Kevin de León

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Kevin de León
Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 14th district
Incumbent
Assumed office October 15, 2020
Preceded by	José Huizar
50th President pro tempore of the California State Senate
In office October 15, 2014 – March 21, 2018
Preceded by	Darrell Steinberg
Succeeded by	Toni Atkins
Member of the California State Senate from the 24th district 22nd district (2010–2014)
In office December 6, 2010 – November 30, 2018
Preceded by	Gil Cedillo
Succeeded by	Maria Elena Durazo
Member of the California State Assembly from the 45th district
In office December 4, 2006 – November 30, 2010
Preceded by	Jackie Goldberg
Succeeded by	Gil Cedillo
Personal details
Born	Kevin Alexander Leon (1966-12-10) December 10, 1966 (age 55) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Education	Pitzer College (BA)
Website	Official website

Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León, is an American politician serving as the Los Angeles City Councilmember for District 14 since 2020.^[1] He is a member of the Democratic Party.

From 2006 to 2010, he represented the 45th State Assembly district in the in the California State Assembly. He represented the 22nd State Senate district from 2010 to 2014, and the 24th State Senate district from 2014 to 2018. He was President pro tempore of the California State Senate from October 15, 2014 to March 21, 2018. In 2018, he ran an unsuccessful campaign against California's senior U.S. Senator, Dianne Feinstein.

Early life, education, and career[]

Kevin Leon was born in Los Angeles, to Carmen Osorio and Andrés Leon.^[2] Both his parents were born in Guatemala with his father being of full or partial Chinese descent.^[2] His mother moved from Guatemala to Tijuana, Mexico in the 1960s; she later moved to Los Angeles, a single mother with two children, to work as a housekeeper where she met Leon's father.^[2] His father was largely absent and his mother married to a man of Mexican descent, taking the name Carmen Osorio Núñez, and relocated to San Diego.^[2] His mother divorced and Leon was raised in the Logan Heights neighborhood in San Diego by his mother.^[3] He also spent part of his youth in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico where his stepfather's family was located.^[3] He strongly identifies with Mexican culture.^[2]

The first in his family to graduate from high school, he briefly attended the University of California, Santa Barbara before dropping out. He later earned a bachelor's degree from Pitzer College in 2003.^[4] While attending UC Santa Barbara, he began going by Kevin de León though he has never legally changed his name.^[5]

After dropping out of college, De León worked for One Stop Immigration Center, a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles that assists undocumented immigrants.^[6] He later became a labor organizer for the California Teachers Association, and campaign manager for Fabian Nuñez's campaign for California State Assembly in 2002.^[7] De León and Nuñez have been close political allies for most of their careers.^[8]

California State Assembly (2006–2010)[]

De León first ran for office in 2006 defeating Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of labor leader Cesar E. Chavez, to replace the outgoing Jackie Goldberg as the California State Assemblymember for the 45th district, covering Hollywood and much of Northeast Los Angeles.^[8]

In 2008, eyewitnesses on the floor of the State Assembly observed De León casting a so-called ghost vote for Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi on an affordable housing bill, opposite the way she would have voted, when Hayashi was away from the Assembly floor. De León said he had no memory of the incident but also said he did not deny it, either.^[9] De León was investigated by then-State Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, but did not face any punishment and the vote was later changed. As a result of the controversy, Bass changed Assembly rules to enforce a ban on ghost voting.^[10]

In 2009, he was defeated in a bid to become Speaker of the California State Assembly, after too many Assembly members found De León's ambitious nature grating, eroding his support, according to reports in the Los Angeles Times.^[7]

California State Senate (2010–2018)[]

De León was elected to the California State Senate in 2010 and became State Senate President pro Tempore in 2014.^[11] As a California State Senator, De León has been generally regarded as a liberal and describes himself as a "proud progressive."^[12]

Energy and the environment[]

De León in 2014

De León sponsored SB 100, which would have required the state of California to generate 50% renewable electricity by 2026 and 100% renewable electricity by 2045.^[13][14] In 2018, the bill passed both houses of the California State Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown on September 10.^[15]

In late 2017, De León was criticized for playing a role in killing a bill that would have blocked the controversial Cadiz Water Project, a proposal to mine and transfer groundwater from protected desert habitat in Eastern San Bernardino County to parts of Orange County.^[16] Opponents of the project blamed De León, then President pro Tempore of the Senate, and pointed out that the company behind the project had donated $5,000 to De León's political campaign. Fabian Nuñez, a close ally and donor to De León, also represented company as its lobbyist.^[17]

De León criticized the state's high-speed rail project, arguing that construction should have started in major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, rather than the state's Central Valley.^[18] In his argument, De León described the Central Valley as "the middle of nowhere" and "tumbleweeds," drawing criticism.^[19][20] He later apologized.^[20]

Gun control[]

De León is an advocate of gun control.^[21] In 2014, he sponsored SB 808^[22] which passed both houses of the legislature but was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown.

