Legislator Age Statistics

Of the 800+ California state legislators elected to their first terms since 1950, here are some age-related statistics.

The big takeaways are…

• Sebastian Ridley-Thomas was the second-youngest member in 60 years.
• When Ian Calderon was elected, he was the youngest member since Tom McClintock in 1982.
• Cindy Montañez was the youngest modern woman to serve in the California Legislature (but not the youngest ever).
• Cheryl R. Brown was the oldest new member of the Legislature in more than a decade.

 

Youngest Age When Assuming Office

	Legislator	Gender	First Year	Age
1	McCarthy, John F.	M	1950	25 years, 37 weeks
2	Lewis, John R.	M	1981	26 years, 5 weeks
3	Ridley-Thomas, Sebastian	M	2013	26 years, 17 weeks
4	McClintock, Tom	M	1982	26 years, 22 weeks
5	Costa, Jim	M	1978	26 years, 34 weeks
6	Imbrecht, Charles R.	M	1976	26 years, 45 weeks
7	Quimby, John P.	M	1963	26 years, 47 weeks
8	Calderon, Ian	M	2012	27 years, 7 weeks
9	Ingalls, Walter M.	M	1973	27 years, 12 weeks
10	Lempert, Ted	M	1988	27 years, 25 weeks
11	Moretti, Bob	M	1965	27 years, 31 weeks
12	Roberti, David A.	M	1967	27 years, 40 weeks
13	Sebastiani, Don	M	1980	27 years, 42 weeks
14	Torres, Art	M	1974	28 years, 10 weeks
15	Carter, Douglas F.	M	1973	28 years, 11 weeks
16	Cory, Kenneth	M	1967	28 years, 14 weeks
17	Lehman, Richard	M	1976	28 years, 21 weeks
18	Nolan, Patrick	M	1978	28 years, 25 weeks
19	Rees, Thomas M.	M	1955	28 years, 40 weeks
20	Karabian, Walter J.	M	1967	28 years, 42 weeks
21	Woodruff, Paul A.	M	1988	28 years, 42 weeks
22	Strickland, Tony	M	1998	28 years, 43 weeks
23	Wilson, Bob	M	1972	28 years, 44 weeks
24	Montañez, Cindy	F	2002	28 years, 46 weeks
25	Hill, Frank	M	1983	28 years, 47 weeks

 

Oldest Age When Assuming Office

	Legislator	Gender	First Year	Age
1	Soto, Nell	F	1998	71 years, 25 weeks
2	Takasugi, Nao	M	1992	69 years, 36 weeks
3	Lapthorne, George J.	M	1960	69 years, 33 weeks
4	Brown, Cheryl R.	F	2012	68 years, 43 weeks
5	Lowenthal, Bonnie	F	2008	68 years, 41 weeks
6	Bradley, Willis W.	M	1953	67 years, 27 weeks
7	Ammiano, Tom	M	2008	66 years, 51 weeks
8	Quirk, Bill	M	2012	66 years, 13 weeks
9	Margett, Bob	M	1995	66 years, 4 weeks
10	Mullin, Gene	M	2002	65 years, 33 weeks
11	Carter, Wilmer Amina	F	2006	65 years, 21 weeks
12	Coto, Joe	M	2004	65 years, 14 weeks
13	House, George	M	1994	65 years, 2 weeks
14	Berry, Swift	M	1953	64 years, 51 weeks
15	Patterson, Jim	M	2012	64 years, 42 weeks
16	Morrissey, Jim	M	1994	64 years, 30 weeks
17	Pacheco, Robert	M	1998	64 years, 27 weeks
18	Johnson, Edward C.	M	1951	64 years, 21 weeks
19	Lyon, Jr., LeRoy E.	M	1953	64 years, 16 weeks
20	Weber, Shirley N.	F	2012	64 years, 11 weeks
21	Allen, Michael	M	2010	63 years, 49 weeks
22	Cook, Paul	M	2006	63 years, 40 weeks
23	Goldberg, Jackie	F	2000	63 years, 26 weeks
24	Scott, Jack	M	1996	63 years, 15 weeks
25	Dutra, John	M	1998	63 years, 8 weeks

 

Oldest Age When Leaving Office

	Legislator	Gender	Last Year	Age
1	Alquist, Alfred E.	M	1996	88 years, 18 weeks
2	Dymally, Mervyn M.	M	2008	82 years, 30 weeks
3	Soto, Nell	F	2008	82 years, 24 weeks
4	Greene, Leroy F.	M	1998	80 years, 44 weeks
5	Rosenthal, Herschel	M	1998	80 years, 38 weeks
6	Margett, Bob	M	2008	79 years, 30 weeks
7	Bane, Tom	M	1992	78 years, 49 weeks
8	Craven, William A.	M	1998	77 years, 23 weeks
9	Karnette, Betty	F	2008	77 years, 12 weeks
10	Lanterman, Frank	M	1978	77 years, 5 weeks
11	Sher, Byron	M	2004	76 years, 43 weeks
12	Ayala, Ruben S.	M	1998	76 years, 39 weeks
13	Takasugi, Nao	M	1998	76 years, 35 weeks
14	Marks, Milton	M	1996	76 years, 20 weeks
15	Johnson, Edward C.	M	1962	76 years, 19 weeks
16	Davis, Ed	M	1992	76 years, 3 weeks
17	Scott, Jack	M	2008	75 years, 15 weeks
18	Belotti, Frank P.	M	1972	74 years, 47 weeks
19	Lowenthal, Bonnie	F	2014	74 years, 41 weeks
20	Schrade, Jack	M	1976	74 years, 28 weeks
21	Knight, William J. “Pete”	M	2004	74 years, 25 weeks
22	Vincent, Edward	M	2008	74 years, 24 weeks
23	Killea, Lucy	F	1996	74 years, 18 weeks
24	Papan, Louis J.	M	2002	74 years, 18 weeks
25	Kelley, David G.	M	2002	74 years, 8 weeks

It’s worth noting that there are eight incumbent legislators who (if they serve in their current house until they are forced out due to term limits) will appear on the list above.