Today's Fresh Meat

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

As reported yesterday, Assemblymember Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) was formally elected this morning as the next Assembly speaker by the Democratic caucus, reports the LA Times. She will be the first African-American woman to serve as speaker, and only the second woman.

The Sac Bee’s Capitol Alert has compiled a list of a reactions to Bass’s election.State Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, went as far to compare her to Barack Obama: “With Karen Bass’s election as Assembly Speaker, we are witnessing, at this historic moment, our own unique brand of ‘Golden State Change We Can Believe In’.”

Frank Russo at the California Progress Report also has kind words to say about Bass, calling her a “a Solid Progressive Who Walks the Walk.” Russo takes a look at her voting record in the Assembly, and highlights her methodical approach to getting things done (she talked to each of her eventual supporters for hours, one on one, in a private campaign).