Xavier Becerra
Candidate for: United States Representative, CA 34th District
Party: Democratic Party
Office: Representative (D–CA 34th District) since 2013
Previous office:
Xavier Becerra ( hah-vee-air; born January 26, 1958) is an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives forCalifornia’s 34th congressional district, who has represented Downtown Los Angeles in Congress since 1993. Becerra, a member of the Democratic Party, is Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Born in Sacramento, California, Becerra is a graduate of Stanford University, receiving his J.D. from Stanford Law School. He worked as a Lawyer at the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts, before returning to California in 1986 to work as an Administrative Assistant for State Senator Art Torres. He served as Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice from 1987 to 1990 before he was elected to the California State Assembly, where he served one term from 1990 to 1992.
Becerra was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992, previously representing California’s 34th congressional district from 1993 to 2003 and California’s 31st congressional district from 2003 to 2013. During his tenure in the House, he has served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus from 1997 to 1999, Vice Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 2009 to 2013, and was a member of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
Born in Sacramento, California, Becerra is the son of working-class immigrants who immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico.[1] As a young child Becerra grew up in a one-room house with his three sisters.[2] He graduated in 1976 from C.K. McClatchy High School located in central city Sacramento.[3] He attended University of Salamanca inSalamanca, Spain from 1978 to 1979, before earning his B.A. in Economics from Stanford University in 1980, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from college.[4][5] He received his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School in 1984 and was admitted to the State Bar of California in 1985.[6] He was initially a lawyer, working on cases involving individuals who had mental disorders for the Legal Assistance Corporation of Central Massachusetts.
Becerra worked as an Administrative Assistant for California State Senator Art Torres in 1986.[8] He served the Deputy Attorney-General in the California Department of Justice under Attorney General John Van de Kamp from 1987 to 1990.[9]
After incumbent State Representative Charles Calderon decided to seek a seat in the California Senate, Becerra launched a grassroots campaign for the California State Assembly, defeating Calderon’s Senate aide Marta Maestas in the Democratic primary.[10] He later went on to beat Republican Lee Lieberg and Libertarian, receiving 60% of the vote.[11] Becerra served one-term in the State Assembly representing California’s 59th district from 1990 to 1992.
tester
• September 21, 2016PROS:
great person
CONS:
this is a test