Gavin Newsom names California’s first Latino U.S. senator to replace Kamala Harris BY KIM BOJÓRQUEZ DECEMBER 22, 2020 10:00 AM, UPDATED 15 MINUTES AGO California Gov. Gavin Newsom has appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ successor in the U.S. Senate, making him the first Latino from California to fill the role in the state’s 170-year history. Newsom’s historic appointment comes after a coalition of Latino progressive groups pressed for Newsom to appoint Padilla, or another Latino, to represent California, where Latinos make up 40% of the population. “Through his tenacity, integrity, smarts and grit, California is gaining a tested fighter in their corner who will be a fierce ally in D.C., lifting up our state’s values and making sure we secure the critical resources to emerge stronger from this pandemic,” Newsom said in a statement. “He will be a Senator for all Californians.” TOP ARTICLES Soon after Harris was announced as Biden’s running mate in August, Padilla collected endorsements from BOLD PAC, the camgn arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus; the D.C.-based political action committee Latino Victory; the UFW Foundation and the California Latino Legislative Caucus. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein also backed Padilla’s appointment. “I am honored and humbled by the trust placed in me by Governor Newsom, and I intend to work each and every day to honor that trust and deliver for all Californians,” Padilla said in a statement. “From those struggling to make ends meet to the small businesses fighting to keep their doors open to the health care workers looking for relief, please know that I am going to the Senate to fight for you. We will get through this pandemic together and rebuild our economy in a way that doesn’t leave working families behind.” Padilla’s front-runner status was elevated quickly after California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his cabinet’s health and human services secretary, taking another top Latino politician out of the running for the Senate seat. Other Latino candidates believed by political strategists to be considered for the role included Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia and Kevin de Léon, who challenged Feinstein for her Senate seat in 2018. Latino progressive groups weren’t the only organizations calling on Newsom to name a senator from an under-represented community. The Democratic governor also faced intense pressure from other groups to appoint a Black woman or LGBTQ leader to replace Harris. Mike Madrid, a California-based political strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project, said it would have been considered “malpractice’ for Newsom not to appoint a Latino as Harris’ successor. “The Democratic Party also recognizes it has kind of a Latino problem right now,” Madrid said referring to Republican President Donald Trump’s support of Latino voters and the Democratic Party’s lack of Latino elected officials on a national level. “If you can’t have a Latino from California, I mean, where can you have one?” Padilla’s appointment makes him the tenth Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. senator in the country’s history, joining current Sens. Marco Rubio, R-FL, Ted Cruz, R-TX, Catherine Cortez, D-NV, and Robert Menendez, D-NJ. Raised in Pacoima, Calif., Padilla, 47, is the son of Mexican immigrants. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before becoming The Golden State’s top elections officer, a position he’s held since 2015, he served on the Los Angeles City Council and in the California State Senate. At age 26, Padilla was elected in 1999 as the city’s first Latino to serve on the Los Angeles City Council. Between 2006-14, Padilla served in the California State Senate. As a lawmaker, he chaired the committee on energy, utilities and communications. Padilla was applauded for his efforts as California’s secretary of state for leading the state’s vote-by-mail elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article247706740.html?ac_cid=DM349272&ac_bid=-1073085803 4/10 POTENTIAL POLITICAL AGENDA Sonja Diaz, founding director of UCLA Latino Policy & Politics Initiative, anticipates Padilla’s agenda will focus on ensuring immigrants are not left behind or excluded from COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts. Other potential issues include addressing climate change and environmental protections for vulnerable Californians and safeguarding the state’s upcoming redistricting cycle from gerrymandering. “Padilla has been pretty clear about his support for immigrant families, recognizing the social, economic and political contributions of these communities,” Diaz said. Manuel Pastor, director of the Equity Research Institute at the University of Southern California, predicts Padilla will be a major proponent of voting rights and promoting issues important to undocumented immigrants, particularly recipients of the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “He’s been a significant supporter on issues, services to undocumented immigrants, being involved in promoting The Dream Act,” Pastor said. It would be natural for Padilla to focus on voter integrity issues, Madrid said. Padilla’s “deep understanding in local government” would be a plus when it comes to addressing issues related to homelessness and responding to COVID-19 at a federal level, he said. He thinks Padilla has long wanted the Senate seat. “It’s a position that he’s just kind of talked openly about,” Madrid said. “I think he’s always kind of (planned) to serve California that way.” Who’s in the running to be California’s next secretary of state? BY LARA KORTE DECEMBER 22, 2020 10:19 AM, UPDATED 10 MINUTES AGO After months of being jockeyed by every political interest group in California, Gov.Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday he had chosen Secretary of State Alex Padilla for the U.S. Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Padilla’s appointment means California will have its first-ever Latino senator, but it also means another important job for Newsom to fill. In addition to the Harris seat, the governor now has the chance to hand-pick both California’s secretary of state and attorney general, assuming Xavier Becerra survives his confirmation hearings to health and human services secretary in the Biden administration. TOP ARTICLES “It’s gotten more complicated, because there’s more boxes on the chessboard,” said California Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio. “Essentially, that job (secretary of state) is the referee of elections, so you want somebody who has actually shown some passion for voter registration for free and fair elections, or engaging young people in the electoral process.” California law requires the secretary of state to be a registered voter and a member of their party for at least three months, and the job is limited to two four-year terms. Newsom’s appointee will have to be confirmed by a majority of state Senate and Assembly before finishing out the rest of Padilla’s term, which ends in 2022. https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article247702755.html?ac_cid=DM349279&ac_bid=-1072941297 2/7 12/22/2020 Who could be California’s next secretary of state? | The Sacramento Bee Newsom has a host of Democrats who would be happy to take the job, but the secretary of state is also responsible for business registrations and making California more business-friendly, Maviglio said, which means he could pluck someone from the business world. “It’s not as high profile, but it’s almost equally as important,” Maviglio said of the business operations. It’s unclear how soon Newsom will have to make a decision, but people are already lined up for the job. Two members of the California Assembly, Lorena Gonzalez, D- San Diego and Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, had announced their intentions to run for the office in 2022 prior to Padilla’s appointment. Gonzalez, who represents San Diego, is considered “royalty among labor” after her work on (the ultimately unsuccessful) Proposition 22, which took on Uber and Lyft, Mavilgio said. She also has the support of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and was recently endorsed by United Farm Workers, California’s leading agricultural worker organization. According to state filings, her campaign for Secretary of State has raised more than $350,000. Earlier this month, Gonzalez told The Sacramento Bee she would be “delighted” if Newsom asked her to serve in any capacity at the state level. “If he asked me to serve in any capacity I would have to highly look at that. It’s an honor to have my name thrown around,” she said. “Since we’ve been in office, we’ve been focused on ensuring that as many people as possible have access to the ballot box,” she said. “We’ve had an eye toward ensuring the ballot box is open and accessible to every citizen in California.” She pointed to various bills she has authored to reduce barriers to voting, especially for young people and low-income people, such as a bill that ensured ballots could be returned by mail for free. “We’ve really looked at ways to reduce those barriers,” she said. “We think when everyone’s voice is at the table, better decisions are made.” Assemblyman Low, a Bay-area Democrat, is known for a meteoric rise to the statehouse. In 2006 he won a seat on the Campbell City Council and then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation naming June 5, 2006, “Evan https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article247702755.html?ac_cid=DM349279&ac_bid=-1072941297 3/7 12/22/2020 Who could be California’s next secretary of state? | The Sacramento Bee Low Day”.