California has a new senator. With the death of Dianne Feinstein last Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday the appointment of Laphonza Butler, head of pro-choice Democratic women candidates’ fundraising organization EMILYs List, to fill the seat.

Earlier in her career Butler spent ten years as president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 2015, the biggest labor union in California, representing home care workers. She played a role in the union’s successful campaign to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and also served as the president of the SEIU California State Council.

In his announcement following the appointment, Newsom described Butler as “an advocate for women and girls” and “a second-generation fighter for working people.” Butler has been sworn in and has stated she will continue Feinstein’s legacy by “committing to work for women and girls, workers and unions, struggling parents, and all of California.” She would be the first black lesbian senator in the state’s history.