Alex Padilla

After graduation, he moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.[8][9][10]

Padilla is a former member of the governing board of MIT and president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), which has a membership of more than 6,000 Latino U.S. officials.[11][12] He serves as chair of the Los Angeles Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association, elected in July 2005.[11][13]

Padilla began in politics as a member of the Democratic Party in 1995, in substantial part in response to California Proposition 187, which excluded illegal immigrants from all non-emergency public services, including public education, but which he felt was motivated by a broader nativism that demonized legal and illegal immigrants alike.[14] His first professional role was as a personal assistant to 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. All won their respective elections.[11][15]

On July 1, 1999, at age 26, Padilla was sworn in as a member of the Los Angeles City Council.[16] Two years later, his colleagues elected him council president. Padilla was the first Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council, defeating incumbent Ruth Galanter.[11][17] On September 13, 2001, two days after the 9/11 attacks, Padilla became the acting mayor of Los Angeles for a couple of days while Mayor James K. Hahn traveled out of the city.[18][17] Los Angeles Times wrote that Padilla's rise to the mayor's office enriched his "political stock".[18]

During his term as City Council president, Padilla also was elected president of the California League of Cities, the first Latino to serve in that position.[11]

After retiring as president of the Los Angeles City Council, Padilla was elected to the State Senate in 2006, defeating Libertarian Pamela Brown. He was reelected in 2010 with nearly 70% of the vote over Republican Kathleen Evans.[19] Padilla 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.[20]

In August 2012, Padilla 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.[21]

In September 2014, Padilla promoted what would later become Proposition 67, a proposed ban on plastic bags.[22] 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 received 53% of the vote.[23]

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

On April 11, 2013,[24] Padilla announced his intention to run for 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 for felony racketeering caused Yee to abandon the race.[25] Padilla won the election on November 4, 2014, with 53.6% of the vote, defeating Republican Pete Peterson.[26]

On June 29, 2017, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which President Donald Trump created on May 11, requested data on enrolled voters from every state, dating back to 2006. Padilla said that California would not supply the data.[27][28]

On November 6, 2018, Padilla was reelected with 64.5% of the vote, defeating Republican Mark P. Meuser.[29]

On October 16, 2020, Padilla was involved in a controversy between the state and the California Republican Party, as the party deployed unofficial ballot boxes in which party members deposited their voting papers, to be delivered to the polling stations on the corresponding day.[30][31][32] Padilla ordered the ballot boxes removed, arguing that the electoral authority will only receive ballots delivered personally and voluntarily by the voter and that the Republicans' action was illegal, generating rejection among the local GOP leadership.[30][31][33]

Upon Padilla's appointment to the U.S. Senate, Governor Newsom appointed Assemblywoman Shirley Weber to succeed him.[34]

In August 2020, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate. After they won the general election, Padilla was mentioned as a possible choice as Harris's replacement in the Senate.[35][36][37][38] In December 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would appoint Padilla to the seat, making him California's first Hispanic senator.[39] During the speculation about whom Newsom would select, the senior senator from California, Dianne Feinstein, supported Padilla.[40][41]

Most Latinos, who are 40% of California's population, supported Padilla's appointment,[42] but some Black leaders criticized it. San Francisco mayor London Breed called Padilla's appointment "a real blow to the African American community".[42]

• Committee on the Judiciary
• Committee on the Budget
• Committee on Environment and Public Works
• Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
• Committee on Rules and Administration

Padilla's committee assignments for the 2021–2023 legislative session were announced on February 2, 2021 after a weeks long dispute between Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell over the Senate Organizing Resolution for the 117th Congress.

On January 20, 2021, Padilla was sworn into the United States Senate in the 117th Congress by Vice President Kamala Harris, his predecessor, becoming the first Latino to represent California in the U.S. Senate. He was sworn in at the same time as new Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. He is serving the final two years of Harris's term, so his term in the Senate will end in January 2023.[2]

Padilla is pro-choice, saying in 2018 that abortion rights are "not negotiable".[47] In 2018, after winning the primary for secretary of state to seek a second term, he received the support of the pro-choice organization NARAL Pro-Choice America, which called Padilla a "statewide reproductive freedom champion".[48] In 2008, Padilla sponsored the bill SB 1770, which would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards Training (POST) to prepare relevant guidelines and mechanisms for the investigation and reporting of "cases involving anti-reproductive rights crimes".[49][50]

Padilla supports immigrants' rights.[51][52] On January 15, 2021, he said that he supports legislation sponsored by representative Joaquin Castro to speed up the citizenship process for undocumented immigrants in essential jobs, declaring that because of the work they do "they deserve stability."[51][52]

Padilla supports ending the filibuster.[15]