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The California state Senate got a new leader Monday. Democrat Mike McGuire officially took over from Toni Atkins, who has served as the Senate pro Tem since 2018.
McGuire represents a rural North Coast district that stretches from the Oregon border to Marin County. He grew up on a grape and prune farm in Sonoma County.
The Healdsburg Democrat listed housing and homelessness, fixing the home insurance market and fending off the impacts of climate change as his top priorities.
“We got a lot of work ahead of us. Here in California, we’re committed to the priorities not of corporate boardrooms — we are committed to the priorities of kitchen tables and neighborhoods all throughout this great state,” McGuire said at his swearing-in at the state Capitol Monday.
McGuire, 44, was first elected to public office in 1998, when he won a school board seat in Healdsburg.
He was elected to the state Senate in 2014 and has since authored legislation to protect marine life, support cannabis farmers, make cellphone service more reliable during power outages and fight the impacts of wildfires, an issue that hits close to home.