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Susan Talamantes Eggman is in her first term in the California State Senate, having previously served four terms in the State Assembly.
Due to her time in the Assembly, Eggman is limited to serving one four-year term in the Senate under California term limit guidelines. But she intends to make the most of her time, telling the Bay Area Reporter, “We need to take a hard look to make sure we are meeting people's basic needs.”
Eggman prevailed over Republican challenger Jim Ridenour, succeeding Cathleen Gagliani, who was term-limited out.
Background
A U.S. Army veteran who served four years at Fort Meade Army Hospital in Maryland, Eggman holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Stanislaus and a doctorate in psychology from Portland State University. Her campaign website notes that “as a social worker she worked as a substance abuse counselor and saw firsthand the ravages of the opioid epidemic.”
Openly lesbian, Eggman has served as past chair of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus and was the first openly gay member of the Stockton City Council. Eggman has a daughter with Renee Hill, her partner of more than 37 years and wife since 2014.
Committees
Agriculture
Budget and Fiscal Review
Budget Subcommittee #3 on Health and Human Services (Chair)
Business, Professions and Economic Development
Energy, Utilities and Communications
Health
Military and Veteran’s Affairs
Natural Resources and Water
Select Legislation
AB 14: Eggman is one of 26 sponsors of this bill, introduced in December 2020, that “would authorize local educational agencies to report to the department their pupils’ estimated needs for computing devices and internet connectivity adequate for at-home learning,” according to a state legislature website.
The bill came after the COVID-19 pandemic laid bare inequities, with U.S. census data showing that roughly 25 percent of students in the state lacked consistent internet access, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.
District boundaries and office locations
Eggman’s district sprawls just east of the Bay Area in the Central Valley, including parts of Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Sacramento counties and all or part of the cities of Stockton, Modesto, Tracy, Lodi, and Manteca.
