The World’s Greatest Deliberative Body™ is searching for a Californian who enjoys spirited debate, deliberating on presidential appointments and sometimes passing actual legislation. Candidates must be willing to split time between California and Washington D.C., and are encouraged to apply for this position twice.
Qualifications:
- The ability to either parse dense legislation and policy proposals, or to hire staff members who can
- Hiring experience a plus: You will be required to approve or reject the president’s judicial, cabinet and diplomatic appointments
- Because the U.S. Senate runs on seniority, new members can expect to have very little say about anything, so patience is a virtue
- Though the U.S. Constitution requires that candidates be at least 30 years old, apparently it helps to be a quite a bit older
Compensation
$174,000 per year + excellent job security. Your California colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, has held her seat since 1992.
About the hiring process:
This position is currently open to applications for both a 56-day contractual basis (to serve from when the election results are certified in November until Jan. 3, 2023) and for the standard six-year term (beginning in January).
Let us explain: In 2021, the prior holder of this position, Kamala Harris, took a position elsewhere in Washington D.C. This gave Gov. Gavin Newsom the opportunity to appoint current Sen. Alex Padilla. The U.S. Constitution’s 17th Amendment specifies that appointees to the Senate should serve “until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.” In May 2021, the California Legislature passed a law calling for the replacement vote to take place during the regularly scheduled election this November. That’s why California voters will be asked to hire a senator to fill the remainder of Harris’ term — which ends in January and has drawn fewer candidates — and to hire a senator to serve the next term.
Could different applicants be hired for the short-term job and the longer-term position? It wouldn’t be the first time. But Padilla, who has the backing of the entire Democratic establishment, is the clear favorite after winning more than 54% in both races in the June primary.
Of the 20 candidates who lined up to unseat him, only one candidate emerged from the pack to square off against the incumbent in November: Republican Mark Meuser. A conservative lawyer, Meuser has lost to Padilla before — a bid for Secretary of State in 2018.
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Applicants
- Democratic
- Republican
- American Independent
- Green
- Libertarian
- Peace & Freedom
- No Party
Here’s where Alex Padilla, applicant for U.S. Senator, stands on some of the biggest questions facing California. Applicant Mark Meuser declined to answer the questions.
California’s Democratic leaders positioned the state as a sanctuary for people seeking abortions in advance of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe vs. Wade. Some say that the ruling could also lead to the court reconsidering its ruling that made gay marriage a constitutional right. Bills to codify abortion rights and gay marriage in federal law are before Congress.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The right to marry who you love shouldn’t be up for debate. We must pass legislation at the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">federal level </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> such as the Respect for Marriage Act and the Equality Act </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that protects the civil</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">rights of all LGBTQ+ Americans, including the right to same-sex marriage.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m proud of California’s leadership in protecting the right to an abortion for all. Our message to</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">women across the country is clear: Our doors are open </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and we will protect your right to make</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">decisions about your own body and future. I recently co-led the introduction of legislation to</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> p</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">rotect abortion providers in states such as California where abortion remains legal, and I’m a proud</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">supporter of Proposition 1, which would enshrine the right to an abortion in our state</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Consitution.</span>
Even though the economy is rebounding from COVID, California still has the nation’s highest jobless rate and hasn’t recovered all the jobs lost. The state also has the highest gas prices — a big part of the bite inflation is taking.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m proud the Senate recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which will lower health care</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> p</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">remiums and prescription drug costs for millions of Californians, while enacting a historic</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">deficit reduction to fight inflation. I will continue working to lower costs for families, including</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> b</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">y advocating for policies like the child tax credit, affordable housing, universal child care, paid</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">family and sick leave, cracking down on exorbitant oil company profits, and Medicare for All.</span>
California is stuck in a drought, amid intensifying battles over water rights. The state is also struggling to reach its goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And wildfires are also worsening; the federal government owns the most forested land in the state.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Absolutely. I successfully worked with the Biden administration to restore California's ability to</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">independently regulate vehicle emissions, and I’ve called on the EPA to set more stringent</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">greenhouse gas emission standards at the national level.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The federal government can and should lead the way in the fight against the climate crisis. We</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> j</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">ust pushed forward a once-in-a-generation bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, that will do just</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">that. This historic legislation will lower our carbon emissions and invest billions in clean jobs,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">reduce pollution, support drought resiliency, bolster wildfire prevention, and preserve our coasts</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and public lands. It’s a historic step forward in the fight against climate change </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">but we know</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">it’s not enough and we need to incorporate climate action into every aspect of policymaking.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">That’s why I’m a proud supporter of the Green New Deal.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">The federal government owns 57% of the forests in California, and wildfire prevention is</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">an existential issue for the state. I have led the charge to add additional staff to the Forest Service</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">so it can conduct additional wildfire prevention projects, and I helped secure significant</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">investments in both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to fund</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> its</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> wildfire management efforts. These investments and additional staff will allow the Forest</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Service to better manage our federal forests to make them more resilient against catastrophic</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">wildfires.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Offshore oil spills have been catastrophic for our oceans, our economy, and our coastal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">communities. It’s time for us to get serious about safeguarding our environment and working</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">towards a more sustainable future. That’s why I’ve co-sponsored the West Coast Ocean</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Protection Act to ban oil and gas drilling off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.</span>
