Shirley Weber, the Democratic incumbent, is running for reelection as California secretary of state in the Tuesday, Nov. 3 general election. She faces Republican Donald P. Wagner.
Weber has held the office since Jan. 29, 2021, according to the California Secretary of State's website. She is California's first Black secretary of state and only the fifth African American to serve as a state constitutional officer in the state's 175-year history.
Candidate information
- Party: Democratic
- Education: Bachelor's degree in communication, University of California, Los Angeles (1970); master's degree in communication, UCLA (1972); doctorate in communication, UCLA (1975)
- Residence background: Weber, according to her campaign website, was born on a farm in Hope, Arkansas, where her father, David, was a sharecropper. Her family moved to California when she was three, settling in the Pueblo Del Rio housing projects in South Los Angeles.
Experience and public service
- Professor, San Diego State University (1972–2012). Weber says she helped found the Africana Studies Department there and served several terms as department chair before retiring after 40 years.
- Trustee, San Diego Unified School District Board of Education (1988–1996)
- President, National Council for Black Studies (2002–2006)
- Assemblymember, California State Assembly District 79 (2012–2021)
- Chair, Assembly Budget Committee. She was the first African American to hold that post.
- Chair, Assembly Elections and Redistricting Committee
- Chair, California Legislative Black Caucus (2018–2020)
- California Secretary of State (Jan. 29, 2021–present)
On the issues
Weber's stated priorities, drawn from her campaign questionnaire responses, center on election administration and government transparency.
Ballot access: Weber says she is working with local elections officials to expand access to the ballot and running a statewide outreach campaign to register high school and college students.
Voter education for the formerly incarcerated: Weber says she is revamping outreach for people formerly incarcerated, especially after the passage of Proposition 17, which gave Californians on parole the right to vote.
Election transparency: On transparency, Weber says she wants to improve disclosure in elections, lobbyist registration and campaign finance systems so Californians can make informed decisions.
Cybersecurity: Weber says she is upgrading the office's cybersecurity policies to protect elections from interference.
Financial filings and enforcement: On internal operations, Weber says she is fixing delayed financial filings and enforcing rules equally, with early bipartisan support for fairness.
Endorsements
The following endorsements are reported by the endorsing organizations, according to BallotReady profile data:
- AFL-CIO
- AFSCME
- AFSCME Local 3299
- Alameda County Democrats
- Alice B Toklas Democratic Club
- American Nurses Association of California
- Bay Area Reporter Editorial Board
- California - Orange County Democrats
- California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
- California Teachers' Association
- California Women's List
- California Young Democrats
- Communication Workers of America
- Community Action Fund of Planned Parenthood Orange San Bernardino Counties
- Contra Costa County Democrats
- Fresno County Democrats
- Fresno Stonewall Democrats
- Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
- Heart of LA Democratic Club
- Jane Fonda Climate PAC
- Los Angeles County Democrats
- Los Angeles Stonewall Democrats
- National Women's Political Caucus of California
- North State Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
- Pacific Palisades Democratic Club
- Planned Parenthood of Orange, San Bernadino
- Planned Parenthood of San Diego, Riverside, Imperial
- Riverside County Democrats
- Sacramento County Democrats
- San Diego Building & Construction Trades Council
- San Diego County Democratic Party
- San Diego Democrats for Equality
- San Francisco Bay Times Editorial Board
- San Francisco Women's Political Committee
- Santa Clara County Democrats
- South Bay Labor Council
- State Building and Construction Trades Council of California
- The United Democratic Club
Issue positions and biographical claims attributed to the candidate are drawn from campaign questionnaire responses and the candidate's website. Endorsements are reported by the endorsing organizations via BallotReady.
