Kevin Patrick Kiley (born January 30, 1985) is an American politician, attorney, and former educator serving as the U.S. representative for
California's 3rd congressional district
California's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. John Garamendi, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2013.
Effective January 2023, California's 3rd congressional district will include m ...
since 2023. A member of the
Republican Party
Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party.
Republican Party may also refer to:
Africa
*Republican Party (Liberia)
* Republican Part ...
, he represented the
6th district 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.
The A ...
from 2016 to 2022. Kiley was a candidate to replace
California governor Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
in
the voter-initiated recall election on September 14, 2021.
Early life, education, and career
Kiley grew up in the
Sacramento area, where his father was a physician and his mother was a special education teacher. He attended local public schools, including
Cavitt Junior High School and
Granite Bay High School
Granite Bay High School is located in Granite Bay, California, United States. Granite Bay High School was founded in 1996 and was named a National Blue Ribbon School by the United States Secretary of Education in 2002 and a California Distinguishe ...
, where he was
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
.
He graduated with an undergraduate degree from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 2007,
completing a thesis titled "The
Civil Rights Movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
and the Reemergence of
Classical Democracy
Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica. Although Athens is the most famous ancient Greek democratic city- ...
". Upon graduation, he became a teacher in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
through
Teach for America, teaching for two years at
Manual Arts High School while earning his
teaching credentials at
Loyola Marymount University.
In 2008, he was recognized as a
national debate champion while participating as a member of the Loyola
debate team.
Kiley later attended
Yale Law School
Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...
,
worked as an editor of the ''
Yale Law Journal
The ''Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ), known also as the ''Yale Law Review'', is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students ...
'', and clerked at the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
. He returned to California to join the law firm
Irell & Manella
Irell & Manella LLP is an American law firm founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell (1912–2000) and Arthur Manella (1917–1997). It has approximately 70 lawyers (down from a high of over 220), and placed 183rd on The American Lawyer's 202 ...
, where he helped prepare an intellectual property theft case for
T-Mobile against Chinese technology company
Huawei
Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology corporation headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. It designs, develops, produces and sells telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics and various smar ...
that was the basis for a federal criminal investigation.
He was an adjunct professor at the
University of the Pacific University of the Pacific may refer to:
*University of the Pacific (Colombia)
*University of the Pacific (Ecuador)
*University of the Pacific (Peru)
* University of the Pacific (United States)
*University of Asia Pacific, Bangladesh
* University of ...
McGeorge School of Law.
He resides in
Rocklin, California
Rocklin is a city in Placer County, California, about from Sacramento, and about northeast of Roseville in the Sacramento metropolitan area. Besides Roseville, it shares borders with Granite Bay, Loomis and Lincoln. As of the 2010 census, Ro ...
.
Political career
In 2016, Kiley was elected to 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.
The A ...
.
In May 2016, Kiley told ''
The Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'' that he supported then-
Ohio Governor John Kasich in the
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
. In 2018, Kiley authored legislation to make it easier for students to transfer
school district
A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations.
North America United States
In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...
s.
After winning a second term in the State Assembly, Kiley ran for the
State Senate in California's
1st District
The Innere Stadt (; Central Bavarian: ''Innare Stod'') is the 1st municipal district of Vienna () located in the center of the Austrian capital. The Innere Stadt is the old town of Vienna. Until the city boundaries were expanded in 1850, the Inn ...
. He finished second in the primary, but lost the runoff to fellow Assemblyman
Brian Dahle
Brian Dwain Dahle (born September 20, 1965) is an American politician and farmer who has served as a member of the California State Senate from the 1st district since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Dahle served as a member of the Cali ...
. Soon after the start of the new legislative session, Kiley introduced legislation to close for private use a controversial
DMV office that exclusively catered to state legislators and staff. In a statement to ''
The Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
'', Kiley said: "This is supposed to be a government of the people, by the people and for the people, not an oligarchy where a gilded political class enjoys privileges that aren’t available to the people that we represent."
According to the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, Kiley is "a conservative who often flirts with the fringes of the GOP".
He has said climate change is real, but opposed Governor Gavin Newsom's executive orders requiring all new vehicles in California to be
zero emission by 2035 and banning oil-drilling by 2045.
He is a supporter of
charter schools
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...
. Kiley introduced legislation to ban local and state governments from implementing vaccine requirements.
After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump refused to concede while making claims of fraud, Kiley refused to say whether Biden won the 2020 election legitimately.
