Currently there are 32 elected women in our California State Senate – that’s about 20%  Last week I met with Assemblywoman Patty Berg, former chair of the Women’s Caucus to discuss the upcoming primary election.  It is sad to report, but our predictions were grim. Pundits and pollsters are predicting that we could drop to 25 elected women in our state government.  Needless to say, we are worried.

As the founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST, an organization dedicated to electing women in California, I have watched as our legislature consistently loses 2 elected women each successive election cycle. The loss is occurring in our State Assembly, which affects the pipeline of future female leaders. This seriously affects the flow of political leaders moving up the ladder of experience. For leadership, after serving in the Assembly you move to the State Senate and then to a statewide office.  The decline in women leaders today will have devastating results that can only become more apparent in the future.

What exactly does this loss mean?  As fuel prices take a toll on our economy and California faces a tremendous budget deficit, the choices that will be made in our government in education, health care and transportation are on the table for negotiation. Where will the cuts be made?  How will the priorities be established? By record, women consistently champion those issues that affect families, health and environmental concerns.  With the dwindling statistics of women elected, who will be the advocates of those societal matters that we as women hold so dear?

I think that the differences that women make in government are subtle.  Having women elected officials has opened up the political process and shifted the debate to issues that affect our everyday lives — from health care solutions introduced by Sheila Kuehl to the consumer fraud watchdog policy designed by Jackie Speier to environmental protection laws authored by Fran Pavley.  These women are on the political forefront.

Please visit our website at www.californialist.org to learn about our endorsed women who are running for office on June 3nd – women we feel are qualified to help secure a strong future for California. These women are the future leaders of our state — help elect them on Tuesday.  Help us reverse the downward trend and build our pipeline of elected women.

Bettina Duval is the founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.