NWPC CA Tributes
Lauren Hammond, 1955-2024
Passing of Lauren Hammond, Esteemed NWPC Sacramento Leader, in Sacramento
Members of the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC) of Sacramento were stunned to learn of the unexpected death of Lauren Hammond, the immediate past president of the local caucus and a giant among women leaders in the City of Sacramento. Lauren died in her sleep in late January at the age of 68. In losing her, NWPC Sacramento and the entire community lost a leader, mentor, truth-teller, and champion of an inclusive, equitable democracy.
Lauren was a graduate of Sacramento State University, an institution she revered and supported her adult life. After a number of years working as a staff member in the California Legislature, she stepped forward in 1997 to run for election to the Sacramento City Council. She was the first Black woman to be elected to the Council, and one of only three who have served in the city’s history.
During her time on the Council, Lauren ran unsuccessfully for State Assembly, but shortly after leaving the Council in 2010, she was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to the California Gambling Control Commission. In 2018, she formed her own political consulting company, putting her public policy expertise and commitment to equity to successful use on behalf of her clients.
She also was active in the Sacramento chapter of NWPC and was elected President in 2020. She had just stepped down from her second two-year term and was looking forward to supporting her successor, Maria Madril Hernandez, when she passed away.
Lauren was noted for her dedication to encouraging and helping women win public office, especially women of color, who are still underrepresented in political leadership. As a Councilmember and member of various public bodies on which she represented the city, she always focused on the needs of the entire community, challenging systemic racism and systems that disproportionately hurt poor people, people of color, and women. She also pushed NWPC to promote more diversity in its membership and the candidates it supported, and she was always there with her time, her advice, and her checkbook to support caucus activities and endorsed candidates.
She was known for her blunt honesty, but it was always leavened with kindness, humor, the desire to help people improve, and appreciation for the hard work and accomplishments of her colleagues. Her impact on Sacramento was widespread, and a large turnout is expected at a public celebration of her life at Sacramento State University on February 9th. She is survived by her wife Margaret Maher, four siblings and a niece and nephew.
Lauren Hammond was a trailblazer and role model for NWPC and the entire Sacramento region. NWPC Sacramento will separately honor her later in the spring and intends to create an initiative to support the work she carried on during her life.
Jeanne Register, 1937-2023
We remember our beloved Jeanne Register for her leadership of the National Women’s Political Caucus of the Greater Pasadena Area since its founding in the early 1970s. Jeanne has been our president more than once, a member of the PAC, our representative on the state Caucus board, and a most gracious host to our many events held at her lovely home.
Jeanne came from Massachusetts in 1970, lived in Monrovia and Sierra Madre before settling in Altadena. She was the campaign manager for Sue Miele in 1983 when Sue and Jeanette Mann were elected to the Pasadena City College’s board of trustees—the first women to serve there.
Jeanne has been a notable campaigner on behalf of Caucus-endorsed women, knocking on doors and phone banking. She also actively recruited women candidates.
Jeanne took full responsibility for the many annual Caucus fundraising brunches, from the creation of the invitations, recruitment of keynote speakers, donations from our elected officials, provision of the quiches served, along with her famous champagne punch.
For years she created, produced and mailed periodic newsletters to our membership.
We want her and her family here—husband Fred and daughters Delia, Vashti and Alicia—to know how much we have valued and appreciated her.
Cari Beauchamp, 1949-2023
Carol Ann Beauchamp was born on September 12, 1949, in Berkeley, California, and grew up in Stockton, California. After graduating with a BA in political science and American history from San Jose State University in 1972, she intended to go to law school, but instead spent the next 6 years as a private investigator for defense attorneys, including Barney Drefus and Charles Garry, and the Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara County, serving as lead investigator on several major class action suits.
Simultaneously, she became involved in the Women's Rights Movement and was elected the first President of National Women's Political Caucus of California in 1973. She also managed a variety of election campaigns throughout the 1970s including for Janet Gray Hayes, who was elected mayor of San Jose in 1976, the first woman in the country to be mayor of a city of over 500,000. Beauchamp also spent several years working in Washington DC with Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug and many others on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment before returning to California in 1979 to serve as press secretary to Governor Jerry Brown.