Alex Padilla

Alejandro "Alex" Padilla (born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from California, a seat he has held since 2021.

He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1994.

He graduated from the Coro Fellows Southern California Program in 1995.

After graduation, Padilla moved back to Pacoima and briefly worked as an engineer for Hughes Aircraft, where he wrote software for satellite systems.

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.

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.

His first professional role was as a personal assistant to Senator Dianne Feinstein.

He then served as a campaign manager for Assemblyman Tony Cárdenas in 1996, Assemblyman Gil Cedillo in 1997, and State Senator Richard Alarcon in 1998, all Democrats.

All won their respective elections.

On July 1, 1999, at age 26, Padilla was sworn in as a member of the Los Angeles City Council.

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.

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.

Los Angeles Times wrote that Padilla's rise to the mayor's office raised his "political stock".

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.

He has chaired the Los Angeles Leadership Council for the American Diabetes Association since 2005.

After retiring as president of the Los Angeles City Council, Padilla was elected to the State Senate in 2006, defeating Libertarian Pamela Brown.

Padilla authored legislation that passed in 2008 requiring some restaurants to disclose calorie information on menus.

He was reelected in 2010 with nearly 70% of the vote over Republican Kathleen Evans.

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.

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.

On April 11, 2013, Padilla announced his intention to run for California secretary of state in 2014, to succeed the term-limited incumbent 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.

He left office on November 30, 2014, after two terms.

In September 2014, Padilla promoted what would later become Proposition 67, a proposed ban on plastic bags.

Padilla won the election on November 4, 2014, with 53.6% of the vote, defeating Republican Pete Peterson.

A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021 and was a member of the California State Senate and the Los Angeles City Council.

Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla to the United States Senate after then-Senator Kamala Harris was elected Vice President of the United States; Harris, as the newly elected vice president and president of the Senate, swore Padilla in on January 20, 2021.

In dual November 2022 elections, Padilla won a special election to complete Harris's term as well as election to a full Senate term, defeating Republican nominee Mark Meuser in both.

Padilla became California's senior senator on September 29, 2023, upon the death of Dianne Feinstein.

Padilla is one of three children of Santos and Lupe Padilla, both of whom immigrated from Mexico, specifically Jalisco and Chihuahua, before meeting and marrying in Los Angeles, where he was born.

He grew up in Pacoima, Los Angeles, and graduated from San Fernando High School in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

He was officially sworn into office specifically on January Monday 5, 2015, concurrently during Jerry Brown's fourth term.

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 plastic bags received 53% of the vote.

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.

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

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 for voters to submit their ballots at select locations, including churches and gun stores in competitive California districts.

Padilla issued a cease-and-desist order, arguing that the ballot boxes were illegal and failed to ensure ballot security.

Local Republican leadership refused to follow the order and said the boxes were a form of legal ballot harvesting that had been enabled by recent Democratic legislation (which lacked a chain of custody requirement), and were a way to increase voter turnout.