California’s personnel shake-up continued Tuesday amid reports Gov. Gavin Newsom will tap a state assemblywoman to be secretary of state.
Newsom chose Democratic Assemblywoman Shirley Weber to fill the role, according to the Los Angeles Times, citing a source close to the governor. Weber, a 72-year-old retired professor who represented parts of San Diego and its eastern suburbs in the state Legislature, will be the first black woman to be the state’s top elections official.
Weber has represented California’s 79th Congressional District since 2012 and became known for her impassioned speeches during debates on the floor. She’s considered by other lawmakers as a “moral authority” in the Legislature and has taken on a number of issues, including use of force by police officers and racial injustice.
Weber was an outspoken advocate for California’s Assembly Bill 392, which created stricter requirements for when and how police officers can use deadly force. Newsom signed that bill into law in 2019, and as a result, the San Diego Union-Tribune editorial board named Weber “San Diegan of the Year” for the “staggering accomplishment” of passing the bill.
Weber also supported a first-in-the-nation law earlier in 2020 that “requires the state to study and develop proposals for potential reparations to descendants of enslaved people and those affected by slavery,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
Newsom is expected to announce the selection later Tuesday.
The secretary of state vacancy was created earlier Tuesday after Newsom appointed Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill the Senate seat soon to be vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Newsom’s selections for the two positions could be the result of pressure the governor faced after passing over a number of black women to replace Harris in the Senate. Padilla, a second-generation American, has been a longtime ally of Newsom.
