Anderson, fellow senators to force vote on ouster of convicted colleague

2/27/14 UPDATE in comments: Supermajority Buries Resolution to Expel Wright

Vote On Ousting Wright Planned For Thursday
Senators Knight, Anderson and Vidak say it’s Time for Leadership, Not Delay

Sacramento – Senators Steve Knight (R-Antelope Valley), Joel Anderson (R-San Diego) and Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) have introduced Senate Resolution 29 asking for the expulsion of Senator Rod Wright (D-Inglewood), who was recently convicted of eight felonies. They plan to move for a vote on the Resolution during Floor Session on Thursday.

Following is SR 29:

Senate Resolution 29

Relating to the expulsion of Senator Roderick D. Wright
By Senators Knight, Anderson & Vidak

WHEREAS, On January 28, 2014, by eight unanimous votes of a jury of his peers, Senator Roderick D. Wright was found guilty of eights felonies; and

WHEREAS, The felonies Senator Wright was convicted of included five counts of fraudulent voting, two counts of perjury, and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy; and

WHEREAS, Section 8 of Article VII of the California Constitution provides as follows:

“(a) Every person shall be disqualified from holding any office of profit in this State who shall have been convicted of having given or offered a bribe to procure personal election or appointment.

(b) Laws shall be made to exclude persons convicted of bribery, perjury, forgery, malfeasance in office, or other high crimes from office or serving on juries. The privilege of free suffrage shall be supported by laws regulating elections and prohibiting, under adequate penalties, all undue influence thereon from power, bribery, tumult, or other improper practice.”; and

Whereas, The oath of office that state Senators swear to uphold upon taking office reads as follows: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter”; and

Whereas, Section 1021 of the California Code provides as follows: “A person is disqualified from holding any office upon conviction of designated crimes as specified in the Constitution and laws of the State”; and

Whereas, Subdivision (a) of Section 5 of Article IV of the California Constitution provides as follows: “Each house shall judge the qualifications and elections of its Members and, by rollcall vote entered in the journal, two thirds of the membership concurring, may expel a Member”; and

Whereas, The California State Senate convenes in a chamber under portrait of “George Washington – a symbol of dedication and integrity”; and

Whereas, The practices, traditions and standards of the Senate in previous cases involving Senators convicted of felonies have led to swift and decisive actions by Senate leaders of the recent past; and

Whereas, Democratic Senator Joseph B. Montoya was convicted on February 2, 1990, of committing seven felonies; and

Whereas, Soon thereafter Senator Montoya was given an ultimatum by the Senate Committee on Rules to resign by February 9, 1990, or face expulsion by a vote of his colleagues”; and

Whereas, Senator Montoya resigned from the Senate on February 9, 1990; and

Whereas, Senate President pro Tempore David Roberti (D-Los Angeles) thanked Senator Montoya for bowing out and not forcing the Senate to expel a Member for the first time since 1905;” and

Whereas, Senate President pro Tempore Roberti said at the time, “Senator Montoya is helping us conduct the business of the Senate without the rancor and disruption that a more radical process would have caused. Senator Montoya could have held on to a bitter conclusion. He chose not to. I thank him for that”; and

Whereas, Republican Senator C. Frank Hill was convicted on June 16, 1994, of committing three felonies; and

Whereas, Senator Leroy Greene (D-Carmichael), chairperson of the Senate Committee on Legislative Ethics, urged members of the Senate Committee on Rules to put aside their personal affection for Senator Hill and to vote to oust him as the ethically and morally correct course of action”; and

Whereas, Senator Greene told colleagues, “The people of this state have a right to expect that we will judge convicted criminals in this house by the same standards by which we judge others”; and

Whereas, The Senate Committee on Rules voted on June 30, 1994, to expel Senator Hill; and

Whereas, The four members of the Senate Committee on Rules who voted to expel Senator Hill were Senate President pro Tempore Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward), Senator Ruben Ayala (D-Chino), Senator Bill Craven (R- Oceanside), and Senator Bob Beverly (R-Manhattan Beach); and

Whereas, Senator Hill resigned from the Senate on July 8, 1994; and

Whereas, Senator Wright has had, since his being found guilty on January 28, 2014, the option of resigning from the Senate but has not done so; and

Whereas, The Senate leadership has had, since January 28, 2014, the option of requesting Senator Wright to resign from the Senate but has not done so; and

Whereas, Under the power and authority by the California Constitution, the full Senate can, by a two-thirds vote of the membership, expel a Senator found guilty of a felony; now therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, two-thirds of the membership concurring, That pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 5 of Article IV of the California Constitution, Senator Roderick D. Wright, representing the 35th Senate District, is hereby expelled from the California State Senate for his eight felony guilty verdicts, effective immediately.

On February 4, 2014, Knight, Anderson and Vidak sent a letter to Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg requesting Wright’s removal. Senate leadership has yet to take action on the issue.

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For a copy of SR 29 from Legislative Counsel, click here