Lena Gonzalez
2019 - Present
2024
5
Lena Gonzalez (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 33. She assumed office on June 12, 2019. Her current term ends on December 2, 2024.
Gonzalez (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the California State Senate to represent District 33. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024. She advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024.
Gonalez was appointed Majority Leader of the California State Senate on February 8, 2024.[1]
Gonzalez was born on January 26, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to parents who emigrated from Mexico. She received a B.S. in political science from California State University Long Beach and an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University. Before entering politics, she worked for Microsoft in social impact programs.[2]
Gonzalez represented District 1 on the Long Beach City Council from 2014 to 2019. She won election in 2014 with 60% of the vote and was unopposed in her 2018 re-election bid. She was elected to the California State Senate representing District 33 in a 2019 special election. Ricardo Lara (D), who held the seat before the special election, was elected to serve as the insurance commissioner of California.
Senate President pro tempore Mike McGuire (D) appointed Gonzalez as majority leader in February 2024. Cal Matters's Alexei Koseff said the appointment was part of a restructuring of the caucus leadership team to "[reward] key allies who helped [McGuire] pull together the votes last summer to secure his office."[1] Before this appointment, Gonzalez chaired the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response and the Senate Transportation Committee.[2]
Following her appointment, Gonzalez said, "My top priority has been to uplift the voices of all Californians through meaningful legislation, especially for our most underserved communities. I look forward to this new opportunity to serve the diverse and dynamic Democratic caucus members who will continue to deliver on the progress we’ve built together on the environment, healthcare access, housing, equity, justice, and beyond."[3]
Biography
Lena Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles, California. She earned an associate degree from Saddleback Community College in 2006 and a B.S. in political science from California State University, Long Beach, in 2009. She also earned a master's degree from Loyola Marymount University in 2017. Her professional experience includes working for Bank of America, Uline, Inc., Norsat International, Microsoft, and as a district deputy for former District 1 representative Robert Garcia.[4][2]
Committee assignments
2023-2024
Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Environmental Quality Committee
- Senate Health Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee, Chair
- Rules Committee
- Legislative Audit Committee
2021-2022
Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee, Chair
- Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee
- Environmental Quality Committee
- Senate Health Committee
2019-2020
Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: California State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for California State Senate District 33
Incumbent Lena Gonzalez and Mario Paz are running in the general election for California State Senate District 33 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Lena Gonzalez (D) | |
 | Mario Paz (R)  | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33
Incumbent Lena Gonzalez and Mario Paz defeated Sharifah Hardie in the primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (D) | 68.6 | 86,226 |
| ✔ | | Mario Paz (R) | 17.1 | 21,470 |
 | Sharifah Hardie (R) | 14.4 | 18,061 | |
| Total votes: 125,757 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
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2020
See also: California State Senate elections, 2020
General election
General election for California State Senate District 33
Incumbent Lena Gonzalez defeated Elizabeth Castillo in the general election for California State Senate District 33 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (D) | 61.8 | 164,752 |
 | Elizabeth Castillo (D) | 38.2 | 101,831 | |
| Total votes: 266,583 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33
Incumbent Lena Gonzalez and Elizabeth Castillo advanced from the primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (D) | 99.8 | 109,428 |
| ✔ | | Elizabeth Castillo (D) (Write-in) | 0.2 | 205 |
| Total votes: 109,633 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
To view Gonzalez's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.
2019
See also: California state legislative special elections, 2019
General election
Special general election for California State Senate District 33
Lena Gonzalez defeated Jack Guerrero in the special general election for California State Senate District 33 on June 4, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (D) | 69.8 | 32,394 |
 | Jack Guerrero (R) | 30.2 | 14,049 | |
| Total votes: 46,443 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33
The following candidates ran in the special primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 26, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (D) | 31.6 | 10,984 |
| ✔ | | Jack Guerrero (R) | 14.0 | 4,860 |
 | Ali Saleh (D) | 9.6 | 3,334 | |
 | Ana Maria Quintana (D) | 8.8 | 3,038 | |
| Jose Solache (D) | 7.5 | 2,594 | |
| Denise Diaz (D) | 6.9 | 2,404 | |
 | Martha Flores-Gibson (R) | 6.4 | 2,225 | |
| Leticia Vasquez-Wilson (D) | 5.3 | 1,839 | |
 | Al Austin (D) | 3.9 | 1,356 | |
| Thomas Jefferson Cares (D) | 2.4 | 828 | |
| Chris Garcia (D) | 2.1 | 720 | |
| Cesar Flores (G) | 1.5 | 529 | |
| Total votes: 34,711 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2018
See also: Municipal elections in Long Beach, California (2018)
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Long Beach City Council District 1
Incumbent Lena Gonzalez won election outright in the primary for Long Beach City Council District 1 on April 10, 2018.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Lena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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2014
The city of Long Beach, California held city council elections on June 3, 2014. A primary election took place on April 8. Lena Gonzalez and Misi Tagaloa advanced past Pilar Pinel and Ricardo Linarez in the District 1 primary. Gonzalez defeated Tagaloa in the general election.[5][6][7][8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Lena Gonzalez |
60.7% | 1,668 | |
| Nonpartisan | Misi Tagaloa | 39.3% | 1,078 | |
| Total Votes | 2,746 | |||
| Source: City of Long Beach | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Lena Gonzalez |
43.9% | 1,016 | |
| Nonpartisan | Misi Tagaloa |
31.5% | 728 | |
| Nonpartisan | Pilar Pinel | 8.3% | 193 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ricardo Linarez | 16.3% | 377 | |
| Total Votes | 2,314 | |||
| Source: City of Long Beach | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2020
Lena Gonzalez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gonzalez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Hi, I'm Lena Gonzalez, a mom, Long Beach resident & your CA State Senator. I've been proud to represent Long Beach & Southeast LA over the last year. It has been my greatest honor to fight for you in Sacramento.
