33 Facts About Alex Padilla

Alejandro Padilla is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021.

Alex Padilla then served in the California State Senate for the 20th district from 2006 to 2014.

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

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

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

Alex Padilla earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994.

Alex Padilla graduated from the Coro Fellows Southern California Program in 1995.

Alex Padilla is a former member of the governing board of MIT and president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, which has a membership of more than 6,000 Latino US officials.

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

Alex 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.

Alex Padilla 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.

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

Alex Padilla was the first Latino and the youngest person elected president of the Los Angeles City Council, defeating incumbent Ruth Galanter.

Alex 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.

Alex Padilla left office on November 30,2014, after two terms.

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

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

Alex Padilla 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.

On October 16,2020, Alex 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.

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

In early 2020, Alex Padilla announced a $35 million no-bid contract for a statewide voter education ad campaign with partisan public relations firm SKDK called "Vote Safe California", but State Controller Betty Yee blocked the funding because Alex Padilla's office did not have the authority to use federal money that was allocated to county governments; the campaign proceeded anyway.

Alex Padilla announced that he would seek a full term in 2022.

Alex Padilla appeared on two ballots: one for the special election to fill the remainder of his term in the 117th Congress, and the other for the new term beginning with the 118th Congress.

On January 20,2021, Alex 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 US Senate.

Alex Padilla was sworn in by Vice President Harris on her first day, at the same time as new Georgia senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

Alex Padilla served the final two years of Harris's term.

Alex Padilla filed the necessary paperwork with the FEC to run for a full term and an unexpired term in the 2022 elections which he won in November 2022.

Alex Padilla introduced legislation to help coastal communities adapt shorelines to increased flooding and erosion from sea level rise and extreme weather.

The Wall Street Journal says that Alex Padilla had "a reputation [in the State Senate] as a business-friendly moderate".

On January 18,2021, Alex Padilla released a statement in support of the Green New Deal and Medicare For All legislation, among other progressive policies.

In 2008, Alex Padilla sponsored the bill SB 1770, which would require the Commission on Peace Officer Standards Training to prepare relevant guidelines and mechanisms for the investigation and reporting of "cases involving anti-reproductive-rights crimes".

When Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, Padilla condemned the decision.

Alex Padilla has been known for efforts to expand voting access.