Alex Padilla made history with his US Senate win. What it means for Latinos
LOS ANGELES — Alex Padilla grew up on the polluted northern edge of Los Angeles framed by brown hills and freeways in a working-class community long neglected by the city.
His win as the first Latino elected to the U.S. Senate from California solidifies the profound shift in point of view — both cultural and geographic — that came with his appointment by Gov. Gavin Newsom two years ago and cements a long-marginalized community’s seat in the highest echelon of political power.
For the last 30 years, the state has elected its senators from a largely white and moneyed political class in the Bay Area that has produced some of California’s most renowned Democratic figures.
Padilla’s childhood in Pacoima could not have been further removed. His steady, low-key rise through Los Angeles City Hall and the state Capitol to join Dianne Feinstein
