• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Assembly Welcomes First Black Female Speaker

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Feb 28, 2008 1:52 pm US/Pacific

Assembly Welcomes First Black Female Speaker

LOS ANGELES Los Angeles Democrat Karen Bass Thursday became the first black woman to be elected as Assembly speaker.

Bass, 54, will be considered "speaker designee" until she and current Speaker Fabian Nunez, a fellow Los Angeles Democrat, agree on a transition date.

Bass will be the second woman to serve as Assembly speaker. Doris Allen, a Republican, held the job from June to September 1995.

Nunez's term in the Assembly expires in December. Bass could serve through 2010.

"I congratulate Assembly member Bass on her historic election as speaker of the California State Assembly," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said. "In becoming our state's first female African-American speaker, she serves as an inspiration to every citizen of this great state."

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Politics

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.