In 2016, De León led the charge in the passage of a package of eleven bills intended to prevent gun violence. These included De León's SB 1235, which created a new framework for purchasing and selling ammunition designed to address the ambiguities of his earlier SB 53, and his SB 1407, requiring a serial number from the Department of Justice before building or assembling a gun.^[23][24]

Health care[]

De León is a supporter of creating a single-payer health care system. He promised to support Senator Bernie Sanders's "Medicare for All" legislation if elected to the United States Senate.^[25] He supported SB 562, a proposed bill to create a single payer health care system in California, which stalled in 2017.^[26]

Sexual harassment whistle-blower legislation controversy[]

Between 2014 and 2017, the California State Legislature failed to pass several bills which would create whistle-blower protections for state legislative employees who reported "unethical, immoral, or inappropriate behavior." De León did not support these bills and was accused of protecting political allies by activists and his then-opponent for U.S. Senate, Dianne Feinstein.^[27][28] In November 2017, more than 300 women in and around the state Capitol signed a published letter, exposing misconduct in California politics as part of the Me Too movement.^[29]

Though De León soon reversed his position and dropped his opposition to proposed whistleblower legislation, he received criticism over his motives in not supporting previous bills.^[30] At the time, De León shared a residence with California State Senator Tony Mendoza, who was accused of sexually harassing three women who previously worked in his office. Attorneys representing Mendoza's accusers also argued that they had reported harassment to State Senate officials several times in September 2017 before detailing their allegations in a meeting on September 22 — when they were promptly fired by being handed a letter on Rules Committee letterhead.^[31]

In February 2018, De León called for a vote of the legislature to expel Mendoza. Mendoza resigned before a vote could be called, claiming the vote was politically motivated.^[32]

2018 U.S. Senate election[]

On October 15, 2017, De León announced his bid to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in the 2018 election.^[33] The following day a super PAC created by California political strategists Dave Jacobson and Maclen Zilber was formed to support his candidacy.^[34] On June 5, De León came in second place in the jungle primary with 12% of the total vote, enough to advance to the November general election. Feinstein received 44%, while the third place candidate, James Bradley, received 8% of the total vote. Republican candidates collectively received 33% of the vote.^[35][36]

De León's 12% was the lowest ever recorded for a candidate who advanced to the general election since California instituted its jungle primary rules in 2016. In July, De León won the endorsement of California Democratic Party at their executive board meeting in Oakland.^[37] Despite the endorsement, De León's campaign faced fundraising struggles and low name recognition.^[38][39]

On November 6, 2018, Feinstein defeated De León 54.2% to 45.8%. The race had an undervote of around 1.3 million votes compared to the gubernatorial election, likely by Republican voters choosing not to cast a vote for either candidate.^[40]

Los Angeles City Council (2020—)[]

In 2020, De León was a candidate for a March special election to the Los Angeles City Council. The seat had previously been vacated by José Huizar, who was the subject of an investigation into possible corruption charges. In June 2020, Huizar was arrested and charged with several counts of bribery and corruption. De León was elected in the special election to succeed him, and assumed office on October 15, 2020.^[41]

In 2021, De León advocated against SB 9, which would allow for the construction of duplexes in lots that are zoned as single-family home neighborhoods. The bill was intended to alleviate the severe housing shortage in California.^[42] That same year, De León sought to stall the construction of a rapid transit bus line through Eagle Rock,^[43] which prompted a critical editorial by the Los Angeles Times which characterized De León as a "spoiler."^[44]

Personal life[]

De León lives in Los Angeles and has an adult daughter, Lluvia Carrasco. Carrasco's mother is San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco.^[45] De León has never been married.^[46]

Electoral history[]

2018 Senate race[]

References[]

External links[]

• Campaign website
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Join California Kevin De Leon
• Kevin de León at Ballotpedia