The Calif. State Assembly’s disappearing Jews, and what it means for future Congresses

The L.A. Jewish Journal notes an interesting election tidbit: The California State Assembly may not have any Jewish members soon.

Three current Jewish members are being term-limited out, the Journal reports. The Jewish mayor of Santa Monica, Richard Bloom, is challenging an incumbent Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, but the Journal concludes “the 80-member body could soon be without a single Jewish representative.”

I would add that the State Assembly has been an important feeder into Congress. Three of the six current Jewish members of California’s U.S. House delegation — Reps. Howard Berman, Henry Waxman and Susan Davis — served in the Assembly earlier in their political careers. A fourth, Rep. Adam Schiff, served in the State Senate. (Neither of California’s two Jewish U.S. senators served in the state legislature.)

Does a dearth of Jewish members in the next the next Assembly portend fewer California Jews in Congress down the road?

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The Forward has noted that Jewish numbers in Congress are declining steely. Jacques Berlinerblau had some smart thoughts on the trend.

I examined last year whether redistricting reform had the potential to diminish Jewish numbers in Congress.