Lena Gonzalez
Member of the California State Senate
from the 33rd district
Assumed office
June 12, 2019
Preceded byRicardo Lara
Long Beach City Councilmember
from the 1st District
In office
July 15, 2014 – June 12, 2019
Preceded byRobert Garcia
Succeeded byMary Zendejas
Personal details
Born (1981-01-26) January 26, 1981
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseAdam Carrillo [1]
Children3
Residence(s)Long Beach, California
Alma materCalifornia State University, Long Beach (B.A.)
Loyola Marymount University (MBA)

Lena Adriana Gonzalez (born January 26, 1981) is an American politician serving in the California State Senate.[2] She was first elected to the State Senate to represent the 33rd District[3] in a special election in June 2019[4] and was subsequently re-elected in the November 3, 2020 general election for her first full 4-year term. As State Senator, she represents nearly 1 million residents in the Southeast Los Angeles area,[5] including South Gate, Maywood, Bell Gardens, Paramount, Lynwood, Huntington Park, Cudahy, Signal Hill,[6] small portions of South Los Angeles[7] and Lakewood,[8] and her hometown of Long Beach.[9]

Personal life and education

Senator Gonzalez is the daughter of a union truck driver father and mother who immigrated from Aguascalientes, Mexico. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Political Science from California State University Long Beach[10] and a Master of Business Administration from Loyola Marymount University.[11] She lives in Long Beach[9] with her husband Adam and their three sons Zorion, Ethan and Luca.[12]

Early Work and City Council

Prior to her time in the Senate, Gonzalez worked for Microsoft[13] where she led social impact programs on digital skills, the future of work and criminal justice reform.[14] She spearheaded efforts to expand diversity and inclusion in the tech sector and to promote programs for underserved communities, such as supports for young girls of color in STEM.[15]  

Simultaneously with her work in the private sector, she served[16] on the Long Beach City Council[17] from 2014 to 2019, representing 50,000 residents in Downtown Long Beach,[18] including the Port of Long Beach.[19] She served the city for a decade, both as an elected official and former staff member.

California State Senate

In the Senate, Gonzalez currently is a member of the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response,[20] Energy, Utilities and Communications,[21] Environmental Quality,[22] Judiciary[23] and Health[24] committees. In addition, she was recently appointed as the new Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee,[25] becoming the first Latina(o) to ever serve in this capacity and the only woman to serve in the last 20 years. On February 12, 2021, Senator Gonzalez was also appointed as Majority Whip,[26] one of seven Democratic leadership positions in the California Senate.

In 2020, Senator Gonzalez chaired a newly formed bipartisan committee of eleven senators that was tasked with reviewing the state's response to the COVID-19 health crisis. In her time as chair of the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response,[20] Gonzalez led a series of hearings to inform and strengthen the strategic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, covering topics such as testing and contact tracing, workplace health and safety issues and K-12[27] distance learning.

Legislation

Senator Gonzalez's first bill, SB 1255 “The Equal Insurance HIV Act” [28] was signed into law on September 26, 2020. The new law prohibits life and disability income insurance companies from denying coverage to HIV-positive individuals solely based on their HIV status.

At the beginning of the 2020-2021 legislative session, Senator Gonzalez introduced Senate Bill 4 “The Broadband for All Act”[29] to help close the digital divide. She has introduced over a dozen new measures[30] for the 2020-2021 legislative session.

Senator Gonzalez introduced legislation in 2022 to require CalPERS and CalSTRS to engage in fossil fuel divestment to align with the state's climate action goals.[31][32]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.theknot.com/us/lena-gonzalez-and-adam-carrillo-feb-2020
  2. ↑ "California State Senate", Wikipedia, March 26, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  3. ↑ "Census profile: State Senate District 33, CA". Census Reporter. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  4. ↑ "33rd state Senate District election: Lena Gonzalez is running unopposed". Press Telegram. March 3, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Gateway Cities", Wikipedia, February 26, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  6. ↑ "Signal Hill, California", Wikipedia, February 22, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  7. ↑ "South Los Angeles", Wikipedia, April 6, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  8. ↑ "Lakewood, California", Wikipedia, January 28, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  9. 1 2 "Long Beach, California", Wikipedia, April 5, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  10. ↑ Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard Long; California 90840 562.985.4111. "California State University, Long Beach". California State University, Long Beach. Retrieved April 6, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ University, Loyola Marymount. "Loyola Marymount University". www.lmu.edu. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Lena Gonzalez". Wonder Women Tech. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Microsoft", Wikipedia, April 6, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  14. ↑ "Criminal justice reform in the United States", Wikipedia, February 15, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  15. ↑ "Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics", Wikipedia, April 4, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  16. ↑ "Long Beach City Councilwoman Heading to State Senate After Beating GOP Opponent". KTLA. June 5, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Officials". www.longbeach.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Downtown Long Beach", Wikipedia, February 19, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  19. ↑ "Port of Long Beach", Wikipedia, March 11, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  20. 1 2 "Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response | California State Senate". www.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Welcome to the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications | Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee". seuc.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Welcome to the Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality | Senate Environmental Quality Committee". senv.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Welcome to the Senate Standing Committee on Judiciary | Senate Judiciary Committee". sjud.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Senate Committee on Health | Senate Health Committee". shea.senate.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  25. ↑ dPrimeramano (December 16, 2020). "Sen. Lena Gonzalez Becomes First Latina to Be Appointed Chair of the California State Senate Transportation Committee in Over 50 years". dPrimera Mano (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  26. ↑ Saltzgaver, Harry. "Long Beach's Senator Lena Gonzalez Part Of Democratic Party Leadership". www.Gazettes.com. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  27. ↑ "K–12", Wikipedia, April 1, 2021, retrieved April 6, 2021
  28. ↑ "Governor Newsom Signs "The Equal Insurance HIV Act" Enacting Anti-discrimination Protections in State Law". Equality California. September 26, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Bill Text - SB-4 Communications: California Advanced Services Fund". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  30. ↑ "2021 Legislation". Senator Lena A. Gonzalez. February 18, 2020. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
  31. ↑ "State Senator Lena Gonzalez Introduces Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill in CA Legislature". Daily Kos. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Senator Lena Gonzalez Announces Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill to Advance California Climate Goals". Senator Lena A. Gonzalez. February 23, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
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