XPost: la.general, sac.politics, alt.politics.democrats
XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom will take swift action Tuesday
to fill the newly vacant post of California secretary of state
by selecting Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber to serve as
the state’s chief elections officer, the result of his decision
to appoint incumbent Secretary of State Alex Padilla to the U.S.
Senate.

Weber, a 72-year-old retired professor and San Diego legislator,
has earned a reputation for taking on tough issues at the state
Capitol.

She would be only the fourth woman to ever hold the position and
the first Black woman to do so in state history.

Newsom is expected to formally announce his selection of Weber
on Tuesday, according to a source close to the governor who was
not authorized to speak on the record and asked not to be
identified. The speedy decision by Newsom to announce the
appointment on the same day he chose Padilla to fill the Senate
seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris may reflect the
intense pressure the governor faced by passing over several
Black women for the job of representing California in the upper
house of Congress.

It also will heighten the likelihood of intra-party clashes in
2022, as other two other Democratic legislators have already
opened campaign committees to run for the position that Padilla
would have left due to term limits. Weber’s appointment must be
confirmed by both houses of the Legislature.

Weber was elected to the Assembly in 2012 representing
southeastern San Diego and its eastern suburbs. Known for her
passionate speeches during legislative floor debates, she is
often hailed as a moral authority for Democratic lawmakers and
has taken the lead on contentious legislative fights over police
use of force, education and racial injustice.

Her two-year battle to create more strict requirements for when
and how police officers can use deadly force ended last year
with Newsom’s signature on Assembly Bill 392, a law hailed as
creating some of the toughest standards in the nation. The San
Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board named Weber the San Diegan
of the Year in 2019, calling her ability to pass the bill “a
giant accomplishment.”

Weber serves as chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus
... thank you that's all the time we have for this steaming
turd.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12- 22/assemblywoman-shirley-weber-california-secretary-of-state- padilla-senate-appointment

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