Nevada County’s congressman has introduced his first independent piece of legislation. Kevin Kiley has introduced a constitutional amendment that would require direct election of all U.S Senators. And it appears to be sparked by Governor Newsom’s recent appointment of Alex Padilla to fill out the remainder of Kamala Harris’ term, when she was elected Vice-President in November of 2020. He was elected to his first elected six-year term two years later. Kiley also mentions recent pressures to convince Dianne Feinstein to step down, due to health concerns. Newsom would then make another appointment. Feinstein’s term expires at the end of 2024…

click to listen to Kevin Kiley

Kiley says even though he knows the appointees will eventually need to run for election, he feels gubernatorial appointments are too influential to the outcome…

click to listen to Kevin Kiley

The 17th Amendment was established in 1913 to allow such appointments. And Kiley also says gubernatorial authority has a history of abuse. That includes a governor attempting to sell the appointment for Barak Obama’s seat, when he was elected President.