Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.

Lena Gonzalez

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Lena Gonzalez
Image of Lena Gonzalez

Democratic Party

California State Senate District 33
Tenure

2019 - Present

Term ends

2028

Years in position

6

Prior offices
Long Beach City Council District 1

Compensation

Base salary

$128,215/year

Per diem

$214/day

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

Associate

Saddleback Community College, 2006

Bachelor's

California State University, Long Beach, 2009

Graduate

Loyola Marymount University, 2017

Personal
Birthplace
Los Angeles, Calif.
Religion
Catholic
Profession
State Senator
Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Instagram

Personal LinkedIn

Lena Gonzalez (Democratic Party) is a member of the California State Senate, representing District 33. She assumed office on June 12, 2019. Her current term ends on December 4, 2028.

Gonalez was appointed Majority Leader of the California State Senate on February 8, 2024.[1]

Gonzalez was born on January 26, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, to parents who emigrated from Mexico. She received a B.S. in political science from California State University Long Beach and an M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University. Before entering politics, she worked for Microsoft in social impact programs.[2]

Gonzalez represented District 1 on the Long Beach City Council from 2014 to 2019. She won election in 2014 with 60% of the vote and was unopposed in her 2018 re-election bid. She was elected to the California State Senate representing District 33 in a 2019 special election. Ricardo Lara (D), who held the seat before the special election, was elected to serve as the insurance commissioner of California.

Senate President pro tempore Mike McGuire (D) appointed Gonzalez as majority leader in February 2024. Cal Matters's Alexei Koseff said the appointment was part of a restructuring of the caucus leadership team to "[reward] key allies who helped [McGuire] pull together the votes last summer to secure his office."[1] Before this appointment, Gonzalez chaired the Special Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response and the Senate Transportation Committee.[2]

Following her appointment, Gonzalez said, "My top priority has been to uplift the voices of all Californians through meaningful legislation, especially for our most underserved communities. I look forward to this new opportunity to serve the diverse and dynamic Democratic caucus members who will continue to deliver on the progress we’ve built together on the environment, healthcare access, housing, equity, justice, and beyond."[3]

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Lena Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles, California. She earned an associate degree from Saddleback Community College in 2006 and a B.S. in political science from California State University, Long Beach, in 2009. She also earned a master's degree from Loyola Marymount University in 2017. Her professional experience includes working for Bank of America, Uline, Inc., Norsat International, Microsoft, and as a district deputy for former District 1 representative Robert Garcia.[4][2]

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Gonzalez was assigned to the following committees:


The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: California State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for California State Senate District 33

Incumbent Lena Gonzalez defeated Mario Paz in the general election for California State Senate District 33 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D)
 
69.9
 
217,560
Image of Mario Paz
Mario Paz (R) Candidate Connection
 
30.1
 
93,574

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 311,134
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33

Incumbent Lena Gonzalez and Mario Paz defeated Sharifah Hardie in the primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D)
 
68.6
 
86,226
✔
Image of Mario Paz
Mario Paz (R) Candidate Connection
 
17.1
 
21,470
Image of Sharifah Hardie
Sharifah Hardie (R) Candidate Connection
 
14.4
 
18,061

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 125,757
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign finance

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gonzalez in this election.

2020

See also: California State Senate elections, 2020

General election

General election for California State Senate District 33

Incumbent Lena Gonzalez defeated Elizabeth Castillo in the general election for California State Senate District 33 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D) Candidate Connection
 
61.8
 
164,752
Image of Elizabeth Castillo
Elizabeth Castillo (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.2
 
101,831

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 266,583
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33

Incumbent Lena Gonzalez and Elizabeth Castillo advanced from the primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D) Candidate Connection
 
99.8
 
109,428
✔
Image of Elizabeth Castillo
Elizabeth Castillo (D) (Write-in) Candidate Connection
 
0.2
 
205

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 109,633
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Gonzalez's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2019

See also: California state legislative special elections, 2019

General election

Special general election for California State Senate District 33

Lena Gonzalez defeated Jack Guerrero in the special general election for California State Senate District 33 on June 4, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D)
 
69.8
 
32,394
Image of Jack Guerrero
Jack Guerrero (R)
 
30.2
 
14,049

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 46,443
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for California State Senate District 33

The following candidates ran in the special primary for California State Senate District 33 on March 26, 2019.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (D)
 
31.6
 
10,984
✔
Image of Jack Guerrero
Jack Guerrero (R)
 
14.0
 
4,860
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Ali Saleh (D)
 
9.6
 
3,334
Image of Ana Maria Quintana
Ana Maria Quintana (D)
 
8.8
 
3,038
Image of Jose Solache
Jose Solache (D)
 
