Former California congresswoman Katie Porter has been appointed to the California Community Colleges Board of Governors by Governor Gavin Newsom, according to an announcement from the governor’s office. The appointment arrives two months after Porter publicly declared she was finished with politics and campaigning following a series of electoral defeats.
Appointment Details and State Senate Confirmation
The Board of Governors sets policies and other guidance for 116 colleges and 73 districts that are part of California Community Colleges. The position requires confirmation by the California state Senate. Members of the board receive a per diem compensation of $100 for each day they conduct official board business.
The new role places Porter within the state’s higher education governance structure after a decade in politics. Beyond her new board appointment, Porter has returned to teaching as a professor at the UC Irvine School of Law, where she instructs a bankruptcy law course.
Recent Electoral History and Political Exit
Porter’s transition to higher education governance follows two consecutive statewide election losses in California. In the June gubernatorial primary, Porter finished fifth in a crowded top-two primary, securing 403,908 votes or 4.4% of the total cast, according to state election returns. That defeat followed her distant third-place finish in the 2024 primary race for the U.S. Senate seat eventually won by Adam Schiff.
Following her June primary defeat, Porter announced a departure from electoral politics. “I’m done for now with politics and campaigning,” Porter stated in a July social media post, noting that she had renamed her Instagram account “Katie Porter Turns the Page” to focus on book reviews and literary pursuits.
Congressional Background and Academic Career
Before her statewide runs, Porter served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Orange County. A Harvard-trained consumer law professor and a mentee of U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Porter gained a national profile for using a whiteboard during congressional hearings to question corporate executives and administration officials.
Her gubernatorial campaign faced public scrutiny following viral media reports concerning her interactions with staff and members of the media, alongside past personal disclosures highlighted during campaign coverage. Following the primary, Porter said that the race reaffirmed her interest in public policy and idea generation, paving the way for her return to teaching law and her upcoming service on the community colleges board.
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