On December 4th, 2006 Alex Padilla was sworn in as a member of the California State Senate representing the 20th District. On his first day in the Senate, Padilla was appointed to the powerful Senate Rules Committee which confirms gubernatorial appointments and refers all bills in the Senate.
In addition to Rules Committee, Senator Padilla serves on the Budget Committee; the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communication; the Education Committee; the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee and the Government Organization Committee. He also Chairs the Select Committee on Obesity & Diabetes and the Select Committee on College and University Admissions and Outreach.
In his first year in the Senate, Padilla quickly established himself as a tenacious and effective legislator. He won legislative approval for 15 bills, 9 of which were signed by the Governor. As a Senator he has demonstrated leadership on such issues as cracking down on illegal tobacco sales to minors, requiring nutritional information be posted at chain restaurants, protecting consumers who trade-in a vehicle when buying a car, sharing and better coordinating ballistics evidence among law enforcement agencies, eliminating illegal cell phones from California prisons, extending the terms of tribal gaming compacts to ensure additional revenue to the state, expanding California recycling programs to include multifamily dwellings to reduce reliance on landfills and mandating that the California Air Resources Board do everything feasible to improve California’s air quality.
Alex Padilla’s work as a Senator represents the logical next chapter in an already impressive story as a public official in California. Born to immigrant parents from Mexico he was raised in the San Fernando Valley community of Pacoima where he excelled at local public school. His hard work paid off when he was accepted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After a stint working for Hughes Aircraft and after completing a post-graduate program in public policy with the CORO Foundation, Padilla went to work for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and later, then-Assembly member Tony Cardenas.
Alex Padilla was first elected to public office in 1999, when at the age of 26 he ran for Los Angeles City Council. Just two years later, in July of 2001, his council colleagues elected him council president. Padilla was not only the first Latino, but the youngest person ever elected city council president. He was unanimously re-elected twice and served as council president of America’s second largest city for 4 ½ years. He stepped down as council president on January 1, 2006 when he launched his campaign for the State Senate.
As city council president, Alex Padilla provided citywide leadership at critical times - among them, hiring William Bratton as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, developing a plan to redesign the Los Angeles International Airport, and serving as Acting Mayor during the tragedy of September 11.
In his council district he was well known for bringing new libraries, fire stations and a new police division to his district as well as upgrading basic infrastructure including parks, streets, sidewalks and streetlights that impact the quality of life in neighborhoods. He also led efforts to locate and fund the construction of the new Childrens Museum of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley.
His leadership abilities did not go unnoticed. He served as Chair of the Los Angeles Leadership Council of the American Diabetes Association from 2006-2007 and now serves as Chair of the Honorary Board, and from 2005 – 2006 he led California’s 478 cities as President of the League of California Cities. His service with the League of California Cities provided him unique opportunities to participate in negotiations on statewide issues. He negotiated with legislative leaders and the governor to place Proposition 1A on the ballot, which subsequently was approved with more than 80% of the vote and now constitutionally protects local government funding from state raids.
As a member of the Senate, Alex Padilla, 35, proudly represents more than 850,000 residents of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. He continues to live in the community of Pacoima.
