United States California Members of the United States Senate Senator Alex Padilla

Senator Alex Padilla is the first Latino elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate. The son of immigrants, Padilla grew up in the San Fernando Valley and studied mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was drawn to politics in response to California’s anti-immigrant Proposition 187.

Padilla was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 1999 and the California Senate in 2006. As California’s secretary of state, he oversaw an expansion of voting rights and voter participation. Padilla currently serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, and Border Safety. He is a member of the Senate Committees on Budget; Environment and Public Works; Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs; Judiciary; and Rules. Padilla lives in the San Fernando Valley with his wife, Angela, and their three sons, Roman, Alex and Diego.

Padilla has offices in five cities: Sacramento, San Francisco, Fresno, Los Angeles, and San Diego.