Kiley has said his position is to "stay out of national politics altogether", and that "national politics is a distraction that is used frankly by those in power in Sacramento
skind of a smokescreen for their own failures."
2021 California gubernatorial recall election
Though he voted to authorize $1 billion of emergency pandemic spending for Governor Newsom in March 2020, saying "to trust in Governor Newsom’s leadership and listen to his guidance", Kiley later said Newsom "made a mockery of that trust" and, alongside fellow California legislator
James Gallagher, successfully sued in June 2020 to remove Newsom's emergency powers (though the ruling was overturned on appeal),
and was influential in the campaign to recall Newsom, publishing a book in January 2021 titled ''Recall Gavin Newsom: The Case Against America's Most Corrupt Governor.''
On July 6, 2021, Kiley announced his candidacy for
governor of California
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
in the
2021 recall election. According to the ''New York Times'', he was one of the "more moderate Republican recall candidates," while the ''Los Angeles Times'' deemed him and
John Cox the "more traditional conservatives" in the election, which failed to remove Newsom from office.
Kiley indicated his support for
school choice during the campaign and said teachers' unions in the state were too powerful (with the
California Teachers Association
The California Teachers Association (CTA), initially established in 1863, is one of the largest and most powerful teachers' unions in the state with over 300,000 members and a high political profile in California politics. The teachers' union is ba ...
having been Newsom's top donor), to students' detriment.
Though vaccinated against COVID-19, Kiley pledged to overturn vaccine and mask mandates Newsom implemented if he became governor.
United States Senate vacancies
In 2020, Kiley urged passage of his bill that would require the potential successor of then-candidate for vice president and Senator
Kamala Harris to be elected by California's voters and not appointed by the governor; he reiterated that view during the 2021 gubernatorial recall campaign by pledging to allow voters to pick a replacement for Senator
Dianne Feinstein
Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein ( ; born Dianne Emiel Goldman; June 22, 1933) is an American politician who serves as the senior United States senator from California, a seat she has held since 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, she was ...
if he became governor and her seat became vacant. Kiley later flagged a constitutional issue with Newsom's appointment of
Alex Padilla
Alejandro Padilla ( ; born March 22, 1973) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from California since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Padilla served as the 30th secretary of state of California from 2015 ...
to replace Harris and Padilla's expected service until January 2023, since the
U.S. Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
stipulates that such appointees serve "until the people fill the vacancies by election".
After lawmakers in the state assembly passed a bill to address the issue that would require voters to select two senators for the same seat—one to serve in the
lame-duck session
A lame-duck session of Congress in the United States occurs whenever one Congress meets after its successor is elected, but before the successor's term begins. The expression is now used not only for a special session called after a sine die adjou ...
from November 2022 to January 2023 and another for January 2023 to January 2029—Kiley said Newsom should have called a special election to fill Harris's seat much earlier, and that the bill would solve the problem in "the most undemocratic way possible".
Newsom eventually signed the bill, which meant California's voters had to vote simultaneously for both the lame-duck Senate seat and the next full Senate term.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2022
On December 29, 2021, Kiley announced he would run for the
U.S. House
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
in California's newly redrawn
3rd congressional district, which includes all or parts of
Inyo Inyo may refer to:
Places California
* Inyo County, California
* Inyo National Forest, USA
* The Inyo Mountains
* The Mono–Inyo Craters
Other uses
* Japanese for yin and yang
Yin and yang ( and ) is a Chinese philosophy, Chinese p ...
,
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
,
Mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
,
Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
,
El Dorado
El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
,
Placer,
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
,
Sierra
Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following:
Places Mountains and mountain ranges
* Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico
* Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...
,
Yuba, and
Plumas counties.
Committee assignments
For the
118th Congress
The 118th United States Congress is the next meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It is scheduled to meet in Washington ...
:
*
Committee on Education and the Workforce
**
Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
**
Subcommittee on Workforce Protections (Chair)
*
Committee on the Judiciary
**
Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet
**
Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance
**
Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government
Caucus memberships
*
Republican Study Committee
Electoral history
Works
* Kevin Kiley (2021). ''Recall Gavin Newsom: The Case Against America's Most Corrupt Governor''. .
References
External links
*
*
Campaign websiteKevin Kiley at ballotpedia.orgJoin California Kevin Kiley*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiley, Kevin
1985 births
21st-century American politicians
California lawyers
Candidates in the 2021 United States elections
Competitive debaters
Harvard University alumni
Living people
Loyola Marymount University alumni
People from Granite Bay, California
People from Rocklin, California
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Yale Law School alumni