Karen Bass Update
Former California PA Karen Bass was sworn in today as the first African-American woman to serve as speaker of California's General Assembly.
The Sacramento Bee has a short Q&A with Bass—and an apostrophe in the profession's name.
Bass, a 54-year-old former nurse, physician's assistant and Los Angeles community organizer, sat down Monday with the The Bee's Capitol Bureau.
Questions were edited for brevity.
Q: Are you sure you want this job?
A: "I think this will be the biggest challenge I've faced – and I'm ready to step up and do it."
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More Karen Bass from the San Jose Mercury-News.
SACRAMENTO - Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass was sworn in today as speaker of the California Assembly, the first black woman to lead either house of the state Legislature.
Bass told her fellow lawmakers and the California political and cultural figures who attended the ceremony that she feels the weight of history on her shoulders.
"If we could only harness the power of our common humanity, I don't think there's anything we couldn't do for the people of this state," she said in prepared remarks.
The 54-year-old becomes the 67th speaker, succeeding fellow Los Angeles Democrat Fabian Nunez. He is relinquishing the post because he will be termed out of office at the end of the year, after leading an unsuccessful ballot drive in February to extend lawmakers' terms.
Former Assembly speakers Cruz Bustamante, Herb Wesson, Antonio Villaraigosa, Willie Brown and Robert Monagan attended the ceremony, as did Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard and soul singer Cuba Gooding Sr. ...
... A former community activist, Bass will be one of the so-called "Big Five" who try to broker agreements on the budget and other major policy issues.
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