The state of California is home to big names in politics, like Nancy Pelosi, the first woman to serve as speaker of the House, and Kamala Harris, the first woman, Black American and Asian American to hold the vice presidency.
Orange County, too, has contributed to this steady rise of women entering politics. In fact, OC has elected a higher percentage of women to federal, state and city offices compared to national averages, according to a 2022 analysis.
“I think Orange County has been super lucky with their representation, especially with the women,” Sunny Mojonnier, founder of the Women in California Politics Foundation and Museum, said.
Here are 10 trailblazers, past and present, who served and are serving the sixth-largest county in the U.S.
Marian Bergeson
Marian Bergeson was “one of the classiest ladies,” Mojonnier said of her friend, who died in 2016 at the age of 90. Bergeson, elected to the Assembly in 1978, was the first woman to represent Orange County in the state legislature and the county’s first female state senator. She was the first woman ever to serve in both the Assembly and Senate.
After Bergeson left office in 1995, there would not be another woman representing Orange County in the Senate until Mimi Walters in 2009, Alex Vassar, senior staff at the California State Library, said.
“She was a silent giant,” Mojonnier said. “She was somebody who could pass controversial and really well thought out, well-choreographed pieces of legislation that served the people of California, but specifically her district.”
Bergeson was dedicated to bettering public education and championed numerous bills on the topic, including an $800 million bond for the construction or improvement of public schools. After leaving office, she served as education secretary under Gov. Pete Wilson and continued to serve Orange County constituents.
Doris Allen
Doris Allen became the first woman to serve as speaker of the Assembly in 1995.
It was a bit of a…
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