Over the last year, I was named Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response, which reviews the state's management of the COVID19 crisis. We have been busy but our committee has been working hard. Together, we created a robust priority plan: addressing inequities in healthcare access, fixing our outdated EDD system & finding solutions to reopen our schools & economy safely.
In addition, I'm also a member of the Senate Health, Judiciary, Transportation & Joint Leg Audit Committee & Chair of the Select Committee on Ports & Goods Movement. Our district deserves strong leadership that will fight for you. As a former Long Beach City Councilwoman, Social Responsibility Manager at Microsoft, Mom & now as your State Senator, I will keep fighting to ensure your voices are heard on issues that matter most: tackling the COVID19 crisis & getting us into economic recovery, being bold on climate change, supporting small business, addressing racial injustice & being transparent and accessible to you always.
- I am a fighter for my Senate District. Our region has been hardest hit by COVID - as Chair of the Pandemic Committee, I will keep fighting for us to ensure Sacramento knows the inequities & support needed in our backyard.
- "People First Legistlation" - I am pleased to receive a 100% score from the Courage Campaign for my voting record, which priorities people over profits, always.
- I am tough. As am a mom, former Long Beach City Councilwoman & Social Responsibility Manager at Microsoft, and now as your State Senator, I have never wavered on being front & center on the tough issues.
I believe COVID19 is one of the most challenging issues we will face & I'm glad to be leading efforts for solutions in CA, as an LA county Senator. Our region has been hit the hardest & communities of color, essential workers, small businesses & vulnerable populations need more of our attention, specifically: financial relief, plan for evictions & foreclosures & better strategies for testing/contact tracing in hard hit communities/business sectors. As Chair of the Pandemic Committee, I will continue to be a voice for LA County in Sacramento as it pertains to solutions for this crisis.
In addition, I am deeply passionate about digital inclusion and have authored "Broadband for All" legislation to address the issue. As the 5th largest economy in the world, CA cannot sit idle on tech equity, as students, seniors & all residents should have access to fast & reliable internet, especially in an era of distance learning & telehealth.
Climate change is real. CA has made some bold moves to shift from our dependence on fossil fuels, but we must do more as wildfires rage in all parts of our state. We must build a strong green economy that includes our most skilled trades & acknowledges the crisis. Many of our SD33 communities still breathe bad air & pay market rate for bad water, this is unacceptable- my promise to you is that we will hold industries accountable as well as create a robust plan for a New Green Economy in CA. I have also taken the No Fossil Money Pledge.
My mom. She is bold, she is a fighter and is unapologetic about her views - because they are always with people in mind first. As an immigrant from Mexico who came to the US at a very young age, then became a US Citizen right before I was born, working Her way up the business ladder in Aeorospace and Tech, she too, shaped my view of women. Her boldness made me believe that I could achieve anything despite the barriers. But again, she always prioritized kindness and compassion for people in mind first. She is my moral compass and helps me with tough decisions. I am grateful to be her daughter.
Integrity in all we do
Transparency
Being accessible
Listening more than talking
Making room for all points of view
Being bold on issues that deeply impact our District
Fighting for People First
As a little girl, I always wanted to be an Astronaut. It seemed so amazing to be able to learn about science/space as a young girl and actually SEE strong women: Sally Ride, Judy Resnick & Christa McCaulliffe (teacher) alongside men in these planned space expeditions. Unfortunately, I remember the Challenger disaster very well. I was very young, but I remember watching it with my Mom, feeling excited about seeing these women get onboard for space travel. When the Challenger disaster occurred, I remember hearing and seeing the news, people crying and my mom, sitting and crying with me. It was a national tragedy I will never forget, certainly one that many in my generation remember well. But the positive space I want to remember are those women Astronauts, who were heroes in my little head. This shaped my interest for helping young girls in STEM during my work at Microsoft.
My first job was working in my aunt & uncle's machine shop. They immigrated from Mexico to start a successful business that had ups & downs, but through it all, prevailed. They worked so hard and allowed my cousins & I to make a few dollars each summer. It was a great experience, as I was able to learn the value of a dollar, saving money & keeping up with responsibilities at a young age. It was a memorable experience early on.
Anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates - as he always
I think it's time for a Latina Superhero that saves the world!
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2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Lena Gonzalez did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, the California State Legislature was in session from January 1 to September 14.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, the California State Legislature was in session from January 3 to August 31.
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2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, the California State Legislature was in session from December 7 to September 10.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, the California State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 31.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
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In 2019, the California State Legislature was in session from January 7 through September 13.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate California State Senate District 33 |
Officeholder California State Senate District 33 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cal Matters, "California Senate leader Mike McGuire picks his team," February 8, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Senator Lorean A. Gonzalez, "About Senator Lena A. Gonzalez," accessed April 29, 2024 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Senator Lena A. Gonalez, "Senator Lena Gonzalez Issues Statement Regarding Her Appointment as California Senate Majority Leader," February 8, 2024
- ↑ Lena Gonzalez, "Bio," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ City of Long Beach, "Municipal Election Unofficial Results," June 4, 2014
- ↑ Long Beach Press-Telegram "Long Beach council races see commanding wins and runoffs," April 8, 2014
- ↑ Long Beach Post "LIVE: Long Beach Election 2014," April 8, 2014
- ↑ City of Long Beach "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election - April 8, 2014 - Unofficial Results," accessed April 9, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 33 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Long Beach City Council District 1 2014-2019 |
Succeeded by - |