California’s affordable housing crisis only deepened during the pandemic, as average home prices surged even further out of reach for many families. Homelessness likely worsened as well, prompting Gov. Newsom to propose forcing more homeless and mentally ill people into treatment. The Legislature twice extended a statewide eviction moratorium, but the final protections for renters ended on March 31.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">It is critical that we invest federal funds in a wide array of housing programs to support</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">construction of new affordable housing, which will help relieve the housing shortage at all</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">income levels, with an emphasis on helping our most vulnerable populations.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Neighborhood zoning and planning is largely a local and state level issue. I believe the federal government can best support state and local governments by providing additional resources to help fund the construction of more affordable housing and help people afford their rent, both of which are key pillars of my Housing for All Act. I’m particularly focused on incentivizing more transit-oriented development to spur more housing construction near transit so that people can live closer to job centers and reduce their reliance on cars and the associated climate impacts. </span>
Californians are increasingly concerned about crime, though the numbers paint a more complicated picture. California has some of the country’s strictest gun laws, but Gov. Newsom and others want to pass more, namely to allow private citizens to sue gun manufacturers over illegal assault weapons and “ghost guns.” He and Democrats are also reacting to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights and put a target on California gun laws.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m proud of California and of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s leadership on gun safety reform. The laws</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">that we’ve passed in our state are some of the toughest in the nation, and they’ve proven</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">effective in saving lives. But a patchwork of state laws isn’t a long term solution, and it’s critical</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">that we build on our recent success with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and pass</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">comprehensive gun safety legislation at the federal level.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I believe it’s important that we ensure our law enforcement agencies have the ability to focus on stopping crime rather than having to respond to non-emergency calls. That’s why I’ve been proud to secure over $5.5 million in federal funding for community crisis response service programs to support mental health and improve public safety across the state. </span>
The state is building a new agency to regulate Google, Facebook and other internet giants. A bill before the Legislature would hold social media companies liable for promoting apps and features that addict and damage kids’ mental health.
A logjam of legislation on climate change, guns, voting rights and more in the U.S. Senate is renewing the debate on whether to change the filibuster rule, which generally requires 60 votes in the 100-member chamber to cut off debate and vote on a bill. At the same time, recent contentious rulings on abortion rights and other issues is focusing attention on the power of the U.S. Supreme Court. And all of this is happening during investigations by a House select committee and the Justice Department into the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
<span style="font-weight: 400;">From striking down the right to an abortion to overturning state efforts to prevent gun violence,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">the Supreme Court’s right-wing supermajority is rewriting history and undoing hard-won</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> p</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">rogress. The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy, and Congress must work to blunt</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">the impact of these extreme rulings. We need to thoughtfully rebalance and reform the Court, and</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m open to various proposals to do that. I recently co-sponsored legislation, the Supreme Court</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Review Act, that would act as a check on activist Supreme Court decisions, because</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> p</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">olicymaking belongs in the halls of Congress </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">—</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> not the Supreme Court.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">In the face of escalating attacks on voting rights and the integrity of our elections, the federal</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">government must step up to ensure that our elections remain free and fair, and accurately reflect</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">the will of voters. I was proud to implement reforms here in California as the former Secretary of</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">State to make our elections the most inclusive in the nation, and I’ve fought to pass those same</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">reforms at the federal level. I won’t stop fighting to safeguard our elections and to protect</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Americans’ access to the ballot box nationwide.</span>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">Trump must be held accountable. Period. No one is above the law </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">not even former presidents.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the first votes I took was to impeach former President Trump for his role in inciting the</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Jan. 6 insurrection. The January 6 Committee has provided further evidence that Trump not</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">only incited the violent insurrection to overturn our election on Jan. 6, he was derelict in his</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">duties </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">as commander in chief by refusing to stop it</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">. I am encouraged by the steps the Department</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">of Justice is taking to make progress in their investigation to hold those responsible accountable</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">and protect our democracy.</span>