GOVERNMENT
ast year was challenging in more ways than one : The pandemic altered many aspects of daily life for billions of people , the once-robust national economy took a big hit , and a contentious and protracted presidential election added to the uncertainty . But 2020 will also go down in history as a time when women made remarkable advances on the political scene .
In the 2020 presidential election , women made up 53 percent of the electorate , according to the AP Vote- Cast survey ; a record number of new congressional members are women and women of color ; President Joe Biden appointed an unprecedented number of women to his cabinet ; and former California Sen . Kamala Harris made history as the first woman , Black person and person of Indian descent to be sworn in as vice president .
Locally , two hotly contested Sacramento City Council seats and mayoral races in Elk Grove and West Sacramento were won by women of color , three of whom unseated long-standing incumbents . Rep . Doris Matsui was also reelected for the eighth time with nearly three-quarters of the vote . Each candidate ’ s journey and decision to run was intensely personal and followed a precipitating event or desire for change , with a vow to speak for all constituent voices .
City council ’ s new faces
For the first time since 2012 , three women are now serving on the Sacramento City Council , two elected for the first time last year . Community activists Mai Vang and Katie Valenzuela both took office in December 2020 .
Vang , 34 , who was vying for the open District 8 seat on the city council , only planned to make an early morning doughnut run a one-time thing : In the early days of her campaign , she wanted to support a local business and give her campaign volunteers a little sustenance before they started the day . But the freshly made treats from Donuts Break in south Sacramento quickly became routine , along with traditional Hmong food her mom and aunties cooked up for the elders in the group .
Vang , the eldest of 16 children and daughter of Hmong refugees , was seeking to be the first Asian American woman elected to the council . The former Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education member
“ I truly believe we all want what is best for Sacramento . We may just have a different approach , a different strategy for getting there , and it ’ s important to make sure we can find common ground to move Sacramento in a way that doesn ’ t leave anyone behind .”
MAI VANG Sacramento City Council member and current executive director for the nonprofit Buck Scholars Association grew up in poverty in south Sacramento and felt the community was ready for a change and a younger voice . District 8 , which includes the Meadowview , Parkway and Valley Hi / North Laguna neighborhoods , is especially young and diverse , with 40.2 percent of residents under 24 and 78.1 percent nonwhite , according to the City of Sacramento .
“ We are a very young community , and it ’ s important that we also have more young leadership at the forefront making decisions and folks that represent the community ,” says Vang , who ran against Les Simmons , a community activist and fourth-generation pastor ( incumbent Larry Carr did not seek reelection ).
Vang ran on a platform of COVID-19 recovery , equity and racial injustice . Her grassroots campaign included hundreds of volunteers , thousands of phone calls and miles of walking . In early 2020 , volunteers dropped off yard signs and literature — as well as 3,000 containers of red primrose flowers — to district residents . During the pandemic , campaign volunteers reached out to constituents via phone banks and distributed preassembled care packages filled with face masks and hand sanitizer . And it paid off . Vang won the close race , beating her opponent by fewer than 1,000 votes .
Her first order of business was to sit down with Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the seven other council members to really understand what their issues are , what they care about and to find alignment . “ I truly believe we all want what is best for Sacramento . We may just have a different approach , a different strategy for getting there , and it ’ s important to make sure we can find common ground to move Sacramento in a way that doesn ’ t leave anyone behind .”
Valenzuela , 35 , a community activist and environmental-justice lobbyist , also led a successful grassroots campaign in the tightly contested District 4 Sacramento City Council race . Prior to
64 comstocksmag . com | March 2021