In conclusion
This year, California politicians have averaged over six hours of speech. Comparatively few others have spoken. If you remain silent, how effective can you be?
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While some California senators rarely speak, the majority of them enjoy talking.
The average politician has talked for 6.3 hours since the legislative session started in December. However, according to a CalMatters Digital Democracy research, eight lawmakers—six of whom are Republicans, a superminority in the Legislature—have spoken for an hour or less.
Three Orange County assembly members and a state senator from the north are among the quiet Republicans. The Inland Empire’s competitive Assembly swing seats are represented by two other reserved Republicans. Additionally, this year, two Democratic assembly members—one from the San Joaquin Valley and the other from the Chino area—have remained largely silent.
In an emailed comment, Orange County Republican Kate Sanchez stated, “I don’t waste time on performative politics.” We would have far more fruitful discussions in the Capitol if more of my colleagues followed suit.
So far this year, Sanchez has spoken for slightly over an hour. Her brief bill, which attempted to bar transgender children from playing on a girls’ interscholastic sports team, was the subject of many of her comments.
The CalMattersDigital Democracy database, which records every word said during public hearings in the California Legislature, reveals the startling disparities in speech.
Does talking, however, equate to effectiveness? Not always.
Speaking time and whether a lawmaker’s bills were signed into law during the previous two-year session were not related, according to a Digital Democracy investigation.
Thad Kousser, a political science professor at UC San Diego and a former legislative aide, is not surprised by that.
According to Kousser, the student who is continuously raising his hands in class might not always be the one who gets attention.
Does talking make lawmakers effective?
Rather matter how often lawmakers discuss bills, success appears to mostly depend on the kinds of bills they submit. Regardless of how much they talk about it, lawmakers from both parties who frequently write contentious legislation have a lower chance of seeing theirs pass.
Relationships and personalities with coworkers are also important.For instance, Bill Essayli, a fiery Republican who represents the Corona area, was the tenth most chatty of the 26 Republicans in the last session due to his frequent criticism of Democrats in speeches.
His bills didn’t pass. Several of Essayli’s bills were designed to win over his Republican supporters, much like his ferocious floor speeches. Even the handful who weren’t very controversial were assassinated out of vengeance by the Democrats who control the Legislature.
In contrast, even though she was the third-quietest member of the Legislature during the last session, Sen. Meghan Dahle, who represents the Redding region, had the greatest bill success rate among Republicans.
Dahle is personally liked by both parties.Additionally, her bills are typically not very contentious. Usually, they concentrate on regional concerns that are significant to her voters.
Find out more about the lawmakers this story mentions.
Dahle, Megan
Republican, District 1 (Redding), State Assembly
Arambula, Joaquin
Democrat, Fresno’s District 31 in the State Assembly
Wallis, Greg
Republican, District 47 (Rancho Mirage), State Assembly
Rodriguez, Michelle
Democrat, District 53 (Chino), State Assembly
Castillo Leticia
Republican, Corona, District 58, State Assembly
Tri Ta
Republican, Westminster, State Assembly, District 70
Kate Sanchez
Republican, Rancho Santa Margarita, District 71, State Assembly
However, Kousser noted that this does not negate the importance of speaking to lawmakers as a political consideration.
He claimed that no lawmaker is persuaded to support a bill by a floor address. The purpose of a floor speech is to influence public opinion about a legislator, not a bill. Who is this individual? What do they represent?
For example, even though Democrats rejected all of Essayli’s measures, his anti-Democratic statements generated a constant flow of news stories and social media posts that attracted the attention of people close to President Donald Trump. After being appointed the acting U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles by Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi, this spring, Essayli resigned from the Legislature.
Fresno s quiet lawmaker says he s effective
Joaquin Arambula, a member of the Fresno Democratic Assembly, has been more quieter than he was during the previous session and has only spoken for 55 minutes this year.
However, he questioned whether his speaking frequency accurately represented his influence and level of participation in the Legislature.
with an interview with Fresnoland, a reporting partner for CalMatters, Arambula stated, “I think you can get more across in fewer words and be just as effective as those who speak more.” “The original number of words spoken means very little to me,” she said. As a result, I give that statistic absolutely no weight or legitimacy.
Speaker Robert Rivas removed Arambula from the Assembly’s health committee, but he claimed he hasn’t become any less involved in the Legislature. Arambulahad talked of running against Rivas for the position of leader. An ER physician named Arambula has submitted a bid to serve on the Fresno City Council in 2026.
Speaking is less significant than what MPs do for their communities, according to Arambula.
I have a responsibility to make sure that our community is represented well, Arambula said. I believe you do that most effectively by returning resources.
Arambula said he played a key role, despite a tough budget year, in Gov.Gavin Newsom including $100 millionfor infrastructure in Fresno s downtown and Chinatown as part of a $300 million commitment. Last year, Newsom put a halt to state assistance for the city’s infrastructure.
No one else was able to return resources for their community like we were, Arambula said.
Quiet lawmakers unavailable for interviews
Perhaps not surprisingly, the other quiet lawmakers either didn t respond to interview requests, or their spokespeople replied with emailed statements.
Republican AssemblymemberGreg Wallis, who won his Inland Empire Assembly seat in 2022 by one of the smallest margins in state history, has largely stayed silent on the dais since. So far this year, he s talked for 38 minutes.
I love the irony of chasing the quiet Assemblymembers for an interview, Wallis spokesperson Colin Hawley said in an email. Greg is all about consistency, so in this instance, he s choosing to keep his words few and let his votes do the talking.
The most silent by far is Sen.Dahle. She talked for just seven minutes so far this year. Never particularly chatty on the dais to begin with, Dahle hada stroke in late 2023. It s now difficult for her to form words, so she mostly stays quiet.
After taking time off to recover, Dahle gave a brief floor speech last August while still a member of the Assembly.
Speaking s hard, but I m doing it,she said, while fighting back tears.
This year, much of the seven minutes Dahle spoke were on the Senate floor during anotheremotional speechsupporting a stroke resolution.
In an emailed statement, Dahle said she has that much more time to listen and to discern what is good for my north state constituents and what is not when she s not speaking in hearings.
She said she is still fighting on issues such as wolf attacks on livestock, illegal marijuana growing and the state s rural water supply.
Democratic AssemblymemberMichelle Rodriguez, elected last year to represent the Chino area, spoke for only 34 minutes. A spokesperson said she was too busy for a phone interview last week while the session is on summer recess.
A spokesperson for AssemblymemberLeticia Castillo, a Corona-area Republican who has talked for 52 minutes since narrowly winning her Assembly seat last year, didn t return messages.
Spokespeople for Orange County RepublicansTri Ta, who spoke for 65 minutes, andPhillip Chenwho spoke for 28, also didn t return interview requests.
Former Stockton-area Democratic Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman, who termed out of the Legislature last year, said some of the most persuasive lawmakers are those who provide thoughtful commentary at the right moment instead of blabbing all the time.
If you re just talking to have words, quickly you re going to get eye rolls, and people drift away, she said. People don t listen if you re just talking.
Digital Democracy s Thomas Gerrity and Foaad Khosmood contributed to this story.
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