State Senator Mimi Walters represents the 37th District of the California State Senate. Having previously served two, two-year terms in the State Assembly, Walters was overwhelmingly elected to the State Senate in 2008, and reelected in 2012. Senator Walters possesses a background in both business and local government. Her professional career has included time with the firm of Drexel, Burnham & Lambert as an Investment Executive; subsequently she joined Kidder Peabody & Company.

Senator Walters began her career in public service as a member of the Laguna Niguel City Council in 1996. She served as the City’s mayor in 2000, and as a Councilwoman, she was a leading voice for fiscally responsible government and local control. She is a founder of the California Women’s Leadership Association (CWLA) and has served on the Boards of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO), the Laguna Niguel Republican Women Federated, the American Cancer Society, and the South Coast Medical Center Foundation.

A champion for lower taxes, less intrusive government, fiscal responsibility and property rights, Senator Walters has been active in conservative causes for many years. In 2006, she led the fight against eminent domain abuse by serving as the Honorary Statewide Chair for the Protect Our Homes Coalition. She has won all three awards that are issued by the Orange County Republican Party, being named Local Elected Official of the Year in 1997, Volunteer of the Year in 1998 and Legislator of the Year in 2005.

Most recently, Senator Walters was honored as Legislator of the Year in 2011 by the YMCA, and in 2012 by the American Camps Association. She currently serves as Vice Chair of the Senate Committees on Appropriations and Public Employment & Retirement. She also serves as a member of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee. Senator Walters graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1984 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. She and her husband, David, have 4 children. Board Member, Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership (G.R.I.P.)