Carlos Villapudua (born March 10, 1968) is an American politician who served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

from 2020 to 2024. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he represented the 13th Assembly District, which encompasses western

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County ( ; , meaning " St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 779,233. The county seat is Stockton. San Jo ...

, including the city of Stockton.

Early life and education

Villapudua was born in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is the most populous city in the county, the List of municipal ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

from the

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California, United States. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is part of the California State Universit ...

in 1997.

Career

Villapudua worked as a legislative assistant for Supervisor Steve Guttierez, then served two terms as a member of the

Board of Supervisors and was CEO of the San Joaquin County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

2016 Stockton mayoral election

Villapudua ran for Mayor of Stockton in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

. He placed third in the first round election with 24.10% of the vote, behind eventual winner

Michael Tubbs Michael Derrick Tubbs (born August 2, 1990) is an American politician who is currently serving as a special adviser for economic mobility and opportunity for Governor Gavin Newsom. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 79 ...

and incumbent Anthony Silva respectively.

California State Assembly

Campaigns

Villapudua first ran for

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, challenging incumbent Democrat

Susan Eggman Susan Talamantes Eggman (born March 3, 1961) is an American politician who served in the California State Senate from 2020 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 5th Senate district, which encompasses western San Joaqu ...

in the 13th Assembly District. He placed third in the primary election with 16.9% of the vote, behind Eggman and Republican Antonio Garcia respectively. In 2020, Eggman retired to successfully run for

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

. Villapudua ran for Assembly again and won, defeating County Supervisor Kathy Miller with 53% of the vote. In 2022, he was re-elected and defeated Tracy City Council member Veronica Vargas with 60.6% of the vote.

Tenure

Villapudua introduced legislation that would allow certain prisoners to engage in job training and other activities in a community campus on prison grounds. In ''

The Georgetown Law Journal ''The Georgetown Law Journal'' is a student-edited scholarly journal published at Georgetown University Law Center. It is the flagship law review of the Georgetown University Law Center. Overview The ''Georgetown Law Journal'' is headquartered ...

'', Shirin Bakhshay writes "While Villapudua's bill is commendable, his comments n rehabilitating prisonersreflect the type of thinking about criminal actors that continues to impede wide-spread reform efforts..."

2024 California State Senate campaign

Villapudua's wife, Edith, was a candidate for

in the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

, the seat Eggman is vacating due to term-limits. The couple switched races on the day before California's candidate filing deadline, with Carlos running for Senate and Edith running for his Assembly seat. The move was characterized as a ploy to better each of their electoral prospects; however it drove former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Jerry McNerney Gerald Mark McNerney ( ; born June 18, 1951) is an American businessman and politician who has served a member of the California State Senate from the 5th district since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, his district includes all of San ...

to join the Senate race and Edith's original opponent,

Rhodesia Ransom Rhodesia Ransom is an American politician who is a member of the California State Assembly for the 13th district, based in Stockton. A Democrat, she previously served on the Tracy City Council. Early life and education Ransom holds a Master of ...

, to also switch into the Assembly election. Despite the last-minute switch, both he and his wife lost their respective races.

Personal life

Villapudua lives in Stockton with his wife, Edith. His brother, Brando, is a member of the Stockton City Council and his cousin, Miguel, is a member of the

Board of Supervisors.

Electoral history

2016

2018

2020

2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villapudua, Carlos 1968 births Living people 21st-century members of the California State Legislature California State University, Sacramento alumni Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2024 United States elections Democratic Party county supervisors in California Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Politicians from Stockton, California