Shirley Weber

Shirley Weber (née Nash; born September 20, 1948) is an American academic and politician serving as the secretary of state of California. She was previously a member of the California State Assembly for the 79th district, which includes portions of San Diego, Chula Vista, and National City and all of Lemon Grove and La Mesa.

Prior to being elected to the Assembly in 2012, Weber served on the San Diego Board of Education, and as a professor of African-American studies at San Diego State University. She is the first African American to have been elected to the California State Legislature south of Los Angeles. She earned a Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, and PhD in communication from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Career

Academics Weber is a professor emerita of Africana studies at San Diego State University. She helped to establish that department in 1972 and became its chair, teaching there for 40 years. She was president of the National Council for Black Studies from 2002 to 2006.

Early political career She served as a board member and later president of the San Diego Board of Education from 1988 to 1996. She also served as chairwoman of the San Diego Citizens’ Equal Opportunity Commission.

During her time in the assembly, Weber was a member of the California Assembly's Committee on Higher Education. In 2020, Weber authored Assembly Bill 3121, which created a California Reparations Task Force to study how to redress slavery in California; the task force met for the first time in 2021.

California Secretary of State

On December 22, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Weber to the position of secretary of state of California, effective upon confirmation by the California State Legislature, to replace Alex Padilla, whom he had just appointed to the United States Senate. Weber is the first African American to serve as secretary of state. Weber was sworn in on January 29, 2021, having been confirmed unanimously by the state senate the day before. As secretary of state, Weber played a central role in administering the 2021 California gubernatorial recall election that targeted Newsom. She won a full term in the 2022 election over businessman Rob Bernosky.

Personal life Weber's husband, San Diego County Superior Court Judge Daniel Weber, died in 2002. She has two children and three grandchildren. Her daughter, Akilah Weber, is a physician who served as a member of the La Mesa City Council from 2018 to 2021. On April 19, 2021, Akilah was sworn in by her mother to succeed her in the California State Assembly after winning in a special election, before being elected to the California State Senate in 2024.

Electoral history 2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022