Dec. 19 (UPI) — When Nevada’s lawmakers convene in February, it will become the first state with a majority of women in the Legislature.
With the appointment Tuesday of two women to fill Assembly vacancies by the Clark County Board of Commissioners in Las Vegas, women will occupy more than 50 percent of the seats.
Female lawmakers will occupy 32 out of the 63 seats in the Legislature — 23 of 42 in the Assembly and nine of 21 in the Senate.
Nationally, women hold about 25 percent of legislative seats, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures’ most recent data.
New Hampshire’s state Senate held a majority by women between 2009 and 2010. And Guam also saw a majority female Legislature elected in 2018.
“The Assembly Democratic Caucus is proud to welcome Rochelle Nguyen and Beatrice Duran to the State Assembly and our Caucus,” Speaker Jason Frierson said in a statement to the Nevada Independent. “In addition to a diversity of backgrounds and life experiences, both Rochelle and Beatrice bring passion, energy, and knowledge to the State Legislature that will better serve our state and our constituents.”
The newcomers are Democrats, filling the remainder of two-year terms until the 2020 election.
The Democrats hold a supermajority in the Assembly, 29-13. In the Senate, the Democrats’ edge is 13-8.
Nguyen also will become the only Asian-American Pacific Islander community member in the Legislature.
The Culinary Union, which represents more than 57,000 workers in Nevada, called Duran a “fighter for working families” in a statement after the appointment was made. Duran is a single mom and former food server at a downtown Las Vegas casino.
Tuesday’s unanimous appointments came two weeks after Clark County leaders named another female appointee, Dallas Harris, to the state Senate. The attorney for the Public Utilities Commission replaces newly elected Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford.
With the election of U.S. Sen.-elect Jacky Rosen, the state for the first time has a female-majority Congressional delegation. The other Nevada senator is a Democrat and woman: Catherine Cortez Masto.
