The ANCA Western Region extends its heartfelt congratulations to Secretary of State Alex Padilla on his appointment to replace Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris in the United States Senate.

Even prior to becoming the youngest person and first Latino elected as President of the Los Angeles City Council in 2001, Secretary Padilla demonstrated his understanding of our community and a commitment to addressing the specific needs of California’s Armenian-American residents.

Following seven years of service in the City Council, Padilla was elected to the California State Senate in 2006 and reelected in 2010. In 2014, the ANCA-WR endorsed his candidacy for the office of CA Secretary of State, where he has since served as the chief election officer for the state. Throughout his tenure of public service, for over two decades, Padilla always made himself and the resources of his offices accessible to the ANCA-WR and its constituency.

“Secretary Padilla has a solid track record of reaching out to California’s Armenian-American community, in order to enhance the level of civic engagement and voter access of a predominantly first-generation immigrant constituency,” remarked ANCA-WR Chair Nora Hovsepian, Esq. “He is a thoughtful and dedicated leader and public servant, and we can think of no one better prepared to represent all Californians, and Armenian-Americans in particular, in the United States Senate. We wish him great success, and we look forward to continuing to work with him to advance the interests of our community, our state, and the United States of America.”

Padilla was a featured speaker at the 2019 ANCA-WR Grassroots Conference. The ANCA Western Region Board has held several one-on-one meetings with him throughout his years in public office and looks forward to maintaining the same friendly and productive relationship with him as a U.S. Senator.