State Senator Monique Limón, the child of Mexican immigrants and a former Santa Barbara Unified School Board member, won a key vote this past Monday (June 9) that makes her the first Latina to serve as Senate president pro tem. Her victory came the same time that President Donald Trump dispatched thousands of federalized National Guardsmen from California to provide back-up as protestors demonstrated against and attacked ICE detention facilities in Los Angles. In her new position, Limón — a progressive environmentalist with strong union ties — occupies one of the three most powerful positions in Sacramento.
Limón quickly moved up the ranks once elected to the Assembly in 2016. Even in junior high school, Limón was a political force. As a political player, Limón tends to weigh her words — and her votes — with great deliberation while diving deep into policy details. But when it came to Sable Offshore’s efforts to restart the Santa Ynez Unit, shut in down since the 2015 oil spill along the Refugio coast, Limón stuck her neck out. She hosted the town hall event at La Cumbre Junior High School and got eight high ranking state regulators to attend. At that time, it was the only public hearing on the matter. Unbeknownst to Sable, Limón offered a place on the stage to environmental attorney Linda Krop and actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus. After Louis-Dreyfus launched into her “I Smell a Rat” speech against Sable, more than 100 Sable workers stood up and stormed out. Limón won election to the Assembly in 2016 and then to the Senate in 2020. She will replace Senator Mike McGuire as senate president when his term ends in 2026 and will serve until her term expires at the end of 2028.
