BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- District 5 Supervisor Leticia Perez took her seat atop the Kern County Board of Supervisors on Monday selected to be its chairwoman. Many of Perez's supporters celebrated her new role, like Bakersfield Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur and social justice legend Dolores Huerta. Bakersfield attorney arraigned on felony charges in DUI checkpoint crash "It's so important that we have a feminists voice on the board, I'm not saying that you gentleman discriminate but we also know that when we have that one feminist voice it could make a very big difference," said Dolores Huerta. After a close election, which only separated Perez from her opponent Kimberly Salas by 133 votes, and is now in her 12th year as a county supervisor and the second time she has been Chairwoman. "Well it has been the most excruciating 60 days of my life, I can assure you that. I feel a lot of responsibility to do it right, I feel a lot of responsibility to let go of the past, to lead you know, with grace and with inclusivity," said Perez. Perez said she's taking what she learned from this election season into how she governs District 5, "Our unemployment rate is our biggest priority, and it has to be and it must remain because we're double the states on unemployment rate. The new casino that will grand open this summer while I'm chair provides an opportunity and a pipeline for jobs that we have never seen before." Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage As chairwoman, Perez still governs her district as a supervisor does but gets added responsibilities like running the board meetings, appointing committee members, and signing contracts the board approves. Just hours after the meeting, Perez was in Shafter and met with Governor Gavin Newsom to give an update on California's High Speed Rail project. Perez's first meeting as chairman will be Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 9 a.m.