CaliforniaCityNews.org

Perez in Unanimous Choice of Assembly Dems for New Speaker

It's unanimous, on one side of the aisle at least.  John Perez is the California Assembly's next Speaker.  Just 40 years old, openly gay, a freshman lawmaker and holding his first elective office, Perez will be officially voted in net month, but with the unanimous backing of his caucus, that's just a formality. 

That the vote was unanimous was a bit of a feat in and of itself.  Perez has a long history with labor, and is Antonio Villaraigosa's cousin.  Even so, Kevin De Leon held tough in the race, and last week the talk in and around the Capitol was all about allegations and 'hurt feelings.'  Anthony York had an interesting look at how the work of current Speaker Karen Bass and the personalities of De Leon and other key players impacted the race here.

"It's obviously an incredibly moving experience to have the unanimous support of my colleagues," Pérez was quoted shortly after the caucus vote. "I think it says more about California than it does about me - it means that California is a place where everybody has a seat at the table, that we're a state where everybody brings forward their contributions."

Read more on the vote and its echoes from the SF Chron the SacBee or even the New York Times. The Bee also has a perfoile of Perez here, and Dan Walters gives his two cents here.  

And the New Speaker Is...

Word from our sources around the Capitol are telling us that Assemblyman John Perez has won the Speaker sweepstakes, and that Assembly Dems will rally unanimously to approve him.  No official word yet though... stay tuned...

Update: Capitol Weekly hearing the same thing.

What $1 Million Can't Buy in LA

Earlier this week we were awed with the $1 million outside groups funneled into the LA City Council race, trying to tip the scales in favor of former Paramount Exec Christine Essel.  It was the most ever spent for a council race in LA, and it wasn't near enough.

Assemblyman Paul Krekorian walked to victory Tuesday, besting Essel by 14 points.  This, despite being outspent 2 to 1, the aforementioned million bucks behind Essel, and the opposition of the city's major unions.  In an off cycle election, you'd think that would be enough, but we guess that's why the play the games.

Read more from the LA Times.

Speaker Vote Could be Wednesday or Thursday

The heated race to succeed Assembly Speaker Karen Bass came to a head last week, as two Latino Democrats in LA seats jockey for the top job.  As Shane Goldmacher wrote in the LAT: "Leaked polls, whisper campaigns and preemptive declarations of victory echoed through Capitol hallways. There was talk of double-crosses and political retribution. There have been hurt feelings and shifting allegiances."

In the Capitol?!??  The State Capitol?!!?  We are shocked.  Well, at any rate, the two frontrunners, John Perez and Kevin De Leon have met personally a few times in recent days to discuss the race.  In an interesting wrinkle, Senator Gil Cedillo is making noise that he'll challenge Perez -- Speaker or not -- in a primary next year, and has a poll saying he can win.  Most Capitol watchers still believe Perez, who is incidentally Mayor Villaraigosa's cousin, is still the one to beat here. 

Read more from the Cap Weekly. 

A $1 Million Council Race?

There's a runoff election for an LA City Council seat Tuesday.  You might not have heard about it, but it seems likely your political consultant has.  Unions and other outside groups have poured nearly $1 million into helping the bid of former film exec Christine Essel in her bid to beat out former Assemblyman Paul Krekorian.  The amounts "shattered the record for independent spending in a non-citywide election since ethics officials began tracking those figures two decades ago," according to an LA Times report.

The Times also writes that "Tuesday's winner is slated to take a seat on the City Council's planning and land use committee, the powerful clearinghouse for major development projects."

And there you have it.  Read more here.

Irvine Councilman Under Fire for Portraying Pelosi as Stalin

Irvine City Councilman Steven Choi, who is currently running for Assembly, is taking some heat from partisans on both sides of the aisle for wearing a rendering of Speaker Nancy Pelosi portrayed as Stalin last week.  The photo, which Choi hasn't completely claimed as his own idea, was worn as he protested with hundreds of others outside the OC Dem Party's Truman Dinner last week. 

It seems another photo was also found with Choi next to woman who had a t-shirt portraying the Speaker as a Nazi.  So while Pelosi is certainly viewed by Choi as extreme, it seems unclear which side of the historical tyrannical political spectrum he feels she most resembles.

Once the photo was identified as Choi, liberal bloggers and conervative columnists alike both attacked.  Read more from the OC Register.

Lawsuit Challenges Strong-Mayor Move in Sacramento

Freshman mayor Kevin Johnson has been pushing an aggressive move to make the Capitol City a Strong-Mayor town.  This has divided the city and its council, but had generated sufficient support to place it before the city's voters in June 2010. 

Now a union-backed group is challenging the measure on the grounds that such a measure can only be placed on the ballot by the council, not by initiative.  "We believe this poorly conceived and badly written measure is not only bad public policy, it is an illegal power grab that exceeds the bounds of what is allowed under the California Constitution," said Matt Kelly, chair of the campaign fighting Johnson's proposal in the SacBee.

The initiative was drafted be renowned political attorney Tom Hiltachk, so it would be tough to see it not holding up in court. 

Read more in the SacBee or the Sacramento Press.

Landmarks Reached in Council Elections, Mayoral Rotations

A number of landmarks were reached in council rotations this week.  Perhaps the most notable was in the Bay Area city of Campbell, in which Councilman Evan Low, 26, was rotated into the mayor's seat, thereby becoming the nation's youngest openly gay, and youngest Asian, mayor.  Read more in the SF Chron.

Also in the Bay Area this week, Novato became the first Marin County city and just the second California city (Pacifica was first) with an all-female city council.  The feat was completed with return of Pat Eklund, a former councilwoman and President of the League of California Cities, to the council.  Read more in the Marin Independent Journal.

And one more, Cupertino became the first Northern California city (and just the third in the US) to have Asian Americans as the majority of its council.  "Wow ... this is a major milestone for Cupertino," said Grace J. Yoo, professor of Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University to the San Jose Merc. "This is, indeed, unusual, but I believe that Asian-Americans have started to get more involved in the political process."

Yoo has a pretty good point.  Campaign watchers have taken note that Asian Americans have pursued statewide office more aggressively in recent years, and hold 3 of the 4 seats on the State Board of Equalization.  Read more on that in the San Jose Merc. 

Speaker Shuffle in Sac?

Reports out of the Capitol have John Perez (D- LA) holding enough votes to succeed Karen Bass as Assembly Speaker.  If successful, Perez would be the first openly gay speaker in state history.  He also LA Mayor Antonio Villariagosa's cousin.

Kevin De Leon, from a neighboring district in LA, is also angling for the gig, but Perez is believed to have the requisite 26 votes... and also the support of current Speaker Karen Bass.

Stay Tuned, the SacBee has a good rundown of the race here.

Update: San Jacinto Council Votes Benefited Donors

Details of the San Jacinto Council scandal are emerging, and they ain't pretty. 

At the center of the maelstrom is councilman, and former Assembly candidate, Jim Ayers.  A Press Enterprise report from over the weekend details how Ayers received close to $200,000 in campaign contributions from a pair of Orange County developers, and allegedly exchanged this support for considerations in proposed developments in his city. 

Ayers is saying that many of these matters were not controversial, and passed unanimously or on a 4-1 council vote.  A meticulous timeline assembled by the Press Enterprise (presumably mirrored in the 50+ count indictment) set against re zoning and other key votes, however, raises serious questions.

Read more here.  Oh, and if you're curious as to where the sole, unindicted San Jacinto Councilmember stands on all of this, there's a profile on him here.