California Senate installs new leader

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — California state Senator Mike McGuire was working the floor of the Senate chambers Monday afternoon before being sworn in as the Senate’s 49th president pro tempore — the body’s leader and one of the most powerful people in state government.

McGuire succeeds Senator Toni G. Atkins in the position.

Before the pomp and circumstance began, McGuire wound his way through the crowded chambers, shaking hands and exchanging hugs. His colleagues said that was typical. Dubbed “the Energizer bunny,” McGuire, a North Coast Democrat, is known for his constant and quick motion — akin to the long-running mascot of the battery company that never stops moving.

“If you can keep up with his pace on his way to Starbucks … I think I lost a couple of pounds,” quipped Senator Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, a Los Angeles Democrat.

The two senators hail from very different districts. Smallwood-Cuevas’ is geographically small and heavily populated. McGuire’s district extends from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon state line.

But McGuire made a point to visit Smallwood-Cuevas’ district, meeting with people in community hubs and training centers. The former majority leader, McGuire helped her as a freshman senator.

“You are the hardest working man in the Senate,” she said.

Several current and former statewide officials attended Monday’s ceremony, along with many current assembly members. They included Governor Gavin Newsom, former Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas.

A handful of senators praised McGuire for his ability to reach compromise, his tenacity in never accepting defeat and his indefatigable work ethic.

“Mike never gives up,” said Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat. “He is always there. It’s in his heart and it is who he is.”

The vote to install McGuire came through Senate Resolution 62 and was introduced by Atkins. It was the only business before the Senate on Monday. It passed unanimously in a voice vote.

Calling him a leader in climate and infrastructure, Atkins said his strong advocacy for his own district will extend statewide.

“I know you don’t like talking about yourself,” Atkins said. “But you have an important story.”

At times choking up as he spoke, McGuire said he struggled in school. He also worked on his grandmother’s farm, getting advice he still uses — work hard, work together and never take “no” for an answer.

“In other places in this country, I might have been forgotten,” he said. “But not in California.”

While McGuire spoke of a California dream, he also pointed to the challenges the state faces, starting his speech with a nod to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost power in Sunday’s storms. He praised emergency workers who are working across the state to restore electricity, while many residents remained without power Monday evening.

Other problems McGuire said the state faces include retail theft and the fentanyl crisis, as well as homelessness. Concerning the latter, he said people have a chance to do something on March 5.

Voters at the March 5 primary will decide the fate of Proposition 1, a mental and behavioral health measure that would authorize over $6 billion in bonds for housing and treatment centers.

Despite these challenges, McGuire emphasized California’s first-in-the-nation status on a host of fronts. The Senate is more representative of its constituents than at any other time in history, with more women, people of color and LGBTQ+ members.

“California is proudly the most diverse state in the union,” he added.

McGuire championed firefighters, union leaders, farm workers and small business owners, calling them real people making a real difference. He also praised the state as the country’s economic engine, saying California has more jobs now than at any other time in its past.

The state also has rising unemployment. It ended last year with an unemployment rate of 5.1%, which was a 1% increase from the prior December.

California will continue to help people, McGuire said, promising it will fight for public school children, be a harbor for health care and those seeking abortion, and never back down from the National Rifle Association or what he called an activist U.S. Supreme Court.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked as the Senate chamber filled with applause.

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