• On Dec. 22, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that California Secretary of State Alex Padilla will fill the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Padilla previously served as a Los Angeles City Council member and state senator, and “will become the first Latino to represent California in the United States Senate and the first Southern Californian in nearly three decades,” according to a statement from Newsom’s office. “The son of Mexican immigrants—a cook and house cleaner—Alex Padilla worked his way from humble beginnings to the halls of MIT, the Los Angeles City Council, and the state Senate, and has become a national defender of voting rights as California’s secretary of state,” Newsom said in the statement. “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.” U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) released a statement after the appointment was announced, saying he’s known Padilla since they were young staffers. “As the son of Mexican immigrants, Alex embodies the American Dream. His story is a familiar one for many Latinos like me, and I know he will be a fierce advocate for working families and equal opportunity in the Senate,” Carbajal said. In the statement released by Newsom’s office, Padilla emphasized that he will help Californians make it through the pandemic. “From those struggling to make ends meet to the small businesses fighting to keep their doors open to the health care workers looking for relief, please know that I am going to the Senate to fight for you,” Padilla said.
• Assemblymember Jordan Cunningham (R-San Luis Obispo) introduced a bill on Dec. 16 that would “limit the governor’s ability under the California Emergency Services Act (CESA) to unilaterally enact or change laws or regulations 60 days after the emergency was declared,” according to his office. The bill would require the governor to obtain approval from the state Legislature for any changes made to laws and regulations under CESA that are proposed 60 days after the declaration of emergency. Cunningham said that the bill is directly related to what’s happening at the state lawmaking level during the pandemic. “California has been under a governor-issued state of emergency for 287 days, and for 287 days, the governor has been unilaterally changing laws and regulations with zero input from the Legislature,” Cunningham said in a statement. “The Legislature is a co-equal branch of government. Under our Constitution, it is supposed [to] have the principal lawmaking powers of the state. It’s time to restore California to a constitutional democracy, and ensure that a governor no longer has unlimited and indefinite and unilateral power.”
• State Sen. Monique Limón (D-Santa Barbara), formerly a state Assembly member, was sworn in to her new position on Dec. 7. “As I reflect on the last four years serving the people of Assembly District 37, I am extremely grateful for the opportunity and thankful that my work in the Legislature reflected the values of [District] 37. I am proud of the legislative accomplishments during my time in the Assembly, and I am committed to continue working on behalf of Senate District 19 and the rest of California in our state Legislature,” she wrote in a Facebook post. Steve Bennett (D-Santa Barbara) will take Limón’s place in the state Assembly.
This article appears in Dec 31, 2020 – Jan 7, 2021.
