SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Californias leaders were deadlocked and on the verge of financial catastrophe in 2008. Five negotiators, including Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, couldnt agree on a budget that would guide the nations most populous state through the Great Recession.

Enter Karen Bass, who became Assembly speaker that May, the first Black woman to hold the role. She shifted the tone of the talks, helping the group find common ground.

When Karen came into the Big 5, everything changed, said Mike Villines, then the Republican Assembly leader. We started to make little progress on little things, and it led to bigger progress.

A dozen years later, the bridge-building, unassuming style that colleagues say made Bass an effective leader in Sacramento is among the reasons the current California congresswoman has emerged as a leading contender to become Joe Bidens running mate . The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee appeared with Bass for the first time at a fundraiser on Thursday. He plans to make a pick next week.