Kevin Shelley's leadership was recognized early by Assembly colleagues, who elected him Majority Leader after only two-years in office.

Assembly Majority Leader Kevin Shelley combines the passion of a grassroots activist with the skill of a successful lawmaker.

From his tenure as President of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors where he created the city’s ethics commission to his present role as Assembly Majority Leader where he’s cracking down on corporate fraud, there has been one theme in Kevin Shelley’s career: the fight for reform.

Today, Kevin Shelley is a candidate for Secretary of State because he believes that to change California, we need to change the way Californians vote.

Participation at the polls is dropping, cynicism is rising and 72 percent of voters still use the outdated ‘punch card’/chad voting systems

Kevin Shelley has created a comprehensive voting reform package for California.  He authored Proposition 41, the Voting Modernization Act, which will be implemented by the next Secretary of State.  

Shelley also wrote the law allowing any Californian to vote by mail, which is expected to increase turnout by one million voters.

In addition to his voting reform legislation, Shelley continues to be a tireless advocate for the people of California:

• Shelley authored the law to expand California's "Safe at Home" to protect employees and patients at reproductive health clinics.
  
• Shelley enacted the California Nursing Home Reform Act of 2000, the most comprehensive and significant nursing home bill in a generation, and passed significant elder abuse reporting, training, and prevention legislation
  
• Shelley enacted the Healthy Schools Act, which grants parents and teachers the right to know about pesticide use in their schools
  
• Shelley wrote comprehensive pollutant-monitoring laws, restored funding to the California Clean Air Act and authored the Marine Life Protection Act
  
• Shelley pioneered red-light-runner and pedestrian safety legislation to make the streets safer for walkers, bicyclists, and drivers
  
• Shelley authored one of the strongest Sunshine Laws in the nation to make government more accountable
  

The son of former San Francisco Mayor Jack Shelley, Kevin grew up believing that public service is a way of life.  A graduate of Hastings College Law School, Shelley worked in the San Francisco non-profit community and then on the staff of Congressman Phil Burton.

Kevin Shelley was first elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and subsequently served two terms as Board President.  He was elected to the State Assembly in 1996 to represent San Francisco and San Mateo Counties and became Majority Leader in 1998.  In addition to his duties as Majority Leader, Shelley serves on the Elections, Reapportionment, and Constitutional Amendments Committee; Judiciary Committee; Labor and Employment Committee; the Select Committee on Earthquake Safety and Preparedness; and the Select Committee on Gun Violence.

Shelley, 46, is married to Dominique, a public school teacher.  His first child, Jack, was born on November 19, 2001.  They live in San Francisco.

For his work, Kevin Shelley has recently been honored by:

• Commission on the Status of Women
• The Senior Action Network
• The California Senior Legislature
• Planned Parenthood
• The California Consumer Federation
• Californians Against Waste

Kevin’s campaign has been endorsed by dozens of organizations and elected officials, including Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, Lieutenant Governor Bustamante, the California Professional Firefighters, the California Nurses Association, Planned Parenthood, the California Teachers Association, the California Coalition of Law Enforcement Agencies, the California Highway Patrol Association and numerous other law enforcement organizations.