 shows that Californian’s realize that no law can mandate family communication. Proposition 85 would have endangered teenagers from abusive homes by forcing them to seek illegal, unsafe abortions.

Number of Female Governor’s Increases
It is also worth noting that there were ten women running for governor in this election cycle – a number matched only in 1994 and 2002. Of the ten, five were incumbents and three of the incumbents were democrats. Congratulations to Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Jennifer Granholm of Michigan for their successful bids for re-election. Among the new challenges, Dina Titus of Nevada lost by a slight margin to Republican U.S. Congressman Jim Gibbons, while Lucy Baxley of Alabama lost in a difficult challenge to Republican incumbent Bob Riley. Republican Sarah Palin of Arkansas won her election. There will be nine female governors in 2007.

Looking Ahead