By: Lisa Collins
Within hours of breaking news on the passing of California Senator Dianne Feinstein, came letters and calls to Governor Gavin Newsom reminding him of the promise he made in 2020 to appoint a Black woman to the U.S. Senate if a vacancy should arise.
On October 1, Newsom followed through on that promise announcing the selection of Laphonza Butler — the President of the nation’s largest organization dedicated to electing women, EMILY’s List — to complete the United States Senate term of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.
“As we mourn the enormous loss of Senator Feinstein, the very freedoms she fought for — reproductive freedom, equal protection, and safety from gun violence — have never been under greater assault. Laphonza will carry the baton left by Senator Feinstein, continue to break glass ceilings, and fight for all Californians in Washington D.C.,” said Newsom in a statement released Oct. 1.
Butler, a longtime senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris, will make history as California’s first openly LGBTQ+ U.S Senator and the first Black lesbian to openly serve in the U.S. Senate. She would be the second Black woman to represent California in the Senate following Harris and only the third Black woman in history to serve in the Senate chamber.
“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted adviser to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California, and she’ll represent us proudly in the United States Senate,” Newsom continued.
“I applaud Gov. Newsom on keeping his promise and appointing a phenomenal black woman to fill the California U.S. Senate seat,” said Los Angeles County Democratic Party (LACDP) Chair, Mark Gonzalez. “Her lifelong dedication to workers’ rights, social and economic justice, and equality has left an indelible mark on our Golden State, and this next chapter will strengthen California as that beacon of hope. She embodies our state’s diversity, equity, and leadership readiness. Laphonza will be a champion for working families and is a true reflection of what makes California a golden state.”
“I’m honored to accept Gov. @GavinNewsom‘s nomination to be U.S. Senator for a state I have made my home and honored by his trust in me to serve the people of California and this great nation,” Butler posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The pressure had been on for Newsom to not only appoint a Black woman but to act quickly in doing so. Yet, he would stand firm in his resolve to not select Lee as a replacement given that she was running for the seat against two other Democratic contenders: U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter.
“I don’t want to get involved in the primary,” said Newsom, who would be opting instead for a interim appointment or caregiver.
“It would be completely unfair to the Democrats that have worked their tail off,” the governor reasoned. “That primary is just a matter of months away. I don’t want to tip the balance of that.”
Lee responded. “Black women deserve more than a participation trophy. We need a seat at the table.”
Within hours of Feinstein’s death, Newsom was receiving letters about her replacement. The NAACP wrote, “Now the time has come for you to keep your promise and not let Californians or the nation down. We look forward to an African American woman being appointed to the seat.”
Hours before naming Butler, Newsom received a letter from the Congressional Black Caucus urging him to appoint Lee, citing her as “the only person with the courage, the vision, and the record to eradicate poverty, face down the fossil fuel industry, defend our democracy, and tirelessly advance the progressive agenda.”
Newsom had expressed that his appointee would not participate in the 2024 election out of respect for the candidates already running. However, his position on that changed as well and the decision to run in the 2024 election lies with Butler. The deadline for candidates to file for the office is Dec. 8.
The timing of Newsom’s selection was critical given the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate chamber.
“Governor Newsom’s swift action ensures that Californians maintain full representation in the Senate,” said Senator Alex Padilla. “Laphonza Butler has been a strong voice for working families, LGBTQ rights, and a champion for increasing women’s representation in politics. I’m honored to welcome her to the United States Senate.”
Butler will join 47 other Democrats and three independents who caucus with the Democrats in the Senate for the remainder of Feinstein’s term, which ends in December 2024.
“I am always excited when a Black Woman is elevated. Laphonza Butler will represent California well and will bring a perspective to the US Senate that is desperately needed as a Black, LGBTQ+, mother, organizer, and labor leader,” said Kellie Todd Griffin, founding convener of the California Black Women’s Collective.
“My goal is to lift up the voices and needs of Black Women throughout state,” continued Todd Griffin. “That’s what we did three years ago when we created Keep the Seat and what we did in this case. We will keep pushing for what we believe is right regardless of the outcomes.”
Prior to joining EMILYs List—the 3-million-member strong fund-raising powerhouse for female candidates, Butler served as Director of Public Policy and Campaigns in North America for Airbnb. She also was a partner at SCRB Strategies, a political consulting firm where she was a strategist for candidates running up and down the ballot in political offices across California and nationally, and a senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign.
