Biography

State Senator Mimi Walters represents the 33rd 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.

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, and then she subsequently 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 from 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, as a state senator, her efforts have been focused on addressing California’s massive unfunded pension liabilities and the state’s and local governments’ rising debt problem. 

She currently serves as Chair of the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics, Vice Chair of Appropriations, Vice Chair of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and she serves as a member of the Governmental Organization and Banking and Finance committees.

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, live in the City of Irvine with their four children.