California gets Latino U.S. senator, some Black leaders angry By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, AP Political Writer
Published: December 23, 2020, 8:20am
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4 Photos FILE - In this Jan. 28, 2019, file photo, California Secretary of State Alex Padilla talks during a news conference at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, as the state s next U.S. senator to fill the seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) Photo Gallery
LOS ANGELES California is getting its first Latino U.S. senator. For Gov. Gavin Newsom, it’s a political gamble.
Gavin Newsom names California’s first Latino U.S. senator to replace Kamala Harris [The Sacramento Bee]
Dec. 22 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.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom suddenly changed Assembly member Shirley Weber’s political trajectory, and possibly Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez’s as well.
Newsom’s choice of Weber as California secretary of state was his second appointment Tuesday that reverberated across the state and this one was even more of a surprise.
Earlier in the day, the governor announced that Secretary of State Alex Padilla will fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Several names had been floated, but Padilla’s was always among the most prominent.
There had not been near the speculation over who might replace Padilla should he get the Senate nod, and Weber didn’t figure into what little there was.
Endorsements building for Bay Area Democrat to be California s next attorney general
Sacramento Bee 12/23/2020 Lara Korte, The Sacramento Bee
Dec. 23 California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has yet to be confirmed as President-Elect Joe Biden s Health and Human Services secretary, but several lawmakers and advocacy groups are already backing a potential successor.
Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, has received a swath of endorsements in recent days from lawmakers, criminal justice advocates and Asian Pacific Islander groups as speculation grows around who Gov. Gavin Newsom might pick to take Becerra s place as California s chief legal officer.
Bonta, 48, has served in the Assembly since 2012 and represents Oakland, Alameda, and San Leandro. He was California s first Filipino state legislator, and would be the first Filipino attorney general.
Wednesday Dec 23, 2020 at 12:01 AM Dec 23, 2020 at 7:52 AM
LOS ANGELES (AP) California is getting its first Latino U.S. senator. For Gov. Gavin Newsom, it s a political gamble.
The Democratic governor Tuesday named Secretary of State Alex Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, to fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. When Padilla goes to Washington, the former state legislator will become California s first Latino senator since the state s founding 170 years ago.
In picking a personal friend and fellow Democrat, Newsom had his eye on history and pragmatism he turned to someone he could trust with a year of uncertainty looming, including a possible recall election targeting the governor while the pandemic rages unabated.