Editor’s note: Madeline Shannon, a reporter with The Center Square, is based at the California Capitol in Sacramento and begins filing her stories there today as the new legislative session starts.
(The Center Square) – With a musical opening that included a mariachi band and a church choir, Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, was sworn in as the Senate president pro tempore on Monday, making her the first Hispanic woman in the role.
In her first speech in her new position, the California legislator said she would support immigrant communities and prioritize public higher education, which are among the issues that affect the state.
“We know that no matter what cities or counties we represent, there is only one California,” Limón said in her speech on the first day of the 2026 legislative session. “We must work together to make it better.”
She touted her accomplishments working with other legislators and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sat next to her during her speech, on issues such as clean air and water, predatory, medical debt and child care unions. She talked about her background as the daughter of an immigrant family and discussed how her early life and influences put her on path to run for office.
“Like many immigrants believe, the United States and California are the lands where hard work meet opportunity,” Limón said. “For us, these values and this purpose isn’t something that we leave just amongst our family. We know we have to pass it on for generations – and that is the story of many immigrant families.”
Limón started out her career working at University of California, Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College as an educator before running for her first elected role as a member of the Santa Barbara Unified School Board, according to her Senate biography. She was then elected to the state Assembly, representing the Central Coast, where she introduced legislation that expanded higher education, fed hungry students and established curriculum for Native American studies in California high schools.
She was elected to the Senate in 2020 after four years in the Assembly. She has been the chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus, the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee, and the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.
Other senators said before Limón’s speech that while she is the first Hispanic president pro tempore, they hope she won’t be the last.
“Even though you’re short of stature, you jumped up and broke that glass ceiling for so many women of color today,” said Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Van Nuys, during remarks before Limón’s speech. “You have been an unwavering champion for Californians as a woman, a mother, the first Latina to serve in this position.”
Other lawmakers on the Senate floor, in prepared remarks made before Limón’s speech on Monday, compared Limón to the first woman to hold the position, Sen. Toni Atkins, who was elected Senate president pro tempore in 2018.
“It has been, in my life, a true blessing to be surrounded by smart, powerful, and effective women,” said Sen. Mike McGuire, D-San Rafael and the outgoing Senate president pro tempore. “I know the job she has ahead for her, and I know she’s going to be able to bring us all together to get the job done.”
