In American politics, we tend to favor rapid rises over slow and steady climbs, favoring big names who falter over the quiet ones who make a name for themselves behind the scenes.
Senator Alex Padilla has come a long way. The San Fernando Valley native and MIT graduate has been in public office since 1999, when he won a seat on the Los Angeles City Council at age 26. Secretary of State and other more important roles. Then in 2020, his ally Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed him to succeed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the U.S. Senate.
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Perfect teamwork determines Padilla’s rise. He displayed a quiet confidence and impressive discipline, rarely deviating from the script. Some would say he’s boring. Today, as the representative of 40 million Americans, standing on the biggest stage of politics, his demeanor has not changed.
But the scale of the task before him and the dangers he faces are certainly there. Shortly before he was easily elected to a full term in 2022, it became clear that three members of the Los Angeles City Council were caught making vulgar and sometimes racist remarks about their colleagues.
Padilla has worked closely with city council members who broke the rules. He once organized one of their campaigns. He went to high school with another person whose brother had been her chief of staff.
But days after The Times reported the story, Padilla stepped forward and became one of the first and most prominent elected officials to call for their resignation.
He said that as the state’s first Latino senator, he was under a lot of pressure when he made the decision.
“I know them personally and work closely with them. But as difficult as it is to get to know them personally and understand my role and my place in all of this, ultimately what is right and what is wrong.
Alex Padilla, photographed by the Los Angeles Times in El Segundo on October 9.
His close relationship with then-City Council President Nuri Martinez was well known. As a result, his quick stance didn’t go unnoticed by California political circles. He said that day that he was “shocked by the racist and dehumanizing remarks.”
His relationship with Martinez and many other Latino politicians underscores his role as one of the architects of the political machine in the San Fernando Valley and beyond. Take Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Pacoima), who is not seeking re-election this year after nearly three decades in public office. Padilla was Washington’s roommate and ran his first campaign, and the woman running to succeed Cardenas — Assemblywoman Luz Rivas (D-North Hollywood) — was on the show with Padilla high school and college, and received his endorsement shortly after announcing his candidacy.
None of this is a coincidence, and it reflects how methodically the trained engineer helped his allies climb.
Padilla also fills a void created by the decline and death of his colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. During her tenure, Feinstein pushed for billions of dollars to combat climate change and fund infrastructure projects.
Padilla, 51, is now taking over that mantle.
“Moving things forward day in and day out,” he said, “is all happening behind the scenes.”
