Senator Christopher Cabaldon

Christopher L. Cabaldon was born on November 12, 1965, in California. He is a member of the Democratic Party and currently serves in the California State Senate for the 3rd district, representing approximately 3,000 square miles across Wine Country, the Delta, the North Bay, and the Sacramento Valley. His district includes Solano, Yolo, Napa, Sonoma, Contra Costa, and Sacramento counties, encompassing 22 cities.

Cabaldon made history as the first Filipino-American Senator in California. He was sworn in as Senator in December 2024 and, under California's term limits, may serve until 2036.

Before his election to the State Senate, Cabaldon served as Mayor of West Sacramento from 1998 to 2020, making him the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. During his tenure, West Sacramento earned the national designation as America's Most Livable Small City. The former state highway between Capitol Mall and Highway 50/Business 80 was renamed the Christopher Cabaldon Parkway in honor of his community transformation efforts.

Education

Cabaldon attended the Center for Enriched Studies, the first magnet school in Los Angeles. He graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics. He was appointed to the tenured faculty at Sacramento State University as the Hazel Cramer Endowed Chair and Professor of Public Policy and Administration in 2019.

Political Experience

Cabaldon began his government career at age 24 as Chief Consultant and Staff Director to the California State Assembly Higher Education Committee. He subsequently served as Chief of Staff to the chair of the Assembly Appropriations Committee, working alongside prominent legislators including anti-war activist Tom Hayden. During this period, he helped pass early legislation to open public colleges and universities to DREAMers and craft some of California's earliest HIV/AIDS laws.

He served as Legislative Director of the University of California Students Association before his legislative work. From 1997 to 2003, he was Vice Chancellor of the California Community Colleges System.

Cabaldon has represented California on the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education and was confirmed to a fourth term as the state's interstate higher education commissioner. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Advisory Board of College Promise, working alongside Dr. Jill Biden as board chair to promote free community college programs. He served in the administrations of every Democratic governor over the past 24 years.

At the national level, Cabaldon chaired the Jobs, Education & the Workforce Committee for America's Mayors and was the inaugural chair of the national LGBTQ Mayors Alliance. He led the nation's mayors on youth employment, college and career pathways, and workforce development. He also represented the United States in the Global Parliament of Mayors.

Upon his election to the State Senate in 2024, Cabaldon was immediately appointed chair of the Senate Budget subcommittee responsible for government operations and performance, housing and homelessness, consumer protection, insurance, technology and innovation, economic development, and related state agencies. He was also appointed to committees on Education, Housing, Local Government, Appropriations, and the select committee on California's wine industry, and later became chair of the group of legislators representing University of California campuses.