Opportunities to become involved in public life felt out of reach.
Now, her appointment on Tuesday to the Nevada State Assembly, along with that of another woman, will make female lawmakers the majority in the state capital — the first time that has happened in the nation’s history. Duran and Rochelle Thuy Nguyen, both Democrats, were selected by the Clark County Board of County Commissioners to fill recently vacated seats.
“This is going to show more women that we can do it,” Duran, 55, said.
With Duran and Nguyen’s arrival, women will hold 32 of 63 seats in the Nevada Legislature when the next session begins in February, about 51 percent. No state house in history had ever crossed the 50 percent mark, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
New Hampshire previously had majority women representation in the state Senate, but women were not the overall majority in the Capitol.
In Nevada’s next session, women will hold a majority overall, owing to their numbers in the Assembly, though they are short of a majority in the Senate itself.
Marilyn Kirkpatrick, a Clark County commissioner and a former Nevada Assembly speaker, said a majority-women legislature was something she and others had worked toward for many years. In the Assembly, she said, she and her allies have kept a constant lookout for strong women candidates to cultivate.
“For so long, women thought they couldn’t juggle one more thing,” said Kirkpatrick, a Democrat. “But we’ve seen that women are super passionate and detail oriented in the legislature. When I first ran, a flyer went out against me saying, ‘What do you know, you’re a wife, you’re a mom, you’re a businesswoman, how can you run our state?'”
Nguyen, 41, said she had long considered elected office but “just a little, in the back of my mind.” She credits her two children, who are 6 and 8, with inspiring her to get involved.
“My husband and I want to send a good example for our children. You don’t get to just sit on the sidelines and complain about things you want to see changed or that you wish were different,” said Nguyen, a criminal defense lawyer. “I really think this is an opportunity to show them that if you want things to change or be better, you have to be that change.”
“I think it’s a long time coming,” she added.
Democrats will control both chambers in the Legislature next session.
Nguyen said she was particularly interested in criminal justice reform.
The seat taken by Duran was vacated by Olivia Diaz, a Democrat, who announced earlier this month that she would run for the Las Vegas City Council. The seat taken by Nguyen came open when Assemblyman Chris Brooks, also a Democrat, was appointed to the state Senate early this month; Brooks succeeded state Sen. Tick Segerblom, who was elected to the Clark County Board of Commissioners.
Duran’s job as a food server at the Four Queens Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where she helped unionize her colleagues in the late 1990s, provided her first foray into politics. She eventually became more involved in the Culinary Union Local 226, which has more than 50,000 members and carries enormous influence in the state’s politics.
The Culinary Union praised Duran’s work on behalf of union members. She “has been a fighter for working families for over 20 years,” the union said in a statement, citing her work in the Culinary Grievance Department. Duran said Tuesday that she was still absorbing the news and setting priorities for the legislative session, but added that focusing on working people will be central to her time in Carson City.
“I’ve always wanted to help people. I was a single mother and I didn’t have the opportunity to branch out and do different things,” Duran said about her decision to seek a legislative seat. “Now with my kids grown, I’m ready to jump in there.”
Duran and Nguyen were endorsed by the Nevada Democratic Assembly Caucus, which interviewed several applicants before making their recommendations to the county commissioners. Several other interested candidates also submitted for consideration through a county-run application process, a Clark County spokesman, Erik Pappa, said.
Kirkpatrick called Ngyuen and Duran amazing women who were “very well qualified and well spoken.”
“It’s going to be great to have them up there,” she added.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.