SACRAMENTO – Assemblywoman Nicole M. Parra (D-Hanford) joined Senators Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) and Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) at a Capitol ceremony honoring former State Senator Rose Ann Vuich (1976-1992), the first woman elected to the California Senate. Also at the ceremony, hearing room 2040 was renamed the Rose Ann Vuich Hearing Room.

“Senator Vuich is such a great example for young women to follow, especially for young women from the Central Valley,” said Assemblywoman Parra. “She really cleared a terrific path for us to follow and gave us a foundation on which to build.”

Senate Resolution (SR) 29, by Senators Romero and Kehoe, honors the life and achievements of Senator Rose Ann Vuich. A second-generation Serbian-American from the small farm town of Dinuba, in Tulare County, she distinguished herself as a farmer, as President of the Dinuba Chamber of Commerce, a tax accountant, an estate planner, and an office manager all before she entered politics. As an expert in agricultural development and international trade, she chaired the Legislature’s Rural Caucus and the Senate Banking, Commerce and International Trade Committee. Senator Vuich also authored two important bills that led to the creation of California’s Agricultural Export Finance Program, which became a national model, and the State Trade and Commerce Agency.

“I learned a lot about Senator Vuich from my former boss, Congressman Cal Dooley, who worked as her district director in the Senate,” Assemblywoman Parra said. “I have always held a particular affinity for the courage and strength she showed in becoming California’s first female State Senator.”