Charles Calderon

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title: "Charles Calderon" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1950-births", "calderon-family-(california)", "living-people", "american-prosecutors", "california-lawyers", "democratic-party-california-state-senators", "california-state-university,-los-angeles-alumni", "democratic-party-members-of-the-california-state-assembly", "people-from-montebello,-california", "uc-davis-school-of-law-alumni", "american-politicians-of-mexican-descent", "hispanic-and-latino-american-state-legislators-in-california", "21st-century-members-of-the-california-state-legislature", "candidates-in-the-1998-united-states-elections"] description: "American politician (born 1950)" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Calderon" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American politician (born 1950) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Charles Calderon
image	Charles Calderon Assembly Portrait.jpg
office1	Majority Leader of the California Assembly
term_start1	March 18, 2010
term_end1	September 1, 2012
predecessor1	Alberto Torrico
successor1	Toni Atkins
office2	Member of the California State Assembly
term_start2	December 4, 2006
term_end2	November 30, 2012
predecessor2	Ron Calderon
successor2	Cristina Garcia
constituency2	58th district
term_start3	December 6, 1982
term_end3	April 16, 1990
predecessor3	Matthew G. Martínez
successor3	Xavier Becerra
constituency3	59th district
office4	Majority Leader of the California Senate
term_start4	1996
term_end4	1998
office5	Member of the California State Senate
term_start5	April 16, 1990
term_end5	December 7, 1998
predecessor5	Joseph B. Montoya
successor5	Martha Escutia
constituency5	26th district (1990–1994)
30th district (1994–1998)
birth_name	Charles Michael Calderon
birth_date
birth_place	Montebello, California, U.S.
party	Democratic
spouse	Lisa Calderon
children	3, including Ian
relatives	Ron Calderon (brother)
Tom Calderon (brother)
education	California State University, Los Angeles (BA)
University of California, Davis (JD)
occupation	Attorney
::

| name = Charles Calderon | image = Charles Calderon Assembly Portrait.jpg | alt = | office1 = Majority Leader of the California Assembly | term_start1 = March 18, 2010 | term_end1 = September 1, 2012 | predecessor1 = Alberto Torrico | successor1 = Toni Atkins | office2 = Member of the California State Assembly | term_start2 = December 4, 2006 | term_end2 = November 30, 2012 | predecessor2 = Ron Calderon | successor2 = Cristina Garcia | constituency2 = 58th district | term_start3 = December 6, 1982 | term_end3 = April 16, 1990 | predecessor3 = Matthew G. Martínez | successor3 = Xavier Becerra | constituency3 = 59th district | office4 = Majority Leader of the California Senate | term_start4 = 1996 | term_end4 = 1998 | predecessor4 = | successor4 = | office5 = Member of the California State Senate | term_start5 = April 16, 1990 | term_end5 = December 7, 1998 | predecessor5 = Joseph B. Montoya | successor5 = Martha Escutia | constituency5 = 26th district (1990–1994) 30th district (1994–1998) | birth_name = Charles Michael Calderon | birth_date = | birth_place = Montebello, California, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = Lisa Calderon | children = 3, including Ian | relatives = Ron Calderon (brother) Tom Calderon (brother) | education = California State University, Los Angeles (BA) University of California, Davis (JD) | occupation = Attorney | profession = | religion = | signature = | website = | footnotes =

Charles Michael Calderon (born March 12, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served in both chambers of the California State Legislature.

Early life and education

Calderon was born on March 12, 1950, in Montebello, California. He graduated from California State University, Los Angeles and earned a J.D. degree from the UC Davis School of Law.

Career

Prior to his 1982 election to the California State Assembly, Calderon was a prosecutor and also served on the Montebello School Board.

Calderon was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1982. In 1988–89, he became leader of a power struggle for control of the Assembly. The "Gang of Five", included Calderon, Gary Condit, Steve Peace of Chula Vista, Gerald Eaves of Rialto, and Rusty Areias of Los Banos. Self-identified conservative Democrats, the group attempted to wrest power from Willie Brown, then Speaker of the Assembly. Calderon was nominated for the office of Speaker, but Brown prevailed by a vote of 40–34. Brown stripped all five members of committee leadership positions and staff.

In 1990, Calderon left the Assembly, and he was elected to the California State Senate. From September 1996 until the end of his term, Calderon served as the first Hispanic Senate Majority leader in California history. He ran unsuccessfully for Attorney General of California in 1998, losing the primary to Bill Lockyer. Prior to his 2006 election to the Assembly, he served as California Health Care Commissioner and was a partner with the law firm of Nossaman. During his second term in the Assembly he served as Majority Leader between 2010 and 2012.

Personal life

His brothers Ronald S. Calderon and Thomas M. Calderon have both served in the State Assembly. Ronald held Charles's former Senate seat until 2014; Thomas has been out of the legislature since an unsuccessful run for Insurance Commissioner in 2002.

Calderon and his wife, Lisa, have three children. Calderon's son, Ian, served in the State Assembly from 2012 to 2020, representing the 57th district. Lisa won Ian's Assembly seat in 2020.

References

References

1. "Charles Michael Calderon Profile | Whittier, CA Lawyer | Martindale.com".
2. "The Voter's Self Defense System".
3. "Charles Michael Calderon #70359 - Attorney Licensee Search".
4. "The Calderon dynasty: 30 years of political power".
5. Richardson, James. (1996). "Willie Brown: A Biography". University of California Press.
6. Weekly, L. A.. (2011-06-03). "Charles Calderon, California State Assemblyman and Worst Legislator: 96 Percent of His Cash Gushes in From Outside His District".
7. "Charles M. Calderon".
8. (2013-08-25). "The Calderon family: A political timeline".

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