Senate District 33
RECOMMENDED
Lena Gonzales (D)
Incumbent Grade A
Political Party:
Democrat
Ballot Designation:
California State Senator
Law Enforcement Contributions:
California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA PAC)
California Association of Highway Patrolmen PAC
State Coalition of Probation Organizations PAC
Background:
Senator Gonzalez was first elected to the State Senate in a special election in 2019, and then won a full term in 2020. She is currently Majority Whip and serves as Chair for both the Senate Committee on Transportation and the Senate Select Committee on Ports and Goods Movement.
Prior to her election to the Senate, she served for five years on the Long Beach City Council and worked in the private sector for Microsoft, where she led social impact programs that included a focus on criminal justice reform.
Public Safety Platform:
Although Senator Gonzales does not have a public safety platform on her campaign website, she has largely supported criminal justice reform policies, such as by voting for SB 1282 this year (which died on the Senate floor) and would have authorized diversion in all felony cases. She also authored SB 1364, which created more transparency and oversight for local jails cooperating with immigration agencies, and voted to support ACA 6 (which became Prop 17 and restored voting rights to people on parole) in 2020.
Furthermore, Senator Gonzalez earned an A on our Legislative Scorecard in both 2023 and 2024 for supporting all of the justice reform bills that we have prioritized. For these reasons, IJ Action recommends that SD 33 voters re-elect Senator Gonzalez.
Website:
Political Party:
Republican
Ballot Designation:
Small Business CFO
Law Enforcement Contributions:
The candidate has not reported any campaign funds as of 8/23/24
Background:
According to Ballotpedia, he is a first-time candidate and an accountant. Very little information about him is publicly available.
Public Safety Platform:
Paz does not have a campaign website or platform, and little information about him is readily available.
Website: