Leadership Staff Section Newsletter
October 2017
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
RESOURCES
NCSL LEADERSHIP STAFF SECTION
Founded in 1975, the NCSL Staff Leadership Section (LSS) has about 410 legislative staff members. The purpose of LSS is to help staff become effective leaders and to provide a forum to share information. In an effort to expand our membership, LSS amended the bylaws to be more inclusive. Our new LSS Staff Section chair, Charity Stowe, deputy director of legislative affairs, leadership assistant in the Indiana General Assembly, invites all Young and new Professional Staff to join LSS.
One goal of LSS is to provide support for legislative staff in leadership roles and to prepare new staff to fill those roles. This quarterly electronic newsletter features articles on state legislative internships and mentorships programs and much more. LSS hopes that you will enjoy our quarterly electronic newsletter, become a member and/or be a contributor.
LSS Professional Development Semiar
This year, much like 2017, LSS will be holding their annual Professional Development Seminar as a pre-con to the Legislative Summit. Designed to help you get the most bang for your buck at the Summit, the seminar will be the day and a half before Summit begins in Los Angeles, July 29-30. The LSS program development committee has developed a well rounded program covering topics from civility and ethics, social media and privacy as well as leadership skills and professional branding. There will also be ample time to talk with, learn from and network with fellow leadership staff from across the nation. Full agenda, registration and housing details can be found here.
why i go to the pds
Dear Fellow LSS Members,
I am writing to encourage you to attend this year’s Leadership Staff Professional Development Seminar July 29-30, 2018, immediately prior to the NCSL Legislative Summit in Los Angeles, California.
The Professional Development Seminar is where we, as the Leadership Staff Professional Association, can get together to learn from each other, develop relationships, and engage in great strategies for improving success in the workplace.
The Professional Development Seminar focuses on topics that are pertinent to your role as leadership staff. In past seminars, our agenda has included sessions on ethical standards, mentorship, improving constituent services, and other topics that help us hone our leadership skills. We are given the opportunity to network and communicate with states that we may not have engaged with at all prior to the event, and that has been a valuable experience for me.
This year we are gearing up for another great PDS in sunny Los Angeles, California! This seminar is conveniently scheduled to occur in conjunction with NCSL’s Legislative Summit, so traveling for both meetings is much more feasible, especially when your office is focused on cost savings and fiscal responsibility.
I feel my role in the Oregon Legislature has been enriched in a significant way because of the experience, the new and continuing relationships, and key issues that we discuss at PDS. This is a unique opportunity to collaborate with colleagues across the country, focused solely on staff.
I will be attending this year’s PDS and hope to see you all there!
Sincerely,
Andrea Chiapella
Andrea Chiapella is 2nd vice chair for the Leadership Staff Professional Association and a senior policy analyst for the Oregon State Senate Republican Office
LSS at legislative summit
LSS has teamed up with other staff groups to provide wide ranging and highly valuable sessions for leadership staff at Summit. LSS's own Sheron Violini has arranged an active threat training led by members of the California Highway Patrol. Other LSS co-sponsored sessions are: Navingating Legislative Negotiation, Open Your Ears: Acitve Listening, Sexual Harrassment: Getting it Right on Policy, The Cure for Death by Small Talk and the Leardership Roundtable. A full agenda, regsitation and housing information can be found here.
california: by the numbers
By, Alex Vassar, California State Library and Sheron Violini, California Senate Operations
The members of the 2017-18 Session hold some interesting records in terms of age and service statistics.
Age
Sworn in just weeks after her 29th birthday, Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes is the youngest member of the current legislature and the third-youngest woman to ever serve.
Speaking of young members, it’s worth noting that when Sebastian Ridley-Thomas took the oath of office in 2013, he was the youngest California state legislator (26 years, 17 weeks) since Assemblyman John R. Lewis in 1981 (26 years, 5 weeks). By comparison, the youngest legislator ever was probably Assemblyman John J. De Haven, who was sworn in at 19 in 1869.
At just under 73 years old on the first day of session, Assemblyman Steven S. Choi is the fourth-oldest freshman legislator in state history. The last time an older legislator was sworn into their first term was in 1945, when 73-year-old Assemblyman Albert I. Stewart arrived. Assembly Majority leader Ian C. Calderon (first appointed at age 30) is the youngest Majority Leader of either house in California history. The previous record-holder was Assembly Majority Leader Walter J. Karabian, who became Majority Leader at age 33 in 1971.
