Candidate for
Secretary of State

In his fifteen years in elected office, California State Senator Alex Padilla has built an impressive record of accomplishment and has been recognized for his exceptional leadership skills. Now Alex Padilla is running for Secretary of State to engage millions of new voters and make it easier to start a business in the biggest state in the country.

As Secretary of State, Alex Padilla will:

• Reduce by half the 10 million Californians who are not registered or not voting
• Restore trust in government with new campaign finance disclosure
• Use technology to provide better information about how to register and vote
• Expand options for time, place and method of voting
• Eliminate the backlog of business filings
• Institute a one-week turnaround for registering a new business

Frequently mentioned as one of America's Latino rising stars, Alex Padilla is now President of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), representing more than 6,000 Latino elected and appointed officials nationwide.

Winning a seat on the Los Angeles City Council at the age of 26, Alex Padilla was later elected by his peers as President of the Council, becoming the first Latino and youngest member ever to serve as President. During his term as City Council President, Padilla also was elected as the President of the California League of Cities, the first Latino to serve in that position.

Alex Padilla chairs the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and the Select Committee on Science, Innovation and Public Policy. Padilla also serves as a member of the following committees: Appropriations; Business, Professions, and Economic Development; Elections and Constitutional Amendments; Governmental Organization; and Labor.

Like so many Californians, Padilla's parents emigrated here in pursuit of the American Dream. His father, a retired member of UNITE HERE, worked as a short order cook and his mother cleaned houses. Alex Padilla grew up in the working class neighborhood of Pacoima, graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in mechanical engineering and now serves as a member of the MIT Board of Trustees. He lives in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles with his wife Angela and their two sons.