Gil Cedillo

Infobox Officeholder | name = Gilbert Cedillo


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order = California State Senator, 22nd District
term_start = November 2002
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predecessor = Richard Polanco
successor = Incumbent
order2 = California State Assemblyman, 46th District
term_start2 = 1997
term_end2 = 2002
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predecessor2 = Louis Caldera
successor2 = Fabian Núñez
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birth_date = birth date and age|1954|3|25
birth_place = Barstow, California
death_date =
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constituency =
party = Democratic
spouse = Ruby Oliva Cedillo (deceased)
profession = Politician
religion =


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Gilbert Anthony Cedillo (born March 25 1954 in Barstow, California) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently serving in the California State Senate, representing the 22nd District, which covers the diverse cities of Los Angeles, Alhambra, Maywood, San Marino, South Pasadena and Vernon.

Cedillo grew up in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles and is a lifelong resident of the 22nd District. His father worked as a mechanic at American Can in Vernon and was a member of the United Steelworkers of America. His mother was a garment worker at Sears and Times-Mirror Press. Senator Cedillo attended Lorena Street and Euclid Avenue Elementary, Stevenson Junior High and Roosevelt High where he met and became close friends with Antonio Villaraigosa, now Mayor of Los Angeles. At Roosevelt, he was varsity quarterback and excelled academically as well, receiving a full academic scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles.

Cedillo graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology in 1979 and receiving a Juris Doctor from the People's College of Law in 1983. However, Gilbert Cedillo is not a member of the California Bar. [http://members.calbar.ca.gov/search/member.aspx Member Search]

Cedillo worked for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Los Angeles County's largest union, where he served as general manager from 1990 to 1996. In his years as general manager, he protected public libraries,Fact|date=September 2008 youth programs and played a critical role in securing $364 million in federal assistance to ensure that the Los Angeles County Health Care system remained afloat. President Bill Clinton stated that his decision to provide funding "was reached after critical consultations with SEIU." [ [http://www.pww.org/archives95/95-09-30-1.html Alarcon - Union saves hospital jobs in LA ] ] .

After his tenure at the SEIU, Cedillo served three terms in the California State Assembly from 1997 to 2002. In 2002, he was elected to his current office in the state Senate. While he is most widely known for his attempts to reinstate driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, Cedillo has also worked on protecting the rights of working men and womenFact|date=September 2008, increasing and expanding access to health care, developing regional solutions to combat homelessness and encouraging economic development in his downtown Los Angeles district.

Cedillo was reelected in 2006 in a landslide, defeating South Pasadena City Councilman Mike Ten, a Republican. Cedillo received 71,199 votes, Ten received 18,581 votes, and Murray Levy, the Libertarian candidate, received 3,469 votes [ [http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/sov/2006_general/senate_amended.pdf senate-amended.xls ] ] . He is Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Immigration and the Economy and is a member of the Senate standing committees on Appropriations, Health, Public Safety, Rules, and Transportation and Housing.

His wife, Ruby, died in 2002 of cancer.

Cedillo is among many public figures featured in the United For Obama video produced in support of Sen. Barack Obama's 2008 presidential bid, "Si Se Puede Cambiar", from Andres Useche.

Drivers licenses for illegal immigrants

Cedillo has tried nine times since 1998 to get bills passed in the California State Legislature that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licences. His continual efforts to gain passage of such legislation has earned him the nickname "One-Bill Gil" among critics, most notably John and Ken of local talk station KFI.Fact|date=January 2008 In 2001 and 2002, then-Governor Gray Davis vetoed two of Cedillo's bills that would have permitted licenses for illegal immigrants [ [http://www.talkleft.com/story/2002/10/01/439/71611 California: Davis Vetoes Drivers Licenses for Illegal Immigrants - TalkLeft: The Politics Of Crime ] ] . In the midst of the 2003 recall election, Davis backed and signed SB 60 (2003), Cedillo's driver's license bill [ [http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/09/06/MN308713.DTL Davis OKs licenses for illegal residents / Signing of bill after 2 vetoes is seen by some as bid for votes ] ] . After Davis was recalled and Arnold Schwarzenegger became governor, the state legislature, with Schwarzenegger's support, repealed the new law before it went into effect [ [http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/02/california.license/index.html CNN.com - Schwarzenegger scores victory in repeal of license law - Dec. 2, 2003 ] ] . Senator Cedillo agreed to repeal the law he wrote under the agreement with the Governor to work on a bi-partisan bill. In 2004, Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 2895, an identical bill to Senator Cedillo's SB 1160 that stalled in the legislature, saying that it did not meet his security concerns. The governor wanted a "marked license" that was identifiable [ [http://news.pacificnews.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=3ce4dbd6fa989d7d540108f9ac4fcfb2 Pacific News Service > News > On Latino Minds: Schwarzenegger Can Handle Politics ] ] . AB 2895 was introduced to the legislature by one of Cedillo's closest allies, Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Núñez [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NUNEZ+RELENTS+ON+LICENSES+SPEAKER+SAYS+HE'D+ALLOW+SPECIAL+DESIGNATION-a0122483002 Nunez Relents On Licenses Speaker Says He'D Allow Special Designation. - Free Online Library ] ] .

In 2005, Cedillo authored SB 60, another driver's license bill. He made new modifications to the proposal, specifying that illegal immigrants would not be able to use the driver's license for identification purposes such as boarding airplanes, opening bank accounts, registering to vote, or other privileges that U.S. citizens enjoy [ [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/sen/sb_0051-0100/sb_60_cfa_20060111_131538_sen_floor.html SB 60 Senate Bill - Bill Analysis ] ] . Again, Schwarzenegger refused to sign the bill, citing that it did not meet his security concerns [ [http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/sen/sb_0051-0100/sb_60_vt_20051007.html SB 60 Senate Bill - Veto ] ] . After Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill, Cedillo threatened to file a lawsuit against the governor because of his belief that the Department of Motor Vehicles misinterpreted the SB 976 (1993) which first prohibited the issuance of driver's license to illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants who are in the process of becoming legal are considered to have authorized presence but not legal permanent residency status, known as people residing under the color of the law.

In May 2006, Cedillo once again brought the proposal before the California legislature. It is currently under consideration [ [http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_60&sess=CUR&house=B&author=cedillo Bill List ] ] .

Cedillo has claimed that giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants would improve highway safety by allowing these individuals to learn the rules of the road, buy insurance, and reduce the likelihood that they would flee from the scene of an accident.Fact|date=September 2008

On September 28 2006, Cedillo was arrested along with approximately 200 others for blocking Century Blvd. in front of LAX, during a protest supporting the illegal immigrant employees at the LAX hotels. Several people missed their flights because of the protest [ [http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDQ4ZTc0ZGEyNmFlMjE4NDRjNmMwZGY5OGM5MWJkYjE= Bridget Johnson on Left Protests on National Review Online ] ] .

References

External links

* [http://www.senate.ca.gov/cedillo State Senate Website]