Capitol Spotlight: Susannah Delano, Close the Gap California

Activism is something Susannah Delano was exposed to from birth. “It’s kind of the family business in some ways,” she said.

A “double preacher’s kid,” she was raised in Indianapolis and Cleveland by progressive clergy members from the United Church of Christ. At age 19, her mother was part of the Mississippi Freedom Summer and her father participated in efforts to halt racial discrimination in housing rentals.

Now, she heads Close the Gap California, a statewide campaign to close the gender gap in the California Legislature by 2028. Founded by political consultant Mary Hughes in 2013, the organization reached a milestone this year, with women securing a record 22 of 40 state Senate seats (though it will quickly go back down to 21 when Sen. Janet Nguyen is sworn in to her new post as Orange County supervisor). About 40% are Close the Gap recruits. This is the first time in history the state Senate has been at least 50 percent female.

“This is just huge progress achieved in an extremely concentrated period of time,” said Delano, who joined Close the Gap in 2018 when the state Senate included just nine women. “It’s the upper end of what we thought was possible.”

The group focuses on recruiting progressive women who are committed to reproductive freedom, public education funding and combating poverty.

Nicole Ward, a political fundraiser for many Close the Gap women in Los Angeles, said Delano’s tenacity made the difference in the organization’s success. “Her dogged determination makes this organization work,” said Ward, who was Delano’s boss when both worked at Service Employees International Union in L.A. “She cares deeply and passionately about the work she’s doing. It shows.”

Before joining Close the Gap, Delano worked seven years as public affairs director of Planned Parenthood Northern California. When she was there, the organization helped gain the approval of Assembly Bill 154, which increased the type of trained health professionals that can provide abortions. The organization also backed the California Healthy Youth Act in 2016, which overhauled sex education, and sent a delegation to Mississippi in 2011 to help defeat the fetal personhood amendment, which would have legally defined human life as beginning at the moment of fertilization.

“She does it very methodically. She grooms people slowly. Before you know it, she asks you, ‘What about running for Assembly? What about running for the school board?’” – Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry

She cut her teeth politically during the end of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s final term, when the political climate in California was very different.

“We were playing so much defense during those years,” she said, because there weren’t enough progressive leaders at the Legislature. “Candidate recruitment was the missing link,” she said.

Close the Gap founder Hughes reached out to Delano in 2017 following President Donald Trump’s first victory. Delano was compelled by Hughes’ calculation that with a huge avalanche of open seats coming to the Legislature between 2022 and 2028, there was a great opportunity to make a change.

“At the time, people thought we were crazy by saying we’re going to be at parity by 2028,” she said. “It was seen as a low-odds bet. But I saw in the strategy and model something that could work. I was excited to recruit more champions.”

One recruit was Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, now the majority leader of the Assembly. Aguiar-Curry, (D-Winters) said she had never heard of Close the Gap when she got a phone call from Hughes.

“She knew my resume more than I did,” said Aguiar-Curry, who was the mayor of Winters and had served on numerous community boards. “I don’t tout my successes, I just do the work.”

Aguiar-Curry said Delano has done a wonderful job furthering the group’s mission.

“She’s very compassionate and empathetic with women who want to run or may not realize the opportunities,” Aguiar-Curry said. “She does it very methodically. She grooms people slowly. Before you know it, she asks you, ‘What about running for Assembly? What about running for the school board?’”

Danielle Cendejas, a partner at the Strategy Group, a direct-mail company in LA, said Delano is skilled at demystifying what can be a grueling and lonely process.

“Susannah is so incredible when it comes to being very thoughtful about how to engage with candidates and build coalitions,” she said. “She comes out of labor so she understood how to organize and how to build capacity, understanding that alliances are the most important part of the job.”

Delano said many people still don’t realize that Close the Gap is focused on long-term planning. “It is a strategic, years-long endeavor with one-on-one relations,” she said. “This is a long, supportive custom runway.”

The goal is to get people ready to seize opportune moments, as the end of 2021 when Assemblyman Jim Frazier announced he was resigning from representing California’s 11th District. The next morning, Delano got frantic calls from her network wondering who would fill that seat. “It was a pleasure to tell them Lori Wilson was going to announce her campaign with a full host of endorsements,” Delano said.

Close the Gap had been working with Wilson since 2018 and she was elected to office in 2022.

But in the midst of her hard work and strategizing, Delano manages to carve out time for fun. She loves spending time with her family, including her son, a high school senior.

She enjoys hiking and bird watching near her Vallejo home, going thrift store shopping, playing Pinochle, reading fiction and enjoying music. “Most of my friends are musicians,” she said, adding that they play indie, folk and Americana music genres. “A number of my friends are music teachers.”

While President Trump’s second victory was tough to take, Delano remains hopeful about the possibilities for women leaders in the nation. She is encouraged by the wins that were achieved here, including the success of Assemblymember Rhodesia Ransom who won the 13th District seat in an area that Delano said has swung far right.

“The Presidency is the highest ceiling and there are lots of cracks in it,” Delano said. “We didn’t come away with the top prize in this cycle. But winning is possible. We’re just not there now.”

Editor’s note: Article was edited to add details about Close the Gap.