While her ascendancy will need to be formalized with a vote of caucus members after November’s election, the vice chair, which Garcia is, has almost always become chair. The position already wields great power from its bully pulpit, but the bipartisan caucus appears set for a makeover after November sweeps in a large voting bloc of Democratic women to consolidate power in the Assembly.

Exactly how many women is unknown until the votes are counted. But a conservative estimate, based on a CalWatchdog analysis, suggests Democratic women will likely occupy between 16 and 28 seats in the Legislature next session, compared to 19 now.

The biggest gains will be in the Assembly where Democratic women could control at least 25 percent of the votes, with Garcia taking a lead role in the recruitment efforts.

In the four years since being elected — and after surviving a sharp learning curve having come from no background in elected office — the Bell Gardens Democrat rose in stature by focusing largely on ethics and women’s issues, with a knack for forcing to the forefront what she says are taboo topics.

Garcia made recent headlines for calling out a male colleague accused of domestic violence and for championing a bill redefining rape in the aftermath of the controversial sentencing of a former Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted an unconscious woman and another eliminating sales tax on tampons and other feminine hygiene products. 

Both bills passed the Legislature and await a final decision from Gov. Jerry Brown. But to her, the legislative victories are just as important as the cultural changes. 

“I’ve been talking about periods the whole year,” Garcia told CalWatchdog in August over ice cream in Sacramento. “Why does it have to be taboo? It’s women’s health.”

Queenmaker

One of Garcia’s biggest goals with the women’s caucus outside of policy will be to build a bench of viable Democratic women candidates, particularly women of color, to compete for governor. There are only 11 women of color in the Legislature at the moment (several of whom are termed out in November), but many of the presumptive newcomers are Latinas.  

There’s no reason the first female governor in the state’s history would need to come through the Legislature, but it’s not a bad launch pad. Garcia didn’t dispel the notion she may make a run for governor at some point, but she said she’s satisfied doing what it takes to make a female Democratic governor possible. 

“If we don’t have a farm, we’re never going to climb,” Garcia said. “The men aren’t doing it for us, so we have to do it for ourselves.”

The 2018 gubernatorial field is quickly filling with men, so Garcia is looking to future elections to break the glass ceiling. Garcia knows gubernatorial candidates will want the women’s caucus’ support, but it would come with a price.

“I’ll help you now because I want something later,” Garcia said. “And that something is a woman governor after you.”

Background

In 2012, the unassuming math teacher was sent to Sacramento by voters in an underprivileged district in southeastern Los Angeles County — her only prior political experience was forming a community group in response to widespread corruption in Bell Gardens.

In her first primary, she bested a member of a political dynasty, then-former Assemblyman Tom Calderon. After defeating Calderon, she handily beat her Republican opponent in the general election and has run officially unopposed ever since.

Garcia is quick to condemn what she sees as immoral or unethical actions. A few months ago, she was one of the first legislators to demand the resignation of fellow Democratic Assemblyman Roger Hernandez after allegations of domestic violence surfaced.

In 2013, she was the first sitting legislator to speak out and organize protests against Ron Calderon, a sitting senator, calling for his resignation after allegations surfaced the FBI suspected him of bribery. Calderon would later plead guilty to mail fraud, while his brother, Tom (Garcia’s former opponent), pleaded guilty to money laundering.

When the Kevin Sloat lobbying scandal ripped through the Legislature, Garcia responded with a sweeping ethics package. And currently waiting for Gov. Brown’s signature is a measure to overhaul the Central Basin Municipal Water District amid allegations of wrongdoing. 

But Garcia has had her own ethical faux pas. During her first run for the Assembly, she claimed she had a Ph.D. when she had only completed coursework. She has since admitted the mistake and will defend her dissertation in December.

Chair

Above all, Garcia’s time as chair will be about women and women’s issues, and she’ll have tremendous influence over the legislative focus of the caucus. Her recruitment efforts with the 2016 crop of women candidates will engender a base of loyalists. 

Garcia plans to personally push for early childhood education, but rather than having members support the caucus’ agenda, Garcia plans to have the caucus support members’ agendas — hence the emphasis on electing more Democratic women.

Naturally, Democratic women are more likely to stick together than a bipartisan group would. Plus, Republican women in the Legislature will drop from 12 seats to between five and eight.

Garcia understands power in the Legislature is held in numbers — the tighter and larger the voting bloc, the better — and wants to use it to enable women to accomplish their goals.

“We just have to prop each other up,” Garcia said. “Hold our votes together to push our stuff forward, and hold our votes together to hold things hostage when our stuff is not being taken seriously.”

Around 70 state legislators’ offices, plus spokespeople for the governor and lieutenant governor, responded to email requests from CalWatchdog about whether or not their bosses attended the game.

While around 50 offices didn’t respond, there was a clear consensus among those who did. With the exception of Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democratic candidate for governor in 2018, no other lawmakers attended (of those who responded).

Cost Prohibitive

Certainly, many legislators either had no interest in going or were committed elsewhere. But the cost of tickets was likely a factor too. USA Today reported that the average resale ticket price was $4,879, while face value ranged from $500 to $3,000 — from nose bleeds to club seats.

A campaign spokesperson confirmed Newsom — who, between him and his wife, is worth at least $8 million according to 2015 disclosures — paid out-of-pocket for his ticket. But the spokesperson could not say how many tickets were purchased, who Newsom was with and how much the ticket(s) cost.

Watch Those Gifts

To have received tickets as gifts would have been problematic for legislators. According to the Fair Political Practices Commission, the maximum value of a gift from a lobbyist is $10 per month, and the maximum value of a gift in other circumstances is $460 from a single source in a calendar year.

The Capitol still smarts from the Kevin Sloat scandal in 2014, where Sloat, a lobbyist, was fined $133,500 by the FPPC for improperly disclosing — or flat out not disclosing — contributions, which included hundreds of dollars worth of tickets to sporting events. It was so widespread that 37 lawmakers received warning letters from the FPPC.

Enjoying The Game On T.V.

Many offices responded that bosses were back in their district last weekend, attending unrelated events or watching the game at private gatherings.

Asms. Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, and Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, had an emoji-laden debate on Twitter on whether the actual game was better than the halftime show:

@LorenaSGonzalez Haha, you're only saying that because we sacked ur guy 7 times ? (I'll admit halftime was pretty good)

— Melissa Melendez (@asmMelendez) February 8, 2016

The two also squared off on whether during the game was the appropriate time to discuss cheerleader pay. Gonzalez said yes, but Melendez argued the game was more important:

I wonder if these cheerleaders are being paid in accordance with (new) California law? #SB50 #employees

— Lorena Gonzalez (@LorenaSGonzalez) February 7, 2016

How can I get my friend & former cheerleader 2 concentrate on what's most important right now, rooting 4 Broncos MM https://t.co/rVyRxbwLxR

— Melissa Melendez (@asmMelendez) February 7, 2016

According to a spokesperson for the Denver Broncos, their cheerleaders did get paid, although the spokesperson declined to say how much or if it complied with the minimum wage law. A representative from the Carolina Panthers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.