DPOC announces CA SoS Shirley Weber as Women's Leadershop Awards Speaker

The Democratic Party of Orange County is proud to announce our first confirmed speaker for the Women’s Leadership Awards on April 11th in Buena Park: California Secretary of State Shirley Weber.

Born to sharecroppers in Arkansas and growing up in the segregated Jim Crow South, Dr. Weber’s experience with discrimination and voter suppression drove her activism later in life. Her father, who left Arkansas after being threatened by lynch mobs, was unable to cast a ballot until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

After her family relocated to California, Dr. Weber graduated from UCLA with Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctorate degrees by the age of 26. She became a professor at SDSU, teaching African Studies for over 40 years. Before her appointment as Secretary of State by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2020, Dr. Weber served in the State Assembly for three terms, representing the 79th Assembly District, encompassing cities and communities in the city of San Diego and San Diego County. In 2022, she won a full term as Secretary of State and received the California Democratic Party’s endorsement for re-election this year.

As California Secretary of State, Dr. Weber oversees the largest elections and voter registration rolls in the United States. She works in conjunction with California’s counties to process millions of ballots every cycle, while also expanding safe voting options to every community, ensuring the highest degrees of transparency and ballot access in the country. Every election is run fairly and accurately – a testament to Dr. Weber’s passion for equity and accountability.




https://theliberaloc.com/2026/03/12/dpoc-announces-ca-sos-shirley-weber-as-womens-leadershop-awards-speaker/