Speakers in the Senate
Two former Assembly Speakers (Toni Atkins and Robert Hertzberg) are now serving in the State Senate. In March of this year, Senator Atkins was sworn in as the first woman and open member of the LGBTQ community to lead the California State Senate.
Prior to Hertzberg, the last former Speaker to serve in the State Senate was Frank F. Merriam (Speaker, 1923-1925) in 1929-1931. The last time that multiple former Speakers served in the Senate together was 1876-1877, when Speakers James Farley (1856) and George H. Rogers (1870) served together. Also in the Senate with Farley and Rogers was Robert Howe, who would become Assembly Speaker more than a decade later (in 1889).
District Numbers
District boundaries are redrawn every ten years, but even with that movement some districts tend to stay in the hands of a single party. There are few better examples than Assembly District 40, which until 2016 hadn’t elected a Republican since 1930. The previous last multi-term Republican legislator for that district was Harold Cloudman, who won it four times while it was Alameda County. The 1933 redistriciting took AD-40 to Santa Clara County, in 1940s it moved to Stanislaus County, down to Fresno in the 1970s, and to Los Angeles in the 1980s to 2000s. In 2012, Mike Morrell became the first Republican to win that district number since 1938.
Similarly, two longtime records were broken in 2012 when Rod Wright became the first Democrat from Senate District 35 since 1936 and Jim Patterson became the first Republican from Assembly District 23 in the same period.
There are still a few district numbers that have stayed with a single party through several redistrictings:
The last Republican elected from AD-13 was Robert P. Easley in 1930.
The last Republican elected from SD-22 was David F. Bush in 1930.
The last Republican elected from SD-30 was Ray W. Hays in 1938.
The last Republican elected from AD-19 was Gardiner Johnson in 1940.
Longest Serving
The longest serving current legislator is Senator Jim Nielsen, who was first elected to the Legislature in 1978. To provide some perspective on how long ago that was, consider this; thirteen current Assembly members and two Senators were born after Nielsen’s first election to the Senate. That’s not the record though. In 1998, when Ralph Dills finished his final term in the Senate, 87 of his fellow legislators had been born after he first assumed office.
Birthplace
In the current class, 82 California-born legislators are joined by members from eighteen other states, and eleven foreign countries. Pennsylvania leads the list with four members (Bloom, Mayes, Pan and Wiener) followed by Ohio with three (Chiu, Melendez and Roth). The rise of Pennsylvania has been an anomaly, with New Yorkers usually being the largest group of non-Californians. A decade ago, New York led with eight members, and there were only two Pennsylvanians in the two houses.
Former Members
There are currently approximately 450 living former members. The oldest living former legislator is William M. Huyck who turned 100 in early 2017. Assemblyman Huyck was elected to his first term in 1946 and is the only remaining 1940s legislator. The youngest former member is Eric Linder (38 years old) who served from 2012 to 2016.
Mindfulness in the workplace
By Sheron Violini, Deputy Secretary for Senate Operations
Co-authored by Matthew Wainwright and Christine Rodriguez, Senate Operations
As legislative staff we have deadlines to navigate, bills to pass, constituent problems to solve and a myriad of other demanding issues to address. Can a greater understanding of “mindfulness” help you become better in your role at the legislature? If so, what does it mean and how can you apply the concept?
Mindfulness is the newest leadership buzz word. Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. Mindfulness is not a new idea, although, the popularity of mindfulness in the western world has skyrocketed in recent years. Scientists study it, monks still practice it and business leaders use it to thwart burnout.
When you are mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings. Mindfulness is about being present in the moment without judgement. By being present, you can decrease your stress level and make better choices and better decisions. Mindfulness can help you with all of your business and personal interactions. Practicing awareness helps you recognize daily distractions that keep you from reaching important goals. This can be especially helpful when you are navigating a difficult policy or constituent issue and are looking for a resolution. For example, if you listen to a constituent explain their problem without judgement, you may avoid rushing to a conclusion and be more effective in resolving the constituent’s issue.
In addition, positive self-evaluation can help performance. According to Organizing Tomorrow Today, by Dr. Jason Selk and Tom Bartow, one way to decrease anxiety is to focus on what you can control. The authors suggest asking three questions daily:
What three things did I do well today?
What one thing do I want to improve tomorrow?
What is one thing I can do differently right now that can help me make improvement?
