Ben Hueso

Benjamin "Ben" Hueso (born September 2, 1969)[1] is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, he represents the 40th Senate District, which encompasses Imperial County and the border regions of San Diego County.

Ben Hueso
Member of the California State Senate
from the 40th district
Assumed office
March 21, 2013
Preceded byJuan Vargas
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 80th district
79th district (2010–2012)
In office
December 6, 2010 – March 21, 2013
Preceded byMary Salas
Succeeded byLorena Gonzalez
Member of San Diego City Council representing the Eighth District
In office
December 5, 2005 – December 6, 2010
Preceded byRalph Inzunza
Succeeded byDavid Alvarez
Personal details
Born (1969-09-02) September 2, 1969
San Diego, California
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceLogan Heights, California
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles (BA)
San Diego State University
OccupationSmall businessman

Hueso is currently serving as Chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus. He previously served as Vice-Chair from 2015 to 2016.

Hueso was elected to the State Senate in a 2013 special election to replace then-Senator Juan Vargas, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 2012.[2] Before being elected to the State Senate, he served in the California State Assembly, representing the 80th Assembly District from 2012 to 2013 and the 79th Assembly District from 2010 to 2012.[3] Prior to that, he served on the San Diego City Council, including two years as Council President.

Education and career

Hueso was born in San Diego and grew up in Logan Heights. His parents were immigrants from Mexico and community activists, running an informal community medical clinic out of their home.[4] He graduated from Point Loma High School and then from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Sociology/Urban Studies and Planning. He studied at the University of Odessa, Ukraine and completed post-graduate work in Community and Economic Development at San Diego State University.[5] He worked for the city as a redevelopment agency staffer and also owned his own business.[6]

Elective office

San Diego City Council

Hueso was elected in a special 2005 election and reelected in the regular 2006 election to represent San Diego City Council District 8. He was the only Latino on the council at the time.[4] He was chosen by his colleagues to serve as City Council President 2009-2010, the second person to serve in that post.[6] He was also a member of the California Coastal Commission for two years while serving on the City Council.

California State Assembly

He was elected in November 2010 to represent the 79th District in the California State Assembly of the California State Legislature. In 2012 he was elected to the 80th district due to redistricting.[3]

California State Senate

In January 2013 he declared his candidacy for the State Senate 40th district, which became vacant when State Senator Juan Vargas was elected to Congress.[7] He won the election on March 12, 2013, avoiding a runoff by garnering 52.3% of the vote against three other candidates.[2] He took office on March 21, 2013.[8]

In March 2017 Hueso was the lead author of the controversial California Senate Bill 649 which would have removed a city's ability to control where the 5G cell service antennas are placed, transferring that power to the state [9]

San Diego County Board of Supervisors
See also: 2020 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election § First district

On August 18, 2019, Hueso announced that he would be a candidate for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. He is running to succeed incumbent Greg Cox, a popular Republican who is not seeking reelection.[10] In the March 3, 2020 primary, Hueso finished in first place with 29.3% of the vote and faces Southwestern Community College Board Trustee Nora Vargas, who finished second place with 18.9%, in the November runoff.[11] In a mild upset, Vargas won the runoff.[12]

Personal

Hueso is a lifelong resident of Logan Heights in San Diego's District 8. He has four sons.

At 2:49 a.m. on Aug 22, 2014, Sen. Hueso was arrested in downtown Sacramento on suspicion of DUI.[13]

References
  1. "Ben Hueso (D)". govbuddy.com. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  2. McGreevy, Patrick (March 13, 2013). "Assemblyman Ben Hueso of San Diego wins seat in state Senate". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  3. "Democrats Win Supermajority in California Assembly". NBC San Diego. November 15, 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  4. Blair, Tom (March 2009). "Ben Hueso". San Diego Magazine. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012.
  5. Assembly Member Ben Hueso - Biography
  6. "The New Council Prez". Voice of San Diego. January 2, 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  7. Walker, Mark (January 4, 2013). "Hueso makes Senate bid official". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  8. "Ben Hueso takes Senate seat, restores Democratic supermajority". Sacramento Bee. March 21, 2013. Archived from the original on March 25, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
  9. "Cities take stand against California bill for 5G antenna placement". www.kcra.com. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  10. https://timesofsandiego.com/politics/2019/08/08/state-sen-ben-hueso-announces-bid-for-south-bay-county-supervisor-seat/
  11. https://www.livevoterturnout.com/SanDiego/LiveResults/en/Index_8.html
  12. https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2020-11-28/nora-vargas
  13. "State Sen. Ben Hueso arrested on suspicion of DUI". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
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