She also served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in California during the primary and general elections and was key in the campaign to elect Holly Mitchell to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
Said Mitchell, “I first met Laphonza more than a decade ago when she was President of SEIU 2015, one of the largest unions in the nation. I quickly realized that she is a once-in-a-generation leader, and as I led the California Legislative Black Caucus, we recognized her in 2013. Gov. Newsom has made a great choice with this appointment. Laphonza is grounded, immensely capable, and no stranger to taking on and winning tough fights to improve the lives of all Californians.”
By all accounts, those who know Butler say she has what it takes to go the distance. The only question being whether or not she chooses to formally enter the race to stay in the seat once Feinstein’s term expires.
“She is formidable,” noted former L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who presently serves as director of the Los Angeles Initiative at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs.
“She’s got tentacles in a number of spaces that are important to anyone who wants to run statewide in California if that’s what she’s planning to do,” Yaraslavsky told CBS News. “It changes the equation of the election if she decides to run for the seat.”
Butler cut her political teeth in Los Angeles. Arriving in California in 2011 as a relatively unknown labor organizer, she rose through the ranks to serve as president of the biggest union in California, and the nation’s largest homecare workers union, SEIU Local 2015.
Elected to the position at just 30 years old, she would become one of the most powerful black women in the state; establishing herself as a key player in A-list political circles —while earning the support of some of the state’s most powerful politicians.
She was the leading voice, strategist, and architect of efforts to address pay inequity for women in California and a top advocate for raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour – the first state in the nation to do so, benefiting millions of working women in low wage jobs. That effort also gave hundreds of thousands of home workers access to paid time off.
Under her leadership, California long term care workers won several significant victories such as the passage of mandatory CNA staffing levels in nursing homes, the right to sick pay, overtime, wait time and travel time for home care providers, and strong contracts for hundreds of thousands of caregivers who provide vital care to seniors and people with disabilities.
She was also a leading figure in several causes which helped improve conditions for all working families, including:the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act and expansion of MediCal to cover millions more Californians; the passage of Propositions 47 and 57 which helped restore real second chances to those caught in the criminal justice system; and the historic fight which passed the nation’s first $15 minimum wage legislation, improving the lives of over 6 million Californians.
For her work, Butler was named a “Champion for Change” by President Barack Obama.
“Laphonza Butler is one of our nation’s most influential leaders,” says organizer and community leader, Pastor K.W. Tulloss of Weller Street Missionary Baptist Church. “She has made an incredible mark for labor– in the vein of A. Philip Randolph and other labor leaders who have made a significant contribution to civil rights.”
A native of Magnolia, Mississippi, Butler began working for the SEIU as an organizer after graduating from Jackson State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and spent eight years organizing workers around the country in all of the different industries that SEIU represents.
Butler comes from a working-class family. Her father — a small-business owner — was diagnosed with a terminal illness and died when Butler was 16 years old. Her mother was the household’s sole provider, working as a classroom aide, a home care provider, a security guard, and a bookkeeper to provide for Butler and her two siblings.
“My mother, who grew up in Louisiana and Mississippi never had the opportunity to be in a union,” Butler recounted to L.A. Focus in 2018. “She never had health insurance until the Affordable Care Act became law and had none of the securities of being a long-time union worker.
“What I saw in Los Angeles with the home care workers was the opportunity to work for women like my mom and give so many young caregivers in this profession who deserve that opportunity and deserve to have a different story to tell their children and grandchildren than my mother does,” she continued. “As a child growing up there was nothing, I could do to help my mom. I believe now, every day that I wake up is an opportunity to help women like her.”
While she said that serving as president of SEIU Local 2015 had been the job of a lifetime, she always knew that it should not be a job for a lifetime, and she stepped down in 2018 to pursue other opportunities including an appointment to the University of California Board of Regents by Governor Jerry Brown.
“The future is so bright, and my commitment to my daughter is that I’m going to do everything so that her future is as bright as possible,” said Butler, who raises daughter Nylah with wife, Neneki.
“There’s still so much work to be done in California and across the country to lift up the voices of young black girls, and those in the community that have been voiceless for so long. I am committed and feel in my purpose that this is what I’m going to be doing– I don’t know what that looks like at this moment, but that is the space in which I’ll be.”
Upon joining Emily’s List in 2021, Butler said, “As the first mom and first woman of color to lead EMILY’s List, my vision is for my daughter and all of America’s daughters to know that they belong anywhere, to know that they can change the game, to know that they are the face of American politics. Black women, Latinx women, AAPI women, LGBTQ women, young women, older women, all women … this is where our power lies.”
With her selection to the Senate, Butler will step down from her role as president of EMILY’s List and is expected to be sworn in on October 4.
Antonio Ray Harvey with California Black Media also contributed to this article.