Taking time to reflect on these three questions may help you lead a calmer and more productive life, thus becoming more confident, successful and productive.
In closing, I will leave you with this quote from New York Times best-selling author, Sharon Salzberg, “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.”
2018 LSS Legislative staff achivement award winner
LSS is happy to present the LSS Legislative Staff Achivement Award for 2018 to Sheron Violini of California.
Sheron Violini is the Deputy Secretary for Operations at the California State Senate.
In her role as Deputy Secretary, Ms. Violini directs the coordination of Member office constituent outreach, supervises the Senate Mail Program, which navigates the mailing laws and assists with the facilitation of district events. Ms. Violini is the official record keeper responsible for responding to Legislative Open Records Act requests and she was also the catalyst for the formation of the Senate’s official training office.
Ms. Violini plays a significant role in the planning, development, and implementation of training programs for Members and staff. She works closely with the Secretary of the Senate and Rules administrative deputies to coordinate and deliver these projects. Her current projects include identifying cost effective ways to motivate staff and heightening workplace mindfulness.
With over twenty-five years of legislative experience, Ms. Violini embraces change and urges collaboration between generations to build effective teams.
Ms. Violini earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Davis and a Master of Arts degree in Public History from California State University, Sacramento.
LSS and NCSL thank Sheron and recognize her for her hard work and commitment to LSS, the California Legislature and NCSL. Sheron has been instrumental in putting together and planning the upcoming LSS PDS in Los Angeles, she spearheaded the creation of the new LSS Newsletter and tirelessly promotes LSS and NCSL.
Sheron and the other Staff Achievement Award winners will be honored during the legislative staff luncheon at the NCSL Legislative Summit in Los Angeles Aug 1st and the award plaque will be presented at the NCSL Leadership Staff Section professional development seminar, also in Los Angeles, on July 29th.
Thank you, Sheron!!!
LSS Executive Committee: Call for nominations
The Nominations Committee of the NCSL Leadership Staff Section (LSS) is seeking candidates for the LSS Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is composed of 13 members—the LSS Chair, First Vice Chair, Second Vice Chair, nine Directors elected by the membership, and the Immediate Past Chair.
Will you consider offering your time and talents to our great staff section by serving on the LSS Executive Committee? Elections will be held during our Business Meeting at our annual Professional Development Seminar in Los Angeles, Calif. The Business Meeting is scheduled for July 30th.
Executive Committee members select a site and prepare the agenda for the annual LSS Professional Development Seminar, call special meetings of the full membership, appoint subcommittees and special committees, and determine the direction and actions of the Leadership Staff Section. LSS provides a forum for professional development for its members and interaction with counterparts in legislatures across the country.
The ability for staff to travel for professional development is a critical issue in many states. NCSL and LSS recognize this and are continuously utilizing new methods of providing professional development for LSS members who are unable to travel. Even though participation in person is the preferred way to participate in LSS, it is not imperative that you attend every out-of-state meeting. The ability to travel is only one of many considerations used by the Nominations Committee when selecting candidates for the Executive Committee. Many past directors discovered that their election to the LSS Executive Committee opened the door to greater opportunities for travel.
To be considered for one of the Executive Committee positions, please e-mail me, as Chair of the Nominations Committee, your letter of intent. My contact information is listed below. If you have questions, please contact me or the NCSL liaison to LSS, Megan McClure by telephone or e-mail. Deadline for nominations is July 15th, 2018.
Naomi E. Miller
Office: 210-828-4411
Naomi.Miller@speaker.texas.gov
Megan E. McClure
NCSL liaison to Leadership Staff
(303)856-1355
Megan.mcclure@ncsl.org
NCSL Legisbriefs now free and open to everyone
If you need to be informed, you need LegisBriefs. Concise. Easy-to-read. Informative. For people who want to know all sides of the emerging issues. Each two-page report gives you a wealth of insight into the issues that affect the states. NCSL publishes four LegisBriefs each month.
We’d like to share that starting this month, LegisBriefs are available to everyone free of charge. This means that anyone will be able to read them or download the PDFs from the LegisBrief portal page.
CONTACT
Megan McClure, senior staff assistant
NCSL Liaison to the Leadership Staff Section
303-856-1355 | megan.mcclure@ncsl.org
We want to hear from you! Email your suggested topic
to be included in future issues to Sheron Violini,
deputy secretary for operations, California State
Senate at sheron.violini@sen.ca.gov