Padilla and his siblings grew up in the All Faiths Receiving Home for Homeless Children and with various family members because his parents were unable to raise them.
"[3] However, a 2007 investigation by the city determined Padilla repeatedly asked an employee out on dates and made sexist comments to other women.
Padilla's primary focuses as a legislator are early childhood education, jobs and economic growth, water management and conservation, science and technology deployment, and child safety and protective services.
He is the vice chair of the interim Science, Technology, and Telecommunications Committee and is the Senate Majority Whip.
Padilla introduced the "Hunger-Free Students' Bill of Rights Act" during the 2017 regular legislative session, which prohibits any kind of humiliation, discrimination, or punishment of children whose parents did not pay the school lunch fees.
A third won a federal civil rights lawsuit that cost the city $102,200 for legal fees and counseling for the woman.