SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KRON) – Governor Gavin Newsom has nominated San Diego Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber as California Secretary of State on Tuesday.
Weber has been the Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus.
She would be filling Secretary of State Alex Padilla’s seat once he assumes the position in the U.S. Senate.
“Dr. Weber is a tireless advocate and change agent with unimpeachable integrity. The daughter of sharecroppers from Arkansas, Dr. Weber’s father didn’t get to vote until his 30s and her grandfather never got to vote because he died before the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. When her family moved to South Central Los Angeles, she saw as a child her parents rearrange furniture in their living room to serve as a local polling site for multiple elections. Now, she’ll be at the helm of California’s elections as the next Secretary of State – defending and expanding the right to vote and serving as the first African American to be California’s Chief Elections Officer.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
Weber has been an Assemblymember since 2012 and was the former President of the San Diego Board of Education, in addition to being a retired professor of Africana Studies at San Diego State University for 40 years.
Her nomination to the Secretary of State is to be confirmed by the California State Assembly and Senate within 90 days.
“I am excited to be nominated for this historic appointment as the Secretary of State of California. I thank Governor Newsom for the confidence he’s placed in me and his belief that I will stand strong for California. Being the first African American woman in this position will be a monumental responsibility, but I know that I am up for the challenge. Expanding voting rights has been one of the causes of my career and will continue to motivate me as I assume my new constitutional duties.”
Assemblymember Dr. Shirley Weber
Weber earned three degrees, including her Ph.D., from UCLA by the age of 26.
She would go on to become one of the youngest-ever San Diego State University professors and helped found the Africana Studies Department.
Weber has fought for civil rights and has worked to ensure all Californian’s have the right to vote.