Padilla to begin his new role in volatile times
Gov. Newsom appointed Padilla to fill Sen. Harris's seat as she becomes vice president
Secretary of State Alex Padilla becomes the first Latino senator from California effective Wednesday.
As vice president-elect Kamala Harris resigned from her Senate seat Monday ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration, California’s next senator is headed to Capitol Hill during one of the most tumultuous transitions in U.S history.
Outgoing Secretary of State Alex Padilla, 47, will become California’s first Latinx senator. Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to fill the rest of Harris’s term, and Padilla has already said he plans to run for a full term in 2022.
Here are some things to know about the man set to represent the Golden State in the upper chamber of Congress.
PADILLA IS THE SON OF IMMIGRANTS » Padilla’s parents immigrated to California from Mexico, ultimately settling in Pacoima in the San Fernando Valley north of downtown Los Angeles. His father worked as a cook while his mother cleaned houses. Padilla, who attended public schools growing up, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering before returning to California and taking a job with Hughes Aircraft. A short time later, he made the move to politics.
Padilla, who is fluent in Spanish, spoke when he was chosen to be the next senator about how the coronavirus has laid bare the gaps between families who have the ability to maintain financial stability by working remotely and those who do not.
“All of that is not lost on me, because I can relate,” he said, adding that he will
draw on his upbringing as a senator.
“As I prepare to enter the United States Senate, I will carry on the mission of building a more inclusive democracy and economy for all,” Padilla said in a statement Monday.
HE HAS HAD A LONG CAREER IN PUBLIC SERVICE » Padilla’s first job in politics actually came from the woman he will serve with: Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Padilla worked as an aide to the senior senator from California after leaving aerospace engineering.
Beginning in 1999 at just 26 years of age, Padilla won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council, where he served as the youngest and first Latinx council president. In 2005, he became president of the League of California Cities, which works to influence policy decisions in Sacramento and Washington, D.C., that affect cities.
He has served as California’s secretary of state since 2015. In 2020, he oversaw a massive expansion of mail-in voting amid the ongoing pandemic. Before his current role, Padilla served in the state Senate from 2006-2014, where he authored legislation to make the process of transferring from community college to the California State University system easier and pushed for policies to reduce climate change and pollution.
But being a senator from the most populous state in the union will be his biggest job yet.
“It’s an enormous transition for him,” said Bill Carrick, a longtime Feinstein strategist, adding that in addition to getting an office up and running at such a busy time, he’ll have to secure committee assignments, which will shape the work he’s able to do as a lawmaker.
COVID-19 TAKES PRIORITY » Padilla is certain to carve out his own agenda — one that is distinct from Harris’s and Feinstein’s. But he has repeatedly said that his first order of business will be to help get the coronavirus pandemic under control from both a health and economic standpoint. What he focuses on after that remains to be seen, but he is widely considered to be a moderate, establishment choice.
“I think he’ll focus on economics and health, and obviously there’s going to be a lot of clean up on immigration that’s going to have to go on,” Carrick said.
But, the longtime Democratic strategist cautioned, Padilla will have to be ready to pivot as soon as another wildfire or major disaster strikes the state, which has happened increasingly frequently and with more ferocity in recent years.