Stephen C. Padilla (born 1967) is an American politician, public policy, advocacy and communications consultant serving in the California State Senate since 2022.
[4] Shortly after Padilla was born, his father joined the United States Marine Corps, and was deployed to serve in the Vietnam War.
[5] Shortly after Padilla's father returned home from this tour of duty, he was killed in an automobile accident.
After graduating from Bonita Vista High School, he became the youngest cadet accepted into the Southwestern Police Academy.
[5] A police officer for thirteen years, he served as a Detective, specializing in domestic violence and child abuse before entering the public arena.
[7] Padilla called for San Diego Unified Port District Board member David Malcolm to resign over his consulting contract with Duke Energy.
[8] Padilla was elected the 38th Mayor of Chula Vista on November 5, 2002, defeating fellow City Council member Mary Salas, a colleague and political ally.
[12][13] One of Padilla's pledged priorities was to promote plans to manage growth in the city's eastern segment and to regenerate its older neighborhoods.
[7] With much political overlap between Salas and Padilla, the race was seen as being debated on which candidate had the superior experience to lead the city.
[9] A tense race from its inception, in the closing days of the general election, things became particularly hostile as both candidates assailed each other's records.
[11] In collaboration the San Diego Unified Port District, Padilla played a key role in initiating the Bay-front Master Plan, an effort to develop 500 acres (2.0 km2) waterfront to hot public parks, hotels, restaurants, shops and new housing.
[5] In 2003, The Star-News executive editor Michael C. Burgess wrote a column interpreted from comments Padilla made about the Mid-Bayfront community during a speech at the San Diego Country Club.
[15][16] Under Padilla's leadership, Chula Vista was selected as the American site for the University Park and Research Center (UPRC), beating out other cities across the nation.
[5] On March 28, 2006, the Chula Vista City Council gave approval to the National Energy Center for Sustainable Communities, which would be the first component of the UPRC.
[25] In early 2011, Chula Vista's city council failed to appoint Padilla to a full 4-year term in his own right in a 3–2 vote, just hours after he was sworn in as vice chairman at the commission's annual luncheon.
In what became the closest election in city history,[27] his campaign received broad organizational and political support,[citation needed] but lost the bid by only 2 votes out of nearly 39,000 cast.
[5][18] While rumors existed about his sexuality, and some regarded it to be an open secret by the time he ran for mayor, he did not come out publicly until 2005.