Candidate for
City Clerk; City of Carson

Helen Kawagoe was distinguished as 2006 Woman of the Year for Assembly District 55 and was honored in Sacramento in recognition of National Women's History Month by former Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza. She was also nominated as Woman of the Year by the California State Assembly in 1996 and 2005 by former Assemblywoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, and by the California State Senate in 1997 by the late Senator Ralph C. Dills.

Kawagoe, a Pasadena native, worked as public relations/marketing vice-president of an area savings and loan association before being elected Carson City Clerk in 1974.

She holds the distinction of having been re-elected city clerk eight times and is only the second person to hold the office since the city's 1968 incorporation. In 2004, she was publicly honored on her 30th anniversary as city clerk and commended on her outstanding display of commitment to her profession, her unconditional love for the city of Carson and on her countless accomplishments that have brought pride and honor to the Carson community.

She holds the prestigious titles of Certified Municipal Clerk and Master Municipal Clerk. She has been distinguished from among her city clerk colleagues on her innovations and progressive thinking and has championed many election-related issues on behalf of her profession.

Kawagoe considers being one of California's few elected city clerks, serving the people of Carson, and becoming the first city clerk to be elected to the National League of Cities Board of Directors in 2002 to be among her highest achievements.