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Alex Padilla

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For the racecar driver, see Alex Padilla (driver).
Alex Padilla
United States Senator-designate
from California
Assuming office
January 2021
Appointed byGavin Newsom
SucceedingKamala Harris
32nd Secretary of State of California
Assumed office
January 5, 2015
GovernorJerry Brown
Gavin Newsom
Preceded byDebra Bowen
Member of the California State Senate
from the 20th district
In office
December 4, 2006 – November 30, 2014
Preceded byRichard Alarcon
Succeeded byConnie Leyva
President of the Los Angeles City Council
In office
July 4, 2001 – January 1, 2006
Preceded byRuth Galanter
Succeeded byEric Garcetti
Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 7th district
In office
July 1, 1999 – December 4, 2006
Preceded byRichard Alarcon
Succeeded byRichard Alarcon
Personal details
Born (1973-03-22) March 22, 1973 (age 51)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationMassachusetts Institute of Technology (BS)
WebsiteOfficial website

Alejandro Padilla (/pəˈdiːə/; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician, civil servant and engineer who is the United States Senator-designate for California. He has served as the 32nd Secretary of State of California since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he won the 2014 election for the office, defeating Republican Pete Peterson, with approximately 54% of the vote. Padilla is currently a U.S. Senator-designate for California.[1]

Padilla previously served in the California State Senate, representing the 20th district after his election to the position in November 2006. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served 7½ years on the Los Angeles City Council representing the 7th district. First elected in 1999, he was elected President of the Los Angeles City Council in July 2001 and retained the position through December 2005.

On December 22, 2020, Padilla was selected to replace Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the United States Senate as the junior senator. Selected by Governor Gavin Newsom, Padilla will be the first Latino Senator from California, a state with a large Latino population. Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein supported Padilla throughout the speculation.[2][3]

Early and professional life

Padilla is one of three children of Santos and Lupe Padilla, both of whom emigrated from Mexico before meeting and marrying in Los Angeles.[4] Padilla grew up in the community of Pacoima in Los Angeles and is a graduate of San Fernando High School in the northeast San Fernando Valley.[5] He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1994.[6] After graduation, he moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.[7][8][9]

Padilla is a former member of the governing board of MIT and the President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) which has a membership of more than 6,000 Latino officials in the United States.[10] He serves as chair of the Los Angeles Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association.[10]

Padilla began in politics as a member of the Democratic Party in 1995, as a personal assistant to California Senator Dianne Feinstein. He then served as a campaign manager for Assemblyman Tony Cardenas in 1996, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo in 1997, and State Senator Richard Alarcon in 1998, all Democrats, and all were victorious in their respective elections.[10]

Los Angeles City Council

On July 1, 1999, at the age of 26, Padilla was sworn in as a member of the Los Angeles City Council.[10] Two years later his council colleagues elected him council president. Padilla was the first Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council.[10]

During his term as City Council President, Padilla also was elected as the President of the California League of Cities, the first Latino to serve in that position.[10]

State Senate

Alex Padilla as state senator, in August 2013.

After retiring as president of the Los Angeles City Council, Padilla was elected to the State Senate in 2006 by a wide margin, defeating libertarian Pamela Brown, and raised $1,947,933 for his campaign fund. He was re-elected in 2010, with nearly 70% of the vote where he faced Republican Kathleen Evans.[11]

He served as a member of the Appropriations Committee, Business and Professions and Economic Development Committee, Governmental Organization Committee, Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, and chaired the Select Committee on Science, Innovation and Public Policy. He left office on November 30, 2014, after two terms in the body.[12]

In August 2012, he was included in a list of 20 Latino political rising stars compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle, citing his role in the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.[13]

In September 2014, State Senator Padilla promoted what would later become Proposition 67, to ban plastic bags, in order to preserve the environment, and in accordance with the efforts of the local government to fight against climate change.[14] On November 8, 2016, when Padilla was Secretary of State, the proposal was voted on in a referendum, and the option in favor of the ban on the plastics bags reached 66% of the vote.[15]

Secretary of State

Secretary of State Alex Padilla speaking with attendees at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention.

On April 11, 2013,[16] Padilla announced his intention to run for the position of Secretary of State in 2014, to succeed the term-limited Debra Bowen. He was expected to face an intraparty battle with fellow Democrat Leland Yee, but Yee's arrest caused him to abandon the race.[17] Padilla won the election on November 4, 2014 with 53.6% of the vote, defeating Republican Pete Peterson.[18]

On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which had been created by President Donald Trump on May 11, requested data on enrolled voters from all fifty states, dating back to 2006. Padilla said that California would not supply data to the commission.[19][20]

On November 6, 2018, Padilla was re-elected with 64.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Mark P. Meuser.[21]

On October 16, 2020, Secretary Padilla was involved in a controversy between the state and the California Republican Party, as the party deployed unofficial ballot boxes in the framework of the 2020 elections, so that the members of the party deposited their voting papers there that were delivered to the polling stations on the corresponding day.[22][23][24] Padilla ordered the ballot boxes to be removed arguing that the electoral authority will only receive ballots delivered personally and voluntarily by the voter and that the action of the Republicans was against the law, generating rejection among the local GOP leadership.[22][23][25]

2020 Senate speculation

In August 2020, California Senator Kamala Harris was selected by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate. After Biden and Harris's victory in the general election, Padilla has been mentioned as a possible choice of Governor Gavin Newsom to replace Harris in the Senate.[26][27][28][29] If Padilla is nominated for United States Senator from California, he will be the first Hispanic to represent the state from that position.[30] The senior Senator from California, Dianne Feinstein, threw her support behind the speculation.[31]

