Lena Gonzalez
- Senate: 2019-present
News coverage of Lena Gonzalez
Bio
Lena Gonzalez, 45, is a former tech worker and city councilmember. She first won state office in 2019 in a special election in which she ran unopposed. She served on the Long Beach City Council from 2014 to 2019, and was district director for Long Beach City Councilmember Robert Garcia, who’s now a member of Congress. She worked for Microsoft in sales and as a corporate affairs manager. In the Senate, she’s been an advocate for protecting impoverished communities from fossil fuel pollution. She has a bachelor’s from Cal State Long Beach and a master’s in business administration from Loyola Marymount University. She’s married with three sons.
Leader Badges
Ideology
Left
Moderate
Right
Bill Activity
0
Of 28 bills:For this session year, this legislator initiated 28 bills: 5 passed, 4 failed, and 19 are currently pending.
Alignment Meter
See all-time percentage of this legislator’s alignment with any organization based on total votes.
Financials
This feature tracks three sources of money intended to help a candidate win election: 1-Money given directly to a candidate’s committee, 2-Money given to an Independent Expenditure Committee, 3-Money given to a political party. (NOTE: Senators are elected every four years. Twenty of the 40 Senators are on the ballot in even-numbered years, so Senators may do little or no fundraising in the first two-year session of their Senate term).
Election
This display shows money given directly to the incumbent’s campaign committee (NOTE: The industry categories for donors come from Open Secrets, a nonpartisan research organization for campaign finance. Some contributions are “uncoded,” meaning they have not been assigned to an industry sector. As a result, the total for each sector is also an estimate).
Agriculture
Candidate Contributions
Communications & Electronics
Construction
Energy & Natural Resources
Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
General Business
Government Agencies/Education/Other
Health
Ideology/Single Issue
Labor
Lawyers & Lobbyists
Transportation
Uncoded
Unitemized Contributions
Candidate Donations
Individuals, corporations, organizations and committees are limited to a maximum donation to candidates of $5,500 for the primary and for the general elections.
285.0% higher than the average legislators
Party Committees
This is independent expenditure money spent by political parties for advertising, grassroots mobilization or other activities targeting this candidate. Separately, political parties can give money directly to a candidate's campaign committee. Digital Democracy tallies that money under "candidate donations".
568.0% higher than the average legislators
Independent Expenditures
Money from Independent Expenditure Committees (IEC) for advertising or grassroots activity targeting a candidates run for office is unlimited, but it cannot be spent in coordination with the candidate or the candidate's campaign.
92.0% lower than the average legislators
Grand Total for Elections
225.0% higher than the average legislators
This is a total of the money targeting this legislator's campaign(s) including direct donations to the candidate, money spent by Independent Expenditure Committees and money from political parties.
Influence
There are three categories of donations to legislators after they are elected that encourage a working relationship between the donor and the legislator. The three categories are: 1-Gifts, 2-Travel, 3-Behests.
Giver | Value | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walt Disney Company | $438 | Dec 4, 2021 | Park Hopper Tickets |
| Women in California Leadership | $172.89 | Jun 22, 2021 | Dinner at Paragary's |
| Museum of Latin American Art | $150 | Nov 13, 2021 | Gala-Dinner/Beverage |
| Re-Elect Senator Atkins 2020/Haley & Company, LLC | $140.87 | Jun 21, 2021 | Dinner |
| Women in California Leadership | $127.64 | Dec 7, 2021 | Gift Bag |
| Re-Elect Senator Atkins 2020/Haley & Company, LLC | $92.79 | May 11, 2021 | Dinner |
| Re-Elect Senator Atkins 2020/Haley & Company, LLC | $80.71 | Feb 23, 2021 | Jacket |
| Climate Action Reserve | $75.72 | Nov 9, 2021 | Welcome Reception |
| Climate Action Reserve | $65.81 | Nov 7, 2021 | Kick-Off Briefing |
| Tapatio Hot Sauce | $60 | Oct 14, 2021 | Sauce Gift Box |
Gifts
Legislators are not allowed to accept gifts of more than $10 per month from registered lobbyists. Gifts from any other single source are limited to $590 in a calendar year.
Gift Received Rating
This legislator is ranked 16th highest for the amount of personal gifts received.
Policy
Bills Authored by Lena Gonzalez
Committee: Senate Standing Committee on Revenue and Taxation
Committee: Senate Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Water
Committee: Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality
Committees
Most of the policy work in the state Capitol is done in “Standing” committees. Legislators also work on budget subcommittees. There are also “Special” and “Select” committees with a more narrow topic focus. And there are “Joint” committees with members from the Senate and Assembly.
Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review
Senate Standing Committee on Education
Senate Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications
Senate Standing Committee on Environmental Quality
Senate Standing Committee on Health
Senate Standing Committee on Housing
Interest Group Rankings
Generally Aligned
Hearings
Featured Comments
Below are links to the video and transcript of recent, substantive comments by this legislator in committee hearings or floor sessions.
District
The maps and information about this district reflect the boundaries when this Senator was last elected in 2020. Since then legislative districts have been redrawn according to the latest US Census. This district will change after the 2024 election.
Previous Election (2024):
Party Registration
Key
District
State
Census Data
Median age