Steven Bradford brings a lifetime of experience to the California Legislature. In over two decades of public service – first as a Gardena City Councilmember, then as a State Assemblymember and now as a State Senator.
Senator Bradford is the current Vice Chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus and Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. He serves on the Committee on Public Safety, where, as Chair in 2021, he authored Senate Bill 2, which established California’s first statewide police decertification process. He also authored landmark legislation that allowed the County of Los Angeles to return property stolen from the Bruce family – Bruce’s Beach, to their descendants. Senator Bradford also served on the California Reparations Task Force which studied and made recommendations for future reparations for the descendants of slaves. He also authored the Ebony Alert in 2023 which will help to bring home missing Black children and young women.
Prior to his service in local and state government, Senator Bradford was employed by Southern California Edison, a District Director for Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald, Program Director for the LA Conservation Corps, National Director of Bigger and Better Business for Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, and as a marketing and sales representative for International Business Machines Corporation.
Senator Bradford grew up in Gardena, where he resides to this day. He founded the Gardena Jazz Festival which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023. He is a graduate of California State University, Dominguez Hills.