Electoral history

State Senator

2006

California State Senate 20th District Democratic Primary Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla 24,303 55.8
Democratic Cindy Montanez 19,299 44.2
California's 20th State Senate district election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla 84,459 74.85
Libertarian Pamela Brown 28,377 25.15
Total votes 112,836 100.00
Democratic hold

2010

California's 20th State Senate district election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla (incumbent) 94,356 68.4
Republican Kathleen "Suzy" Evans 37,420 27.1
Libertarian Adrian Galysh 6,245 4.5
Total votes 138,051 100.0
Democratic hold

Secretary of State

2014

California Secretary of State primary election, 2014[32]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla 1,217,371 30.24
Republican Pete Peterson 1,194,715 29.68
Democratic Leland Yee 380,361 9.45
No party preference Daniel Schnur 369,898 9.19
Democratic Derek Cressman 306,375 7.61
Republican Roy Allmond 256,668 6.38
Democratic Jeffrey H. Drobman 178,521 4.44
Green David S. Curtis 121,618 3.02
Total votes 4,025,527 100
Turnout   13.63
California Secretary of State general election, 2014[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla 3,799,711 53.63
Republican Pete Peterson 3,285,334 46.37
Total votes 7,085,045 100
Democratic hold

2018

California Secretary of State primary election, 2018[33]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla (incumbent) 3,475,633 52.6
Republican Mark P. Meuser 2,047,903 31.0
Democratic Ruben Major 355,036 5.4
Republican Raul Rodriguez Jr. 330,460 5.0
Libertarian Gail Lightfoot 155,879 2.4
Green Michael Feinstein 136,725 2.1
Peace and Freedom C.T. Weber 61,375 0.9
Green Erik Rydberg 48,705 0.7
Total votes 6,611,716 100.0
California Secretary of State general election, 2018[34]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Alex Padilla (incumbent) 7,909,521 64.45
Republican Mark P. Meuser 4,362,545 35.55
Total votes 12,272,066 100
Democratic hold

References

  1. ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/22/us/politics/alex-padilla-kamala-california-senate.html
  2. ^ "One Seat, Competing Pressures as Newsom Considers Senate Pick". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  3. ^ Kapur, Sahil. "Dianne Feinstein wants Alex Padilla to replace Kamala Harris in Senate". NBC News. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  4. ^ Hymon, Steve (May 7, 2006). "Sons Live Out a Dream". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  5. ^ Roderick, Kevin (July 2002). "Power Play in East Valley". Los Angeles Magazine. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  6. ^ Benefiel, Anna K. (August 4, 1999). "Recent MIT Graduate Elected to Los Angeles City Council". The Tech. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  7. ^ Downing, Eve (Winter 2000). "Coming Home". MIT Spectrum. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  8. ^ Whitaker, Barbara (July 7, 2001). "Public Lives; A Quick Climb Up the Los Angeles Political Ladder". The New York Times. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  9. ^ Fox, Sue (July 4, 2001). "Former Engineer Rocketed to the Top". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  10. ^ a b c d e f "Ca - Officials". www.allgov.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Alex Padilla". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "About Alex Padilla :: California Secretary of State". www.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  13. ^ August 25, Richard Dunham on; AM, 2012 at 10:24 (August 25, 2012). "20 Latino political rising stars of 2012 (with PHOTO GALLERY)". Politics Blog. Retrieved November 9, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "California to Become First State to Ban the Bag". Plastic Pollution Coalition. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  15. ^ "California Phases Out Plastic Bags, Promotes Reusables Ahead of the Biggest Grocery Shopping Day of the Year". Californians Against Waste. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  16. ^ McGreevy, Patrick (April 11, 2013). "Sen. Alex Padilla announces run for California secretary of state". Los Angeles Times.
  17. ^ Former Sen. Yee changes plea to guilty, San Francisco Chronicle, July 1, 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Statement of Vote November 4, 2014, General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  19. ^ "How California lawmakers have tried and failed to fix the state's housing crisis". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  20. ^ "Secretary of State Alex Padilla Responds to Presidential Election Commission Request for Personal Data of California Voters :: California Secretary of State". www.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ a b "Dispute Over Unofficial Ballot Boxes Continues in California". spectrumnews1.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  23. ^ a b "State GOP Says It Will Not Remove Unofficial Ballot Drop Boxes". October 16, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  24. ^ "Padilla: Unofficial ballot drop boxes are against California law". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  25. ^ "California Republicans refuse to move fake ballot drop boxes". The Independent. October 15, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  26. ^ Barrón-López, Laura. "Latino Victory backs Alex Padilla for possible appointment to Harris' Senate seat". POLITICO. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  27. ^ "One of these people could be Vice President-elect Kamala Harris' successor and California's next senator". Los Angeles Times. November 7, 2020. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  28. ^ SFGATE, Eric Ting (November 7, 2020). "What happens to Kamala Harris' Senate seat now that she's vice president-elect?". SFGATE. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  29. ^ "Promueven al latino Alex Padilla para ocupar curul de Kamala Harris en Senado". www.efe.com (in Spanish). Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  30. ^ Conant, Ericka (August 27, 2020). "Alex Padilla backed by Latino Victory to make history as California's first Latino U.S. Senator". AL DÍA News. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  31. ^ "Feinstein backs Padilla". NBC News. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
  32. ^ "Statement of Vote June 3, 2014, Statewide Direct Primary Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  33. ^ "Statement of Vote" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  34. ^ "Secretary of State - Statewide Results". California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 29, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2018.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alex Padilla.
Civic offices
Preceded by Member of the Los Angeles City Council
from the 7th district
2000–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by President of the Los Angeles City Council
2001–2006 		Succeeded by
California Senate
Preceded by Member of the California Senate
from the 20th district
2006–2015 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of California
2015–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alex_Padilla&oldid=995750495"