Kevin de Leon (10 December 1966-) was a California state senator from 4 December 2006, first representing the 45th State Senate district and later the 24th district. A veteran state senator, he also served as President pro tempore of the California State Senate from 15 October 2014, succeeding Darrell Steinberg.
Biography[]
Kevin de Leon was born on 10 December 1966 in San Diego, California to a family of Catholic Mexican-Americans. He worked as a US citizenship teacher before becoming a community organizer and an advocate for teachers and public schools, and he joined the US Democratic Party. On 4 December 2006, he was elected as a member of the California State Assembly, representing the 45th district. He was re-elected in 2010 as the 24th district's state senator, and on 15 October 2014 he became President pro tempore of the California State Senate. In 2016, he was one of the speakers at the Democratic National Convention, in which he criticized Donald Trump's racism and said that men and women should have equal pay, as should people of all races. In October 2022, he faced calls to resign after he participated in a phone call with fellow councilmembers Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo in which anti-Black and anti-indigenous Mexican insults were made.