Gil Cisneros
Gil Cisneros | |
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10th Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness | |
Assumed office August 24, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Secretary | Lloyd Austin |
Preceded by | Matthew Donovan |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 39th district | |
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Ed Royce |
Succeeded by | Young Kim |
Personal details | |
Born | Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. February 12, 1971 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic (2008–present) |
Other political affiliations | Republican (before 2008) |
Spouse(s) | Jacki |
Children | 2 |
Residence | Yorba Linda, California, U.S. |
Education | George Washington University (BA) Regis University (MBA) Brown University (MA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Rank | ![]() |
Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr. (born February 12, 1971)[1] is an American philanthropist and politician who serves as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for California's 39th congressional district from 2019 to 2021.
In 2010, he and his wife won a $266 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot[2] and became philanthropists. He was elected to the House in 2018 to represent California's 39th congressional district.[3] He was defeated in his 2020 bid for reelection by former California State Assembly member Young Kim, whom he had defeated in 2018. In April 2021, he was nominated by President Biden to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, and after confirmation by the Senate, he assumed office on August 24, 2021.[4]
Early life and education[]
Cisneros was born in Los Angeles. His mother worked in a cafeteria, while his father served in the Vietnam War and suffered from exposure to Agent Orange.[2] Cisneros served in the United States Navy as a supply officer for 11 years.[5] He earned his Bachelor of Arts in political science from George Washington University and his Master of Business Administration from Regis University.[6]
Career[]
Cisneros worked as a shipping and manufacturing manager for Frito-Lay until he was laid off in 2010.[7]
Weeks after he was laid off, Cisneros won a Mega Millions jackpot worth $266 million.[7] He and his wife became philanthropists, establishing endowments for scholarships to be given to Latino students at GWU and the University of Southern California. They also founded Generation First Degree Pico Rivera, with the goal of ensuring every Latino household in Pico Rivera has at least one college graduate, and the Gilbert and Jacki Cisneros Foundation with an initial investment of $20 million to provide mentorship in education.[6][8][9] After setting up the foundation, Cisneros earned a Master of Arts from Brown University in Urban Education Policy,[2][5] and an MBA from Regis University.
U.S. House of Representatives[]
Elections[]
- 2018
Cisneros was a Republican until 2008, but left the party because he felt it had become "too ideological" and switched to the Democratic Party.[10]
In 2017, he declared his candidacy against Ed Royce in the 2018 election for the United States House of Representatives to represent California's 39th congressional district.[8][11] He specifically cited Royce's vote to repeal the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, as a reason he chose to run.[10] In January 2018, Royce announced he would retire rather than seek reelection to a 14th term.[12] Later, the election attracted national attention as the "weirdest race in the country" after the California Democratic Party and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee brokered a truce on negative campaigning between Cisneros and Andy Thorburn, who had each spent $6 million on their respective campaigns.[13]
Fears of a lockout by either party were not realized when Cisneros advanced to the November runoff election, finishing second in the June primary election to Republican former Assemblywoman Young Kim,[14] with 19.35% of the vote.[15] This election was rated a "Toss-up" by the Cook Political Report and Sabato's Crystal Ball.[16] The Associated Press called the election for Cisneros on November 17.[17]
- 2020
Cisneros lost to Young Kim in the 2020 House of Representatives election for California's 39th congressional district, in a rematch of the 2018 election.
