"In 1848, [Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony] were striking out for equal pay for equal work and the vote for women, and I look around today. As soon as I got into the state legislature, I started counting, how many women are here. In the assembly, I was number 21 out of 80, so only one quarter of the people in there are women, and women are 51 percent. So where's our representation? It turns out only 25 percent of eligible women even bother to vote. So that whole consciousness hasn't happened yet."

As a single parent, Audie Bock knows what it means to make a living and raise children at the same time. As a political activist, she has learned to listen, lead and cooperate. In 1999, Audie Bock became the first Green Party member in history to be elected to the California State Legislature. This maverick politician is a lifelong resident of Alameda County and a product of Berkeley public schools. She received her BA from Wellesley College and her MA in Far Eastern Regional Studies and Fine Arts from Harvard University. Ms. Bock has taught at the college level for over two decades, most recently in the Peralta Community College District. She is a member of American Federation of Teachers (AFT local 1603).

Former owner of a foreign-language film distribution business, Bock has extensive experience working and teaching in Asia and Europe. She speaks Japanese, French and German fluently, and knows some Spanish and Chinese.

Bock worked for the campaign of Green Party Presidential candidate Ralph Nader and was elected to the California Assembly to represent the 16th district. Her publications include Nikio Naruse, A Master of Japanese Cinema (1983), a monograph on the well-known Japanese film director; Something Like an Autobiography (1982), translation of Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa's memoirs; Japanese Film Directors (1978/85), a textbook on the history and works of ten renowned Japanese filmmakers.

Her reelection web site is at http://www.audiebock.org.