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Years later as a legislator, Toni proudly wrote laws that removed obstacles keeping women from getting the health care they needed, especially in rural areas of California who may not have access to various services. And, after the gut-wrenching Dobbs decision leaked, she wrote the constitutional amendment to protect the right to abortion and contraception for generations to come — and led the effort with Planned Parenthood and other grassroots clinics and organizations to ensure it was approved by a majority of California voters.
After working in the women’s clinic, Toni went to work as a staff member at City Hall, later running and winning a seat on the City Council in 2000, where she passed San Diego’s first living wage law. When the Mayor of San Diego resigned during a period of crisis, Toni served as acting Mayor and helped San Diego successfully navigate the scandal.
Elected by voters to the state Assembly in 2010, Toni served there for six years. In 2014, her colleagues selected her to be the Speaker of the Assembly, becoming the first San Diegan and the first lesbian to hold the position. As someone who grew up in a house without running water, Toni counts passing a $7.5-billion investment in clean, safe and reliable drinking water supplies as one of her proudest accomplishments as Speaker of the Assembly.
In 2016, San Diego voters elected her to the State Senate — and after just one year, she was again selected by her colleagues to serve as Senate President pro Tempore, becoming the first woman and the first openly LGBTQ person to lead the Legislature’s upper house. Atkins is the first person in 150 years, the third person in California history, and the only woman to lead both houses of the Legislature.
During her time in the Legislature, she negotiated eight on-time balanced budgets with two Governors, building record reserves without raising taxes on working people. As a leader, she negotiated the passage of historic climate goals and increased access to health care.
Toni has worked to create good-paying jobs and bolster worker protections,
and she’s expanded educational opportunities so that nothing gets in the way of California’s children being able to learn. She’s a champion for affordable housing, the environment, health care, veterans, women, and the LGBTQ+ community. She has led legislative efforts to protect victims of crime, including children being trafficked and women facing domestic violence.
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