About Alex
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."
Padilla was sworn in as California’s first Latino Secretary of State 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. In December 2020, Padilla was appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom to finish the term of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Senator Padilla lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife Angela and their three sons: Roman, Alex and Diego.