2021 Sacramento Symposium Recap
The Sacramento Symposium is a key part of Close the Gap California’s exploration process with prospective candidates for the next election cycle.
On April 21st, we held our fourth biannual Sacramento Symposium. While the day’s program has historically centered around in-person access to Sacramento influencers, we were able to adapt this year’s content into an all-virtual program with bonus resources and opportunities available after the event itself.
The Sacramento Symposium is a key element of Close the Gap California’s comprehensive exploration process. Together with a prospective candidate, we determine if it’s the right time for her to run and ensure that if and when she does, she has the know-how, confidence, and connections to launch a strong campaign.
“It’s easy to launch a legislative campaign and lose — but if you run, we want you to win.”
- Susannah Delano, Executive Director of Close the Gap California
43 prospective Recruits — our largest Symposium attendance ever — had front row seats to hear some of the most influential female leaders in California politics share their challenges, opportunities, and those moments when the impact they bring to their communities makes it all worthwhile!
Our 2021 Sacramento Symposium faculty — powerhouse legislators like LA County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, State Senators Sydney Kamlager and Lena Gonzalez, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes, and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry — didn’t hold back. Our Recruits heard brutally honest guidance about what it takes to be a winning female candidate and legislator in California state government today.
All this real talk allows prospective Recruits to emerge from the Symposium more determined to run than they were coming in. They see firsthand that women of all backgrounds have run and won — and come to understand that they won’t be alone when they dive in. The Symposium provides them the opportunity to grapple with the roadblocks that have held them back, envision a winning path, and lean into their ambition.
Here are just a couple key stats from our initial post-event feedback:
- All but five of our prospective Recruits told us they feel more prepared to launch a competitive campaign in the State Legislature after attending.
- More than 50% say they are more likely to run after attending.
- We had a fairly even split between those in NorCal vs. SoCal.
- In terms of those targeting a run for an open seat vs. a GOP flip, there was a 70/30 split.
- Women of color made up 72% of our attendees, with the largest group being Black women at 26% of total attendees, followed by AAPI & Latinx both at 23% of total attendees.
- 74% currently hold local office, with 60% of those holding office being City Council or Mayor (or nearly half of all attendees!).
We want to thank Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Karen Bass, the 47th Lieutenant Governor of California and current president of California Women Lead Mona Pasquil, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, and Grammy-nominated R&B sister duo Chloe x Halle for ending the event on a high note at our Virtual Symposium Reception.
Even if you missed this fabulous event, please consider supporting our amazing Recruits for 2022 and beyond! No donation is too small, and if you become a monthly donor you’ll enjoy free or discounted admission to future Close the Gap California events, including our biannual Sacramento Symposium Reception — a celebrated highlight for our aspiring Recruits and supporters.
It’s a fact: Women win as often as men, but only when they run. There’s no way we can close the gender gap in representation without flooding the candidate field with promising women! And that’s what our strategy, of which the Sacramento Symposium is a keystone element, is designed to deliver.
Close the Gap California is committed to building on progressive women’s historic momentum by recruiting them statewide and achieving equality in California by 2028. Join us!
About Close the Gap California
Close the Gap California (CTGCA) is a statewide campaign launched in 2013 to close the gender gap in the California Legislature by 2028. By recruiting accomplished, progressive women in targeted districts and preparing them to launch competitive campaigns, CTGCA is changing the face of the Legislature one cycle at a time.
One in every four women in the Legislature is a CTGCA Recruit. Our Recruits are committed to reproductive justice, quality public education, and combatting poverty, and nine of 10 serving today are women of color.
