SacBee: California Senate’s first woman leader: ‘It’s going to take real work’ to fight harassment
By Taryn Luna
Sen. Toni Atkins becomes the first woman and openly gay leader of the California Senate next month, tasked with guiding the house through an involuntary and overdue culture change after the “Me Too” movement rocked the Capitol.
The challenge for the San Diego Democrat and former Assembly speaker is sizable. As pro tem, she’s expected to clean up the house and win back public trust while defending Senate Democrats’ two-thirds majority at the polls. Sen. Josh Newman is facing a recall election, and two men in her caucus – Sens. Tony Mendoza and Bob Hertzberg – are under investigation for sexual harassment heading into the June primary.
Respected for her pragmatism, Atkins will lead a little differently than Kevin de León, her ambitious predecessor, who was known for jamming through tough legislation and helping lead their party’s resistance to President Donald Trump. Perhaps taking a cue from Gov. Jerry Brown, Atkins didn’t mention the president once in our interview, her first sit-down to discuss her new role and the Legislature’s sexual harassment problem. The 55-year-old rural Virginia native takes the reins of the upper house March 21.
Q: You’re the first woman and first openly gay Senate pro tem in California state history. It’s also 2018. Tell me what this means to you and why you think it’s taken so long.
A: I can’t help but be just really overwhelmed emotionally, particularly in this era of everything going on, to be the first woman and certainly the first LGBT pro tem. I’m really mindful of what it means to people. I’m also someone that doesn’t like to make a big fuss over myself, so it’s a little discomforting for me, when I really need to pause, take it in and appreciate the fact that it’s not about me necessarily. I’m the person that gets to be that, but it’s a big deal. It’s huge for women. I’ve been a feminist from my college days, supported the equal rights amendment, ran a community clinic that provided reproductive health services for women. These issues are near and dear to my heart. So, it’s an incredible moment in time and I’m mindful that I get to be the person that is the face of that.
Q. What are your priorities as pro tem?
A: I’m going to be internally focused given everything going on. As you know, I got my most important bill done last year, SB 2, housing. My goal is to be, at least in this first year, internally focused, look at some of these issues we have to address because of the “Me Too” movement and relationships between the Senate and Assembly. I’m very excited about the possibilities to do things a little differently. I have to tell you, I’m incredibly looking forward to one more opportunity to work with Gov. Brown in his last year on budget negotiations and legislation. He’s never exactly linear or easy on issues, but he’s fair and I really enjoyed negotiating with him.