Spring Forward

It’s time to spring forward into the 2010 election cycle.  As the days grow longer, CALIFORNIA LIST is busy spreading the sunshine of support for our women candidates! Congratulations to City Councilmember Wendy Greuel who is moving up the pipeline replacing Controller Laura Chick who will be termed out this year.  Wendy won her election to Los Angeles City Controller with a resounding 65% of the vote and will be only the second woman to hold a citywide office in the history of the City of Angels.

Board of Equalization member and former California Assemblywoman Judy Chu is waging a strong campaign to fill Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis’ Congressional seat. Secretary Solis also served in the California State Assembly and Senate prior to serving in Congress. As I always say, it is about the pipeline!  A special election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is running for California Attorney General.  It appears that the race for AG is going to be one of the hottest contests this cycle with countless others pondering the race.  It’s a crowded field that may include Santa Monica City Councilman Bobby Shriver and Facebook Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly joining declared candidates Torrance Assemblyman Ted Liu,  and Contra Costa Supervisor Gerald Canciamilla. Strong early fundraising has the potential for discouraging other candidates from filing. CALIFORNIA LIST encourages you to support Kamala Harris by donating to her campaign. There are two fundraising events scheduled on March 31 in San Francisco - click here for further information. The other is on April 4 in Los Angeles at Cynthia Cannady’s home from 3:00 to 5:00 PM - contact ccannady@gmail.com for more information.

Congratulations to Walnut Creek Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s appointment as an undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, the agency’s top arms control negotiator.  Her appointment opens another  House seat in the Bay Area. We are hoping that newly elected Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan will consider running for this seat. As a CALIFORNIA LIST- endorsed candidate, we certainly know that she is the woman right woman for the job!

BLOG LOG

I continue to write blogs regarding CALIFORNIA LIST’s mission of electing women. These have been published not only by my resident site, but also have been featured on Huffington Post and the Sacramento Bee to name a few.  This week I discussed my thoughts about President Obama’s campaign promise to champion women.  You can click the link below to read the full article.

A WOMAN’S PLACE
By Bettina Duval, Founder, CALIFORNIA LIST

While running his campaign, President Barack Obama promised that, if elected, his administration would champion the rights of women, especially in the area of equality. True to his pledge, he has already begun working on this vital issue, a mere 53 days into his Presidency. As the Founder of CALIFORNIA LIST, a group that fosters women’s rights in the political arena, I was particularly moved by President Obama’s signing of an Executive Order on March 11 establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls. Citing his mother, grandmother, and wife as personal examples, President Obama wants to make clear that areas like equal pay, family leave and child care are not just women’s issues, but that they are family and economic issues. Those of us who work tirelessly to advance this cause realize that we are still far from equality, especially in the workplace. During his announcement the President said, “The purpose of this Council is to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy.”  I say, it’s about time!

Click here to read more of this blog post, and to sign our letter to Congress asking them to pass legislation creating this commission.

ON THE HOME FRONT

2009 has been a busy year so far and it’s just going to get busier.  I wanted to update you to our activities. In our last newsletter, we asked for individuals to host house parties to help build our membership base and the response was tremendous.

On February 17 I spoke at the Carmel Democratic Women’s Club about the status of women in California.  Thank you Pris Walton for inviting me to speak.

For the third time, on March 5, Joy Picus hosted a breakfast in her Woodland Hills home.  Joy continues to be a tremendous supporter of CALIFORNIA LIST as well as a strong advocate for women candidates such as Wendy Greuel, who have run and won.

Former Santa Barbara Board of Supervisor Susan Rose and Former California State Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson held a luncheon for CALIFORNIA LIST on March 6.  During lunch we talked about the role of CALIFORNIA LIST in our state and networking with various local women’s groups in Santa Barbara.

(L-R - Hannah-Beth Jackson, Bettina Duval w. Jackson and Susan Rose, Susan Rose)

We will remain busy in the next few months too…

On March 30, I will speak at the Junior League of Los Angeles Public Policy Institute. The JLLA was the first Junior League to establish a Public Policy Council.  It will be special for me to speak there as I served as  president of the Junior League from 1997-98.

A thank you also goes to Lucy Johns and Cathy Schreiber for hosting a reception on April 20 at Jones Day in San Francisco. If you are interested in attending, please contact Renee Brown Holt at rbholt@californialist.org.

CALIFORNIA LIST will be discussing Pink Collar Politics on April 23 at a reception at the Newport Beach Democratic Club in Orange County.During each lunch or reception, guests have enjoyed discussing the status of elected women in California and what is happening locally.  Together we have discussed the future of the women’s movement. If you are interested in hosting a gathering, please contact Renee Brown Holt, CALIFORNIA LIST events coordinator at rbholt@californialist.org.

2010 FEMALE DEMOCRATIC WOMEN CANDIDATES

CALIFORNIA LIST continues to identify and interview candidates for the 2010 election.   So far, the women listed below are running for office. The chart shows the women who we know are running  - please let us know if we have overlooked a candidate by contacting us at news@californialist.org.
PLEASE NOTE: THE CANDIDATES LISTED BELOW ARE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND HAVE NOT BEEN OFFICIALLY ENDORSED BY CALIFORNIA LIST.

CALIFORIA STATEWIDE OFFICES

Secretary of State Debra Bowen is running for re-election.
San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is running for District Attorney
State Senator Gloria Romero is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction