Thompson Recognizes Lorez Bailey as 2019 Woman of the Year in Sonoma County

Sonoma County, CA – Today Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) formally announced Lorez Bailey as this year's Woman of the Year in Sonoma County. Each year, Thompson honors women from the Fifth Congressional District who make exceptional contributions to our community.

"Lorez's compassionate and thoughtful leadership has helped hundreds of students across Sonoma County succeed and her smart advocacy to implement change in student support programs has produced important changes that prepare students for the 21^st Century economy. People across Sonoma County call her ‘the diplomat' because of her caring work and her ability to find common ground with so many students," said Thompson. "I'm proud to honor her hard work to invest in the success of our next generation of leaders by naming her the 2019 Woman of the Year for Sonoma County."

This is the fifth annual Women of the Year Awards, started in honor of Women's History Month. Each year, Thompson recognizes one woman from each of the counties in our district to be recognized for her service to our community.

A complete list of 2019 winners includes:

• Tranzena "Kandie" Jones, Contra Costa County
• Marie Beery, Lake County
• Mary Jane Bowker, Napa County
• Verna Mustico, Solano County
• Lorez Bailey, Sonoma County
• Deputy Riley Michele Jarecki, Honorary Woman of the Year and First Responder of the Year

Congressman Mike Thompson is proud to represent California's 5^th Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means where he chairs the Subcommittee on Tax Policy. Rep. Thompson is Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. He is also Co-Chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Wine Caucus and a member of the fiscally-conservative Blue Dog Coalition.