Padilla, Alex, 1973-

<p>Alex Padilla (/pəˈdiːə/ pə-DEE-ə; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician and engineer serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 32nd secretary of state of California from 2015 to 2021.</p>

<p>Padilla served more than seven years on the Los Angeles City Council, representing the 7th district. First elected in 1999, he was President of the Los Angeles City Council from 2001 to 2006. He then served in the California State Senate for the 20th district from 2006 to 2014.</p>

<p>Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Padilla to the Senate after Kamala Harris was elected Vice President of the United States; Harris, as President of the Senate, swore Padilla in on January 20, 2021. His term will end in January 2023. He is the first Mexican American and Hispanic senator from California, the first senator from Southern California since 1992, when John F. Seymour left office, and the first male senator to represent the state since 1993, when Alan Cranston retired.</p>

<p>Senator Alex Padilla is the proud son of immigrants from Mexico, his father a short-order cook and his mother a housekeeper. Padilla attended Los Angeles public schools and is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating from MIT, Padilla was elected to the Los Angeles City Council where he served as the youngest Council President in Los Angeles history and provided citywide leadership at critical times, including serving as acting Mayor during the tragedy of September 11, 2001. He was elected to the State Senate in 2006 to represent the more than 1.1 million people in the San Fernando Valley. As a State Senator, Padilla passed more than 70 bills, including landmark legislation to combat climate change, and was named as one of Sacramento’s "most effective legislators."</p>

<p>Padilla served as California’s first Latino Secretary of State starting on January 5, 2015 and was re-elected in 2018, receiving the most votes of any Latino elected official in the United States. As Secretary of State, Padilla worked to make our elections more accessible and inclusive, while fighting to protect the integrity of our voting systems.</p>

<p>As California's Junior U.S. Senator, Padilla serves as Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. He also serves as a member of the Senate Committees on Budget, Environment and Public Works, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Judiciary, and Rules.</p>

PADILLA, Alejandro (Alex), a Senator from California; born in Panorama City, Los Angeles County, Calif., March 22, 1973; graduated San Fernando High School, San Fernando, Calif., 1990; B.S., mechanical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., 1994; mechanical engineer; aide to California Senator Dianne Feinstein; political campaign manager; staff member for California State assemblyman Tony Cardenas; member of the Los Angeles, Calif., city council 1999-2006; president of the Los Angeles, Calif., city council 2001-2006; member of the California state senate 2006-2014; California secretary of state 2015-2021; appointed as a Democrat to the United States Senate on January 18, 2021, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Kamala D. Harris, and took the oath of office on January 20, 2021.