Election boosts female California lawmakers to all-time high

By DON THOMPSON
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Women now make up nearly a third of the California Legislature, which an advocacy group says is an all-time record. The milestone comes with Tuesday’s swearing-in of Assemblywoman Mia Bonta after a special election last week in the San Francisco Bay Area’s 18th Assembly District. She replaces her husband, Rob Bonta, who left in April after being appointed the state attorney general. Mia Bonta bolsters Democrats’ supermajority in the closing week of the legislative session. Thirty-nine of the state’s 120 lawmakers are now women. The advocacy group Close the Gap California says that’s up 11% from just four years ago.