State Sen. Alex Padilla (D-LA) today endorsed SF Mayor Gavin Newsom for Governor and was also announced as the new campaign chairman.

Padilla immediately came out swinging against Newsom’s presumptive competitor, Attorney General Jerry Brown:

But “with all due respect,” he added, Californians know Brown “for his time in state leadership decades ago.”

“The world has changed, and the challenges before us are certainly more complex,” Padilla said. “The solutions need to be modern solutions, not old solutions.” … Padilla said that Newsom, 41, has “the passion and certainly the energy we need to lead the state in a better direction,” and that Brown does not. (LAT 7/15/09)

This is basically standard talking points on the experience vs. youth dispute. Padilla, while known from his time on the LA City Council, is hardly a household name. However, he does help Mayor Newsom make inroads on what could be a decisive voting bloc – SoCal Latinos.

Now, that takes care of our horse race coverage for the day…