WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
GOVERNMENT
Cecilia
Aguiar-Curry
Assemblywoman
California’s 4th Assembly District
California Assemblywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry credits her
success to a few pointers from her father, who taught high
school leadership classes in Winters. “Always look people in the
eye when you shake their hand, always thank the hostess at a
party for inviting you,” she recites from memory. “Ultimately,
that’s what got me into doing public service: making sure I
respected people and listened to people all along the way.”
Aguiar-Curry took a long and winding way to her position
as assemblywoman for California’s 4th District. The district,
which stretches across Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and
Yolo counties, elected her in 2016, when she was 62. Public ser-
vice is her second career; she previously ran a consulting firm
specializing in water, public policy and community outreach.
Divorce prompted Aguiar-Curry to change tracks and
move back to her hometown of Winters from Santa Cruz. In
2012, after working her way up Winters’ committees, planning
commission and city council, she became the city’s first wom-
an mayor. Her era ushered in the downtown revitalization that
turned Winters’ Main Street into a vibrant restaurant row.
While serving as mayor, Aguiar-Curry noticed that “small
towns are never at the table,” she says. She has devoted her
time in the Assembly to pulling up a seat for the many small
towns in her district. This requires driving up to 1,200 miles
each week to meet constituents and convincing her urban
counterparts — mostly men — that rural areas matter.
“When I first started, so many men came into my office
and acted like I didn’t know anything,” she says. “But they
didn’t realize I had expertise in water policy, in housing
policy. I’ve worked in local government, I understood trans-
portation. They came in and talked down to me, and I’d say,
‘Excuse me, let me clarify a few things here.’”
Her persistence paid off. In her first three years in office,
Aguiar-Curry has authored or co-authored 49 bills, all but
two of which were signed by the governor. Many of her bills
promote rural interests, including Internet for All Now Act of
2017 (Assembly Bill 1665). The law, which went into effect in
January 2018, commits $330 million to extending broadband
service to a minimum of 98 percent of households by 2022
and opens opportunities for one of Aguiar-Curry’s personal
passions: internet-enhanced health care.
“I do bills that are tough, and I’m not doing the ones that
you see on the front page of the papers,” she says.
by Jennifer Fergesen
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