Sen. Laphonza Butler says she will be a voice for the youth during her time in Congress

(Inside California Politics) — Sen. Laphonza Butler, who was appointed to represent California in October after the death of longtime Senator Dianne Feinstein, is not running for a full term in November.

Despite the relatively short time she’ll serve in the Senate, around 13 months, the former president of Emily’s List said she’s hoping to leave her mark on the country.

Butler sat down with Inside California Politics co-host Nikki Laurenzo in late January to discuss her experience so far, what she hopes to accomplish in her short time in the Senate and what could be her possible next steps after serving in Congress.

This interview has been edited lightly for clarity.

Nikki Laurenzo: I want to ask you how your time has been in the Senate thus far. You have hit just over three months now, so in the past hundred or so days, what’s it been like? What’s your impression been? 

Sen. Laphonza Butler: Yeah, it’s so great to be with you today and to just talk about the work that we’ve been doing. In just over 100 days it has been an incredible, exhilarating ride. It’s an honor to represent 40 million Californians, to walk in the shoes, in the footsteps of Senator Feinstein.  

I just gave my first speech on the Senate floor and talked about how I get the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of Senator Feinstein and Senator Carol Moseley Braun and California’s own Vice President Kamala Harris in that chamber. It has been an incredible whirlwind of learning and working, but what a real honor to represent the place that I call home. 

Laurenzo: Let’s talk about that experience a little bit more. We see a lot of gridlock in Washington and the House is obviously a different chamber than the Senate. But is there a Republican that you have forged a relationship with that might surprise people at home who watch cable news and just see a division between Democrats and Republicans? 

Butler: You know, I appreciate that question because one of the most fascinating and really enjoyable experiences that I’ve had is getting to know my colleagues from the Republican side of the aisle.

It’s been great working within my caucus and the Democratic leadership has all been incredibly welcoming. Our senior Senator Alex Padilla has been a wonderful guide and spending time with Alabama’s junior Senator Katie Britt, or getting to spend time a little bit with North Carolina senior Senator Thom Tillis — it has been a really enjoyable and delightful experience. 

We may not always agree on policy pathways but being able to understand them, get to know them and their families and what’s important to them, how they think about governing on behalf of their state truly has been a delight. 

Laurenzo: You’re back here in California meeting with constituents and you’re having these events in Fresno and the Bay Area. What do you hope to accomplish? 

Butler: I am traveling across the different parts of our state, doing constituency meetings and making sure that I am bridging relationships between organizations that worked with Senator Feinstein for so many years but also new organizations that hadn’t yet been connected to their Senate office.  

I’m spending a lot of time on the road talking to California’s young people. I was just here in Fresno talking with a young group of high school students who go to a technical trade and technical high school.  

What I’m learning is that our children have high expectations of what they deserve and low expectations of what we adults and their government will deliver. If we’re to be able to meet or create the magic in the middle, meet their high expectations of what they deserve with what the government can be doing to help fulfill those dreams. I think we’ll be doing incredible work and an incredible service to the state of California. 

Laurenzo: Let’s talk about what’s happening with the deal on immigration. You mentioned Thom Tillis, forging a relationship with him. He is a conservative Republican and he’s saying that this deal on the border is the best that we’ve seen in a long time and the best that we’re going to get but it still looks — I mean, Mitch McConnell has come out and said he doesn’t know if the votes are there.  

You’re there front and center, you’re seeing these debates happen. What do you think? 

Butler: I meet Senator Tillis in his optimism. It is a set of compromises that whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican are going to be hard to talk about and hard to work our way through but it’s the right direction for our country to ultimately continue to move the ball forward and resolve and fix our broken immigration system once and for all. 

This has been a conversation months in the making or a deal months in the making. I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to get a vote on it.  

But it is clear that on the other side of the chamber, there is just such vitriol, in the House of Representatives, about advancing and making progress in a critical area for our country relative to our border security.  

It’s unimaginable that we’re having a conversation about whether or not a candidate wants Congress to do its job or not so that they have something to run on in November.  

And while again I’m optimistic about what we can accomplish in the Senate, Speaker Johnson has made it clear that that the former president is calling the shots on his side of the aisle. 

Laurenzo: I wonder what mark you hope to leave during your short stint there. Some people serve many years in Congress and look to leave their mark and effect change. What do you hope to do with the months you have left there? 

Butler: We all experienced the fields of government as it relates to passing legislation. They can turn very slowly and so I am realistic about that, but it doesn’t make me any less urgent about meeting the needs and as well as leading towards and governing in the name of the young people who are counting on us to get so much right for the future of our democracy. 

If indeed we are going to turn the baton of our nation over to the next generation we’ve got to be committed to doing it and to passing that baton and making sure that our country is a little bit better, a little bit stronger, a little bit more united than it was when we got it.  

Now, I will be holding the baton for a much shorter period of time than many of my colleagues currently. But while I have the baton, I am intent on making sure that I center the voices of young Californians that I talk about, the issues that are important to governing in the context and in the frame of their stories, of their dreams, of their fears, and making sure that I truly am lending my voice to them to be a representative of future generations. 

So often we find those who govern based on the age group that is most likely to vote for them —the 65 and older. I am choosing with the voice that I have and the time that I am in service to hopefully leave a mark where I am governing for those who are often counted out because they don’t vote as frequently but whose lives are most dependent on the decisions we make today.  

That 18 to 24 age group that sometimes may show up to the voting box, that is that generation, that group of voters who I think are so dependent on the decisions that we make right now… I will use my office and platform to be a convener of their voices across the state of California and across the country, and work to advance issues that are critical to them.  

In every conversation that I’ve had there’s been a mention of youth mental health. How are we exercising our energy around that?  

Every conversation that I’ve had with young Californians has been about the future of our democracy, and should they believe in it or not.  

And then lastly, they spent a lot of time talking to me about economic opportunity and so that is where I’m going to spend my time. It’s where I want to leave my mark and it’s the voices that I want to amplify because, at the end of the day, we all want to make sure that we’re leaving it better for our children and our grandchildren. 

Laurenzo: So you’ve decided not to run for the seat. Obviously, that’s been widely reported here on this show, but I want to ask: are you done with public office? Do you see a potential run for another position in the future? 

Butler: I talked to my daughter, nine years old, and I talked to her about never saying never. I am fully committed to being of service as in prior positions that I’ve had, and I think will be a continued part of my own sort of personal life legacy just knowing that my life is not my own and I should be using it in the service of others.  

So I don’t count it out. I never say never, but it is not immediate and top of mind for me. What is, is honoring Senator Feinstein and the way that she would deserve, and the women who’ve come before me to make sure that we are serving and creating a space for the next generation of leaders. 

Laurenzo: I have to ask before we leave you, do you plan on endorsing any of the Democratic candidates ahead of the primary in this battle to replace Senator Feinstein? 

Butler: I do not. I don’t have that plan at all. I think there are three great candidates that Californians are considering, and they know the debate has been underway. I know all of them are making their case to Californians and making their case to voters in every corner of the state and I look forward to voters making some decisions here in this upcoming primary. 

Laurenzo: We appreciate your time here on Inside California Politics. 

Butler: Thank you so much.