Likely Senate picks for CA Governor Gavin Newsom

 If Kamala Harris is elected Vice-President in November, California Governor Gavin Newsom will have to appoint someone to serve as a United States Senator until the next election in 2022. The opportunity to appoint a U.S. Senator is one of those perks that rarely presents itself to Governors; but when it does, it gets a lot of attention. 

In the last 56 years, two Governors, Edmund G. "Pat" Brown and Pete Wilson,  had the opportunity to appoint Senators. Brown appointed former Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger in August 1964 after the death of Senator Claire Engle. In January 1991, Pete Wilson appointed State Senator John Seymour to fill the U.S. Senate seat that he had vacated to serve as Governor.

If Harris is elected Vice-President in November, Newsom will be the first California Governor to appoint a Senator in 30 years. No matter who he appoints, this action by Newsom will have long term effects on California politics and will comprise a major portion of Newsom's gubernatorial footprint.

Serious Candidates with a political future:

Ideally, Newsom will appoint a person who has a promising political futures and still is young enough to serve for awhile. Herein is a list of possible prospects that this author thinks that Newsom should consider for appointment to the United States Senate seat should Harris be elected Vice-President in November:

Betty Yee

Yee, 62,  currently is the State Controller of California and is in her second term in that office. Prior to being elected State Controller, Yee served on California's State Board of Equalization. Yee also is President of California Women Lead, an organization dedicated to promoting women to run for elective office. Yee sits on the California Lands Commission. She opposes fracking and supports alternative energy sources. She is a strong advocate for homeless and abused children and works hard to provide solutions for kids who have been neglected and forgotten by society.

John Chiang:

 Chiang, 58, is both the former Treasurer and former State State Controller of California. He also served on the California Board of Equalization. Chiang is a strong advocate for workers and in July 2008,  he defied orders by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to slash the wages of state workers. In September 2016, as California Treasurer, Chiang clamped down on Wells Fargo for predatory practices involving unsolicited savings accounts that had been set up for unwitting customers.

 Xavier Becerra:

 Becerra, 62, was elected California Attorney General after Harris vacated that office to serve as a United States Senator. A graduate of Stanford Law School, Becerra also is a former member of Congress, where he served for twenty-four years. 

Alex Padilla:

 Padilla, 47, is California's Secretary of State. He also served in the California State Senate for eight years. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994.

Congresswoman Katie Porter: 

Porter, 46, is a member of Congress who is known for her tireless questioning of Trump White House operatives. She is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services and a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Eric Garcetti: 

Garcetti, 49, is the Mayor of Los Angeles. He is a Rhodes Scholar and a graduate of the London School of Economics.

Gavin Newsom:

 Newsom, 52, potentially and legally could appoint himself Senator to fill the vacancy left by Kamala Harris. Although it rarely if ever is done, governors have been known to appoint themselves. Newsom was a renown Mayor of San Francisco, famous for having legalized same sex marriage in that city in 2004. He also served as Lieutenant Governor under Jerry Brown for two terms before being elected Governor in 2018.

Place holder candidates:

Place holder candidates are people who could fill the seat of U.S. Senator until the next election, but who have no prospects of running for the Senate or serving beyond the next election. Governors often will appoint place holder candidates when they just want to fill a vacancy without adversely affecting the status quo, or, shall we say, "rocking the apple cart." Sometimes governors will appoint place holder candidates because they don't want to promote the careers of people who potentially could pose a threat to their own political careers on down the road. 

Jerry Brown:

 Brown, 82, has a political career spanning over 50 years. A consummate environmentalist and frugal spender, Brown has served in multiple Constitutional offices in California: Secretary of State, Attorney General, Governor and Governor again decades later. He also served as Mayor of Oakland in between his gubernatorial terms.  Altogether, Brown served as Governor of California for four terms, or 16 years. He ran for Senator in 1982 but was defeated by Pete Wilson. Brown also ran for the Democratic nomination for President in 1976, 1980, and 1992.

John Garamendi:

 Garamendi, 75, has a resume as long as a submarine. He currently is serving in the United States Congress, representing Contra Costa County and the surrounding area. Most recently, he was the Lieutenant Governor of California. Before that he was California's Insurance Commissioner two different times. He is widely reputed as an advocate for hard working Americans and a strong environmentalist. 

In Conclusion:  

In conclusion, no matter whether Newsom appoints a serious candidate or a place holder candidate to fill Kamala Harris's seat if she is elected Vice-President, his selection will have a lasting impact on California's future. But then again, nearly everything Governors do has a lasting impact on their states. Elective office is not for sissies. It is for decision makers like Gavin Newsom who are able to make their decisions and then forge ahead without looking back.