Lois Wolk (born May 12, 1946) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former member of the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she represented the 3rd Senate District, which encompasses the

Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Northern California. The Delta is formed at the western edge of the Central Valley by the confluence of the Sacramento and San ...

region and portions of the North Bay. Wolk was a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus. Before being elected to the State Senate in 2008, she served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

, where she represented the 8th Assembly District, and the 5th Assembly District after the 2010

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. She is also a former member of both the

Yolo County Yolo County (; Wintun: ''Yo-loy''), officially the County of Yolo, is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,403. Its county seat is Woodland. Yolo County is incl ...

Board of Supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

and the

Davis Davis may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Davis (Antarctica) * Davis Island (Palmer Archipelago) * Davis Valley, Queen Elizabeth Land Canada * Davis, Saskatchewan, an unincorporated community * Davis Strait, between Nunavut and Gre ...

City Council.

Early life

Wolk was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

.Berkeley Lab Database Info
/ref> She earned a B.A. from

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

in 1968, and an M.A. from

Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a graduate school of Johns Hopkins University based in Washington, D.C., United States, with campuses in Bologna, Italy, and Nanjing, China. It is consistently ranked one of the ...

in 1971. She has taught history, Social Studies and French in grades 7 through 12 in both public and private schools. Wolk lives in

Davis, California Davis is the most populous city in Yolo County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 66,850 in 2020, not including the on-campus population of the University of California, Da ...

with her husband, Bruce Wolk, formerly a Professor of Law at

UC Davis Law School The University of California, Davis School of Law (Martin Luther King Jr. Hall), referred to as UC Davis School of Law and commonly known as King Hall, is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school rece ...

. They married in 1968 and have two sons, Adam and Dan. Dan is the former mayor of Davis, California.

Political career

Wolk won a seat on the Davis City Council in 1990, and served two terms as Mayor from 1992 to 1994 and 1996 to 1998. She then served as

Supervisor A supervisor, or lead, (also known as foreman, boss, overseer, facilitator, monitor, area coordinator, line-manager or sometimes gaffer) is the job title of a lower-level management position that is primarily based on authority over workers or ...

from 1998 to 2002, chairing the Board in 2000. Wolk was elected to the

in 2002, and won re-election in 2004 and 2006. Wolk was Chair of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee and she served on Assembly Committees on Budget, Local Government, and Natural Resources, as well as the Budget Subcommittee on Transportation and Information Technology. In addition, Wolk served on numerous Select Committees including Biotechnology; California Children's School Readiness and Health; Domestic Violence; Growth and Infrastructure; Ports; Water, Infrastructure and the Economy; Rural Economic Development; and Wine. In her five years in the Assembly, Wolk succeeded in authoring 56 new laws. In 2007, Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

signed many Wolk-authored bills including legislation to improve flood protection in flood-prone areas of California's Central Valley; improve safety on a treacherous stretch of State Highway 12; require more planning for state parks and recreation opportunities for the Central Valley; and provide the Department of Fish and Game with the authority to control highly invasive species that threaten California's water delivery and natural ecosystems. Wolk has been honored by many organizations for her public service, including the Planning and Conservation League, which named Wolk its 2007 Legislator of the Year for her leadership in water policy and legislation, and for championing a landmark package of flood protection bills to strengthen flood protection in California's Central Valley and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region. In 2007, both the Highway 12 Association and Solano Transportation Authority honored Wolk for her tireless work to develop a Highway 12 safety package with the California Department of Transportation and

California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...

, and for authoring legislation to establish a safety enhancement double fine zone on a dangerous stretch of State Highway Route 12. Wolk termed out of the Assembly in 2008 and was succeeded by Mariko Yamada. In 2008, Wolk ran for the California State Senate in the 5th district, the seat held by Michael Machado. Wolk defeated her

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

opponent, fellow assembly-member

Greg Aghazarian Gregory George Aghazarian (born September 10, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician from California. He is a Republican and former California State Assemblyman who represented the 26th district from 2002 until 2008. Prior to his election, ...

of Stockton. In 2015, Wolk co-sponsored, with

Bill Monning William Wheeler Monning (born April 2, 1951) is an American politician who was elected to the California State Senate in 2012. A Democrat, he served in the 17th Senate District which encompasses the Central Coast. Monning was reelected to the ...

, the SB-128

California End of Life Option Act California End of Life Option Act is a law enacted in June 2016 by the California State Legislature which allows terminally ill adult residents in the state of California to access medical aid in dying by self-administering lethal drugs, provide ...

which allows residents of California who meet strict criteria to exercise their

right to die The right to die is a concept based on the opinion that human beings are entitled to end their life or undergo voluntary euthanasia. Possession of this right is often understood that a person with a terminal illness, incurable pain, or without t ...

through medical aid in dying. Wolk was termed out in 2016 and was succeeded by Bill Dodd. Work, who is Jewish, is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.

References

External links

Page on Davis Wiki page

Join California Lois Wolk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolk, Lois 1946 births Living people Schoolteachers from California American women educators Antioch College alumni California city council members County supervisors in California Democratic Party California state senators Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies alumni Mayors of places in California People from Davis, California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Philadelphia Women state legislators in California Jewish American state legislators in California Women city councillors in California 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Educators from Pennsylvania 21st-century American Jews