Sen. Padilla on Reparations: “We Can Walk and Chew Gum” By Manny Otiko California Black Media Published April 29, 2021 California Secretary of State Alex Padilla talks during a news conference Monday, Jan. 28, 2019, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s is considering whom to appoint to serve out the rest of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ Senate term through 2022. Under consideration for the job include Rep. Karen Bass, Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) California’s newest and first Latino Democratic Senator, Alex Padilla, says he supports reparations for Black American descendants of enslaved African people. He made the statement during an online news briefing with members of California’s ethnic press organized by Ethnic Media Services.