With U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman's (D-Los Angeles) ascension to the top post on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Californians now have more influence in Congress than ever before, political observers say.

Waxman joins two other Californians atop the congressional power structure: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez), who chairs the Education and Labor Committee.

"This is really unusual," Erick Schickler, professor of political science at the University of California, Berkeley, said. "There aren't a whole lot of examples in history of Democratic Party leaders or senior chairs from California. The party's senior leadership has historically been drawn from the Northeast and the South, and with the South exiting the party, that's created a place for California."

Committee chairs, who wield significant power by setting the legislative agenda, are typically determined by seniority. While Waxman did break precedent in ousting the elder Detroit-area Congressman John Dingell (D-Mich.), he is hardly a rookie legislator, having served in the House since 1975.

Therefore, few Californians would be in such powerful positions if not for the predominance of safe seats in districts so overwhelmingly Democratic or Republican that incumbents rarely face serious challengers.

"The huge number of safe seats in California do allow Democrats from the state to accrue a lot of seniority in their rise to influence," Shickler said.

Whatever the causes, these are welcome developments for many Californians who felt the state's sway in Congress rarely reflected it's size and economic weight (the Golden State is home to the world's eighth largest economy).

"I can't remember a time when California has had the potential to have so much clout in the House of Representatives," David Allgood of the California League of Conservation Voters said. "We've witnessed decades of ignoring California on so many different levels. The ability of our caucus to deliver has been hamstrung by what's been described to be me as 'ABC,' as in 'anywhere but California' back in Congress. Under Pelosi's leadership and these new chairmen coming to the fore, I think that sentiment goes away."