7.5
 
2,594
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Denise Diaz (D)
 
6.9
 
2,404
Image of Martha Flores-Gibson
Martha Flores-Gibson (R)
 
6.4
 
2,225
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Leticia Vasquez-Wilson (D)
 
5.3
 
1,839
Image of Al Austin
Al Austin (D)
 
3.9
 
1,356
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Thomas Jefferson Cares (D) Candidate Connection
 
2.4
 
828
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Chris Garcia (D)
 
2.1
 
720
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Cesar Flores (G)
 
1.5
 
529

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 34,711
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2018

See also: Municipal elections in Long Beach, California (2018)

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Long Beach City Council District 1

Incumbent Lena Gonzalez won election outright in the primary for Long Beach City Council District 1 on April 10, 2018.

Candidate
✔
Image of Lena Gonzalez
Lena Gonzalez (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Long Beach, California city council elections, 2014

The city of Long Beach, California held city council elections on June 3, 2014. A primary election took place on April 8. Lena Gonzalez and Misi Tagaloa advanced past Pilar Pinel and Ricardo Linarez in the District 1 primary. Gonzalez defeated Tagaloa in the general election.[5][6][7][8]

Long Beach City Council, District 1, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngLena Gonzalez 60.7% 1,668
     Nonpartisan Misi Tagaloa 39.3% 1,078
Total Votes 2,746
Source: City of Long Beach
Long Beach City Council, District 1, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngLena Gonzalez 43.9% 1,016
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngMisi Tagaloa 31.5% 728
     Nonpartisan Pilar Pinel 8.3% 193
     Nonpartisan Ricardo Linarez 16.3% 377
Total Votes 2,314
Source: City of Long Beach

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lena Gonzalez did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Candidate Connection

Lena Gonzalez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gonzalez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Hi, I'm Lena Gonzalez, a mom, Long Beach resident & your CA State Senator. I've been proud to represent Long Beach & Southeast LA over the last year. It has been my greatest honor to fight for you in Sacramento.

Over the last year, I was named Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Pandemic Emergency Response, which reviews the state's management of the COVID19 crisis. We have been busy but our committee has been working hard. Together, we created a robust priority plan: addressing inequities in healthcare access, fixing our outdated EDD system & finding solutions to reopen our schools & economy safely.

In addition, I'm also a member of the Senate Health, Judiciary, Transportation & Joint Leg Audit Committee & Chair of the Select Committee on Ports & Goods Movement. Our district deserves strong leadership that will fight for you. As a former Long Beach City Councilwoman, Social Responsibility Manager at Microsoft, Mom & now as your State Senator, I will keep fighting to ensure your voices are heard on issues that matter most: tackling the COVID19 crisis & getting us into economic recovery, being bold on climate change, supporting small business, addressing racial injustice & being transparent and accessible to you always.
  • I am a fighter for my Senate District. Our region has been hardest hit by COVID - as Chair of the Pandemic Committee, I will keep fighting for us to ensure Sacramento knows the inequities & support needed in our backyard.
  • "People First Legistlation" - I am pleased to receive a 100% score from the Courage Campaign for my voting record, which priorities people over profits, always.
  • I am tough. As am a mom, former Long Beach City Councilwoman & Social Responsibility Manager at Microsoft, and now as your State Senator, I have never wavered on being front & center on the tough issues.
I believe COVID19 is one of the most challenging issues we will face & I'm glad to be leading efforts for solutions in CA, as an LA county Senator. Our region has been hit the hardest & communities of color, essential workers, small businesses & vulnerable populations need more of our attention, specifically: financial relief, plan for evictions & foreclosures & better strategies for testing/contact tracing in hard hit communities/business sectors. As Chair of the Pandemic Committee, I will continue to be a voice for LA County in Sacramento as it pertains to solutions for this crisis.

In addition, I am deeply passionate about digital inclusion and have authored "Broadband for All" legislation to address the issue. As the 5th largest economy in the world, CA cannot sit idle on tech equity, as students, seniors & all residents should have access to fast & reliable internet, especially in an era of distance learning & telehealth.

