Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday appointed Alex Padilla to be the next U.S. Senator for the state of California, to fill the vacancy of Kamala Harris, who was elected Vice President and will take office on January 20.
In a statement, the governor's office noted that Padilla is the current California secretary of state; he previously served as a Los Angeles city councilman and state senator, and is a national leader in the fight to expand voting rights.
In this way, he added that Alex Padilla becomes the first Latino to represent the state of California in the upper chamber of the U.S. Congress and is also the first citizen from downstate California to join the Senate in nearly three decades.
"The son of Mexican immigrants, a cook and house cleaner, Alex Padilla worked his way up from humble beginnings to the halls of MIT, Los Angeles City Hall and the state Senate, and has become a national advocate for voting rights as Secretary of State," the governor said.
"Through his tenacity, integrity, intelligence and courage, California is gaining a proven fighter who will be a fierce ally in D.C., elevating our state's values and securing critical resources to emerge stronger from this pandemic. He will be a senator for all Californians," Newsom added.
For his part, Alex Padilla said he is honored by the trust placed in him by Governor Newsom, and intends to work every day to honor that trust and fulfill the needs of all Californians.
"From those struggling to make ends meet, to small businesses struggling to keep their doors open or health care workers seeking relief, please know that I am going to the Senate to fight for you," the California secretary of state said.
Notably, Padilla, 47, was the front-runner in a crowded field of possibilities to fill out the remainder of the term of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, who plans to leave her Senate seat in January, before Inauguration Day, Jan. 20.
Although senators are traditionally elected by voters at the polls, in this case it was the state governor who was responsible for appointing Harris' replacement, whose seat in the upper chamber is up until 2022.
