When Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is sworn in on January 20th, someone else will have to take her place in the US Senate to represent the state of California. That person will be Alex Padilla, California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced. Padilla, the current California Secretary of State, will become the first Latino Senator to represent the state in history.
Alex Padilla was born in Los Angeles, California to immigrant parents from Mexico. “Like so many others – millions of others around the country, frankly – [my parents] worked so hard, struggled, sacrificed, trying to achieve the American dream – less so for themselves, frankly, but for the next generation. And to think that a short-order cook and a housekeeper raised three children to all be public servants and one of them would be entering the United States Senate, it feels surreal sometimes. But I’m excited about the opportunity, and it just shows us the American dream is still alive and well,” he said in an interview with NPR.
Padilla grew up in the working class community of Pacoima and attended local public schools. He then went on to receive his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He entered politics working for US Senator Diane Feinstein and then-Assembly member Tony Cardenas, and in 1999 was elected to the Los Angeles City Council at the age of 26. Two years later, he was elected as Council President, becoming both the first Latino and the youngest member to hold the position in the Council’s history.
In 2006, Padilla was elected to the California State Senate, where he served until 2014 and chaired the Committee on Energy, Utilities, and Communications. During his time in the State Senate, he focused on legislation to combat climate change while creating a more sustainable economy. In January of 2015, he was sworn in as the California Secretary of State, eventually becoming an important ally of Governor Newsom. Additionally, he has served as President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO).
In the state of California, Latinos make up approximately 40% of the population. And yet, in the state’s 170-year history, no Latino had ever represented them in the US Senate. In his announcement, Governor Newsom called the appointment historic, adding that Padilla “is far more interested in changing history –especially for the working men and women of our state and country.”
Padilla will serve the rest of Harris’ term, and will be up for reelection in 2022. He called his appointment a tremendous honor. “It’s definitely historical. But with that comes a tremendous responsibility, and I’ll work hard every day to live up to that responsibility,” he said.