Tenure[]
Committee assignments[]
Caucus memberships[]
- Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
- Congressional Hispanic Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Taiwan Caucus
- New Democrat Coalition
Biden administration[]
On April 12, 2021, it was announced that Cisneros would be nominated to serve as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Biden administration;[18] his nomination was received on April 27.[19] On July 27, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) voted to advance Cisneros' nomination to the full chamber for a future vote.[19][20] Cisneros was confirmed by the Senate on August 11, 2021 by voice vote,[21] and he was sworn in on August 24, 2021.[4]
Electoral history[]
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Young Kim | 30,019 | 21.2 | |
Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 27,469 | 19.4 | |
Republican | Phil Liberatore | 20,257 | 14.3 | |
Democratic | Andy Thorburn | 12,990 | 9.2 | |
Republican | Shawn Nelson | 9,750 | 6.9 | |
Republican | Bob Huff | 8,699 | 6.2 | |
Democratic | Sam Jammal | 7,613 | 5.4 | |
Democratic | Mai-Khanh Tran | 7,430 | 5.3 | |
Democratic | Herbert H. Lee | 5,988 | 4.2 | |
Republican | Steven C. Vargas | 4,144 | 2.9 | |
Democratic | Suzi Park Leggett | 2,058 | 1.5 | |
Republican | John J. Cullum | 1,747 | 1.2 | |
No party preference | Karen Lee Schatzle | 903 | 0.6 | |
No party preference | Steve Cox | 856 | 0.6 | |
Republican | Andrew Sarega | 823 | 0.6 | |
American Independent | Sophia J. Alexander | 523 | 0.4 | |
American Independent | Ted Alemayhu | 176 | 0.1 | |
Total votes | 141,445 | 100.0 | ||
General election | ||||
Democratic | Gil Cisneros | 126,002 | 51.6 | |
Republican | Young Kim | 118,391 | 48.4 | |
Total votes | 229,860 | 100.0 |
Primary election | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
Republican | Young Kim | 83,941 | 48.3 | |
Democratic | Gil Cisneros (incumbent) | 81,402 | 46.9 | |
No party preference | Steve Cox | 8,286 | 4.8 | |
Total votes | 173,629 | 100.0 | ||
General election | ||||
Republican | Young Kim | 173,946 | 50.6 | |
Democratic | Gil Cisneros (incumbent) | 169,837 | 49.4 | |
Total votes | 343,783 | 100.0 |
Personal life[]
Cisneros and his wife Jacki have two children, who are twins.[5] They own a home in Pico Rivera,[22] and lived in Newport Beach until they moved to Yorba Linda in late 2017, the year he began running for election.[8] Before Cisneros won the lottery, Jacki worked for KNBC in Los Angeles.[7]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "CISNEROS, Gil - Biographical Information". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. United States Congress.
- ^ a b c "Former Navy Vet, Lottery Winner Joins Race To Unseat GOP Congressman". Losangeles.cbslocal.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Democrat Cisneros wins OC's 39th district". November 18, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ a b "Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness - The Honorable Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr". United States Department of Defense. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Republicans-turned-Democrats challenging O.C. GOP Congress members". Orange County Register. July 19, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b L.S. Hall (June 24, 2015). "Lucky and Focused: A Lottery Winner Uses His Millions to Boost Hispanic Students — Inside Philanthropy". Insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c "TV news employee in LA has $266M winning ticket". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b c Christine Mai-Duc. "Navy veteran/lottery winner to challenge Orange County Rep. Ed Royce for Congress". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ David Callahan. "The Big Money Behind a New College Fund for Immigrant "DREAMers" — Inside Philanthropy". Insidephilanthropy.com. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ a b "Lottery Winner to Challenge Royce in California". Rollcall.com. July 17, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ Wildermuth, John. "Lottery millionaire wins again: National Democrats help him in Orange County race". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Rep. Ed Royce of California to retire, the 8th GOP chairman to bow out ahead of midterms". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "This is the weirdest race in the country". POLITICO. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ Robertson, Derek (June 6, 2018). "This is basically a home run for Democrats". Politico. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
- ^ "Gil Cisneros". Ballotpedia. Retrieved July 2, 2018.
- ^ "California's 39th Congressional District election, 2018 - Ballotpedia". Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "Dem Gil Cisneros scores win in open-seat race in California". TheHill. Retrieved November 18, 2018.
- ^ "President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate 11 Key Administration Leaders on National Security and Law Enforcement". The White House. April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
- ^ a b "PN426 — Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr — Department of Defense". congress.gov. United States Congress. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "SASC Advances Nominations of Del Toro, Cisneros, Miller, Karlin, Connor, 1,986 Military Promotions" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Senate Armed Services Committee. July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "PN426 - Nomination of Gilbert Ray Cisneros Jr for Department of Defense, 117th Congress (2021-2022)". congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
- ^ "She won $266 million; chatted on 'Oprah'". Orange County Register. May 24, 2011. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
External links[]
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- 1971 births
- Living people
- Biden administration personnel
- Brown University alumni
- California Democrats
- California Republicans
- Candidates in the 2018 United States elections
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni
- Hispanic and Latino American members of the United States Congress
- Lottery winners
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
- People from Yorba Linda, California
- Regis University alumni
- United States Navy officers
- United States Under Secretaries of Defense
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California