Climate change is real. CA has made some bold moves to shift from our dependence on fossil fuels, but we must do more as wildfires rage in all parts of our state. We must build a strong green economy that includes our most skilled trades & acknowledges the crisis. Many of our SD33 communities still breathe bad air & pay market rate for bad water, this is unacceptable- my promise to you is that we will hold industries accountable as well as create a robust plan for a New Green Economy in CA. I have also taken the No Fossil Money Pledge.
My mom. She is bold, she is a fighter and is unapologetic about her views - because they are always with people in mind first. As an immigrant from Mexico who came to the US at a very young age, then became a US Citizen right before I was born, working Her way up the business ladder in Aeorospace and Tech, she too, shaped my view of women. Her boldness made me believe that I could achieve anything despite the barriers. But again, she always prioritized kindness and compassion for people in mind first. She is my moral compass and helps me with tough decisions. I am grateful to be her daughter.
Integrity in all we do

Transparency
Being accessible
Listening more than talking
Making room for all points of view
Being bold on issues that deeply impact our District

Fighting for People First
As a little girl, I always wanted to be an Astronaut. It seemed so amazing to be able to learn about science/space as a young girl and actually SEE strong women: Sally Ride, Judy Resnick & Christa McCaulliffe (teacher) alongside men in these planned space expeditions. Unfortunately, I remember the Challenger disaster very well. I was very young, but I remember watching it with my Mom, feeling excited about seeing these women get onboard for space travel. When the Challenger disaster occurred, I remember hearing and seeing the news, people crying and my mom, sitting and crying with me. It was a national tragedy I will never forget, certainly one that many in my generation remember well. But the positive space I want to remember are those women Astronauts, who were heroes in my little head. This shaped my interest for helping young girls in STEM during my work at Microsoft.
My first job was working in my aunt & uncle's machine shop. They immigrated from Mexico to start a successful business that had ups & downs, but through it all, prevailed. They worked so hard and allowed my cousins & I to make a few dollars each summer. It was a great experience, as I was able to learn the value of a dollar, saving money & keeping up with responsibilities at a young age. It was a memorable experience early on.
Anything by Ta-Nehisi Coates - as he always
I think it's time for a Latina Superhero that saves the world!

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2019

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lena Gonzalez did not complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Lena Gonzalez campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024* California State Senate District 33Won general$1,824,588 $1,319,122
2020California State Senate District 33Won general$746,506 N/A**
2019California State Senate District 33Won general$822,972 N/A**
Grand total$3,394,066 $1,319,122
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in California

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.


2024


2023


2022


2021


2020


2019





See also

2024 Elections

Ballotpedia Election Coverage Badge.png
What's on the ballot?
U.S. President
U.S. Congress
U.S. Congress special elections
State executives
State legislatures
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards
Election analysis hub

Government

Seal of California.png
Who represents me?
U.S. Congress
State executives
State legislators
State courts
Ballot measures
Municipal government
School boards

Newsletters

Ballotpedia RSS.jpg
The Daily Brew
The Weekly Brew
The Ballot Bulletin
Checks and Balances
Economy and Society
Hall Pass
Number of the Day
Robe & Gavel


External links

Candidate

California State Senate District 33
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
    		•

    Officeholder

    California State Senate District 33
  • Website
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
    		•

    Personal

  • LinkedIn
    		•

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cal Matters, "California Senate leader Mike McGuire picks his team," February 8, 2024
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Senator Lorean A. Gonzalez, "About Senator Lena A. Gonzalez," accessed April 29, 2024 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "bio" defined multiple times with different content
    3. ↑ Senator Lena A. Gonalez, "Senator Lena Gonzalez Issues Statement Regarding Her Appointment as California Senate Majority Leader," February 8, 2024
    4. ↑ Lena Gonzalez, "Bio," accessed December 9, 2014
    5. ↑ City of Long Beach, "Municipal Election Unofficial Results," June 4, 2014
    6. ↑ Long Beach Press-Telegram "Long Beach council races see commanding wins and runoffs," April 8, 2014
    7. ↑ Long Beach Post "LIVE: Long Beach Election 2014," April 8, 2014
    8. ↑ City of Long Beach "Long Beach Primary Nominating Election - April 8, 2014 - Unofficial Results," accessed April 9, 2014

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -     		California State Senate District 33
    2019-Present    		 Succeeded by
    -
    Preceded by
    -     		Long Beach City Council District 1
    2014-2019    		 Succeeded by
    -


    Current members of the California State Senate
    Leadership
    Minority Leader:Brian Jones
    Senators
    District 1
    District 2
    District 3
    District 4
    District 5
    District 6
    District 7
    District 8
    District 9
    District 10
    District 11
    District 12
    District 13
    District 14
    District 15
    District 16
    District 17
    District 18
    District 19
    District 20
    District 21
    S. Limón (D)
    District 22
    District 23
    District 24
    Ben Allen (D)
    District 25
    District 26
    District 27
    District 28
    District 29
    District 30
    District 31
    District 32
    District 33
    District 34
    District 35
    District 36
    District 37
    District 38
    District 39
    District 40
    Democratic Party (30)
    Republican Party (10)


    Flag of California
    v • e
    State of California
    Sacramento (capital)
    Elections

    What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

    Government

    Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy

    Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lena_Gonzalez&oldid=10406029"