The woman chosen by Gov. Gavin Newsom to replace late Sen. Dianne Feinstein will be the first Black lesbian to serve in Congress in history and the first openly LGBTQ senator from California, his office said.

Laphonza Butler has been selected to complete Feinstein’s term, who died Friday at the age of 90 after serving in the U.S. Senate from 1992 until her death.  

Butler is the President of the political action committee EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women. Once appointed senator, she will step down from that roll, Newsom’s office said. She was also a longtime senior advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as a labor leader. 

“An advocate for women and girls, a second-generation fighter for working people, and a trusted advisor to Vice President Harris, Laphonza Butler represents the best of California,” said Newsom in a statement Sunday night.  

Newsom said that Butler will champion the same issues that Feinstein took on, such as reproductive freedom, equal protection under the law, and gun violence.  

According to the Governor’s office, Butler hails from a working-class family and her father died when she was a teenager. Her mother became the sole provider for the household and worked as a classroom aide, a home care provider, a security guard and a bookkeeper to support Butler and her two siblings.

A ‘Champion of Change’

In addition to Vice President Harris, Butler has led strategy efforts for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She was also president of California’s largest labor union, SEIU Local 2015, a union representing nursing home and home-care workers.  

In Los Angeles, Butler was the former director of the Board of Governors of the LA branch of the Federal Reserve System. Former Gov. Jerry Brown appointed her to the University of California Board of Regents in 2018 and she served until 2021.  

Butler was also named a “Champion of Change” by President Barack Obama.  

She has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Jackson State University and shares a home with her wife Neneki and their daughter Nylah.  

Note to readers: A previous version of this story used the wrong verb tense for Laphonza Butler’s appointment. Laphonza has not yet been officially appointed as of writing.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.