When Verna Sulpizio Hull was sworn into office in 2022, the West Sacramento City Council was comprised entirely of women for the first time ever. Even in California, where almost 40% of officeholders are women — one of the highest rates in the nation — such an event is still rare. West Sacramento became the sixth city in the state to do so.

West Sacramento voters didn’t set out intending to make history. It just so happened that the candidates that best represented their interests were all women.

“We are five very smart, capable women, with individual priorities and lived experiences,” said Sulpizio Hull, who gave birth to her second child the day after the swearing-in ceremony. “The fact that we are all female informs the lens we look at every issue through.”

West Sacramento is a diverse, family-oriented city with almost half of its residents identifying as non-white, and about a quarter under the age of 18. Many of the issues voters care about involve making the city safer, more affordable, and generally more conducive for families. The issues the council has taken up reflect those desires.

Yolo County Supervisor Oscar Villegas, who served on the West Sacramento City Council for 13 years, said that the gender composition of the current council plays a significant role in determining its agenda in large part because council members have an intimate knowledge of what families need.

“The fact that the members are all female really shapes how the council approaches complicated policy issues, especially those impacting children and families in our community,” he said. “They’ve put a lot of energy into big-ticket, citywide policy goals and things like making sure school-aged children have the supplies they need and organizing family-friendly bike rides to teach kids how to navigate the city safely. It’s a fresh perspective that shows just how much good can happen when you can walk and chew gum at the same time.”

The council works well together on issues of gender pay equity, reproductive rights, and child care access/affordability, says Mayor Martha Guerrero, They also view issues like transportation through a family lens. The council put Measure O on the 2024 November ballot to help fund road repairs and improvements. The council wants to make streets safer for parents with strollers and children biking.

Another priority for the council is finding ways to increase community cohesiveness and make the city welcoming for everyone. It has dramatically expanded the number of community events, in particular family-friendly options. Recent events include the West Sac Rhythm on The River concert series, an outdoor cinema night, the Arts in the Hearts art and music fair, and a rotating set of weekly mobile farmers markets.

“As moms, we know that we are always looking for ways to get together with other families — so we decided let’s do it for the entire community,” Mayor Pro Tem Dawnté Early said.

The conventional thinking that women tend to be more consensual than men in decision-making holds true in West Sacramento, council members told Western City. Sulpizio Hull noted that in discussions around a new strategic plan, every item placed on the agenda was mutually agreed upon.

Guerrero, who has led the city since 2020, noted that a hallmark of this council is its emphasis on listening — to each other and the community.

“There is more listening, genuine listening, with this council,” she said. “And not only is our council good at it, but the voters also appreciate it. People want to be listened to and heard and they feel like they are here.”

Early agrees. “I think this is a function of how we are all respectful of each other’s perspective,” she said. “We have different lived experiences, so we make sure to listen and put ourselves in the other person’s shoes. I don’t know if that is because we are women, or because as individuals we each value that kind of leadership, but it works.”

The council’s support for the community also extends to each other. They frequently share their experiences of parenting and juggling the demands of council responsibilities and their other roles in life as parents, caregivers, and employees.

“We are constantly comparing notes and supporting each other,” said Guerrero. “I’m a grandmother, and I know some of the challenges mothers face serving on city council.”

The gender makeup of the city council has an added, unintended benefit: It serves as a model for young girls in the community by showing them more ways women can lead. Early is a Girl Scout troop leader. When she was sworn in, members of the troop were in attendance.

“I’ve now heard some of the girls say, “I want to run for president like Ms. Dawnté!” laughed Early. “They saw themselves in me and realized someday they could be whomever they want to be too.

The members all say they have not encountered any resistance in the community to their agenda priorities or tactics.

“There could have been, ‘Well, who’s going to speak for the men?’” said Sulpizio Hull. “But nobody came to me with that. If they had, I was ready with the response: ‘Men have been running this city for a very long time. It’s time for the next generation of leaders to step up.’”