There are 10 Republicans brand new to the Legislature being sworn in today. That doesn't include former Sen. Jim Nielsen, who served as GOP leader of the upper house in the mid-1980s.
Capitol Alert offers a brief introduction to the GOP freshman class:
AD 3 - Dan Logue, R-Linda
Yuba County supervisor.
Replaces Rick Keene, R-Chico
District: Lassen, Nevada, Plumas, Sierra and Yuba counties, parts of Butte and Placer counties
Main cities: Auburn, Chico, Grass Valley, Loyalton, Marysville, Oroville, Susanville, Truckee
Dan Logue comes to Sacramento via a gig as a Yuba County supervisor. He arrives with a mission not to expand the scope of state government, but to limit it.
In a recent commentary for the FlashReport, Logue argued for "decentralizing" state government.
"Local agencies and taxpayers are losing money to Sacramento bureaucracies, when instead they should have more money returned to them to fund vital services that meet unique local needs," he wrote.
In a questionnaire for the the California Association of Business, Property and Resource Owners, Logue wrote, "Government is not the solution -- it is the problem."
So Democrats probably ought not look to this freshman GOPer to support a Democratic budget plan. He also signed the no-new-taxes pledge on May 9, 2008 - a month before winning his primary against Sue Horne, a Nevada County supervisor.
AD 26 - Bill Berryhill, R-Ceres
Farmer, former Ceres Unified School District Board member. Brother of Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, who represents AD 26.
Replaces Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton
District: Parts of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties
Main cities: Manteca, Modesto, Stockton, Turlock
Like father, like son. Like brother, like brother. William "Bill" Berryhill is following his brother into the Assembly, making for the first fraternal twosome to serve simultaneously in the same house of the Legislature in half a century.
Berryhill served on the Ceres Unified School Board before his election this fall.
Democrats tried hard to block the younger Berryhill's path, mounting a late push for Democrat John Eisenhut, who fell just short with 48.3 percent of the vote.
Both were farmers. In the end, grapes and walnuts (Berryhill) topped almonds (Eisenhut).
With the party's strong showing here, Democrats are expected to vie for this seat again in 2010.
AD 30 - Danny Gilmore, R-Hanford
Retired California Highway Patrol assistant chief. Replaces Nicole Parra, D-Hanford
District: Kings County, parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare counties
Main cities: Alpaugh, Bakersfield, Coalinga, Corcoran, Delano, Hanford, Kingsburg, Lemoore, Shafter, Wasco
The second time was the charm for Danny Gilmore, a former California Highway Patrol officer who narrowly lost a race for this seat in 2006 against then-Assemblywoman Nicole Parra.
This time a termed-out Parra backed Gilmore -- even appearing in his TV ads -- in a much talked-about episode in Sacramento.
Gilmore was the only 2008 GOP winner of a Democratic-held seat in California, helping offset three previously GOP-held seats won by Democrats.
The California Farm Bureau, a mover and shaker in Central Valley politics, backed Gilmore in a race where every vote counted as the GOPer won with a mere 50.6 percent of the vote.
In 2006, Gilmore signed the no-new-taxes pledge. His campaign site promises, "We can count on Danny Gilmore to vote against hiking our taxes."
AD 34 - Connie Conway, R-Tulare
Tulare County supervisor.
Replaces Bill Maze, R-Visalia
District: Inyo County, parts of Kern, San Bernardino and Tulare counties
Main cities: Barstow, Bishop, Porterville, Twentynine Palms, Visalia, Tulare, Needles
Connie Conway is one of the few freshman members to arrive with a previous relationship with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
She served as the president of the California State Associations of Counties in 2006, and Schwarzenegger appointed her as chair of the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley.
A Tulare County supervisor (like her father before her), Conway bested the wife of Assemblyman Bill Maze in the primary, as well as Bob Smith, a retired sheriff's deputy.
Her old colleagues in Tulare wish her luck up in Sacramento: "Unfortunately, you're going to be going from the frying pan and into the bonfire," Supervisor Steve Worthley said at her departure.
Her top priority according to her campaign site: "Cutting taxes and balancing the state's budget by ending wasteful spending."
AD 36 - Steve Knight, R-Palmdale
Palmdale City Council member, police officer.
Replaces Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster
District: Parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties
Main cities: Adelanto, Lancaster, Palmdale, Victorville
Steve Knight may be a freshman, but he isn't the first in his family to represent this district. His father, the late Sen. William "Pete" Knight, is best known as the author of Proposition 22, the anti-gay marriage ballot measure and precursor to this year's Proposition 8.
The younger Knight campaigned as a conservative Republican, signing the no-new-taxes pledge in 2007.
He also faced an unexpectedly stiff challenge in the general election, as Democrat Linda Jones received 48.3 percent of the vote in a district that had been considered safe GOP territory. Jones' candidacy had been all but ignored by Democratic strategists until only weeks before the election, when it became clear Sen. Barack Obama was headed for a landslide win in California.
Knight (like incoming freshman Nathan Fletcher) bring a military background to the lower house, after serving in the U.S. Army. After the Army, he served 16 years as a Los Angeles police officer before serving as a member of the Palmdale City Council.
AD 60 - Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills
Chino Hills mayor.
Replaces Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar
District: Parts of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties
Main cities: Chino Hills, Diamond Bar, La Habra Heights, La Mirada, Villa Park, Walnut, Anaheim, Industry, La Habra, Orange, Rowland Heights, San Dimas, Whittier, Yorba Linda
Curt Hagman will be the newest representative of one of California's most oddly shaped districts, which takes in conservative parts of three counties: Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino.
Not surprisingly, a district like that elected a conservative Republican. Hagman, who owns a bail bonds business, was backed heavily by the law enforcement community in the GOP primary, where law-and-order groups independently spent more than $100,000 on his behalf.
Hagman, who served as mayor of Chino Hills, signed the no-new-taxes pledge during his Assembly campaign. His primary campaign mailers touted that, "Curt has never raised a tax during his tenure on the City Council and he never will in the State Assembly."
Hagman on the budget: "I want to be able to get more service out of the finances they have, because the budget is going to be the main thing we're going to talk about for a while."
AD 64 - Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert
Businessman.
Replaces John Benoit, R-Palm Desert
District: Part of Riverside County
Main cities: Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, Riverside, Temecula
The all-in-the-family lawmaking continues. Brian Nestande is the son of former Assemblyman Bruce Nestande, with a long history himself of working for GOP members of Congress, from Michael Huffington to Sonny Bono to Mary Bono Mack.
Before jumping into the Assembly campaign, he and his brother, Barry, ran a PR and government affairs firm.
Nestande has signed the no-new-taxes pledge and recently shared his thoughts on the budget in a speech in his district.
"We know what the Democrats want to do -- they want to raise taxes. They've stated that; that's why they've called us back, to raise taxes," he said, according to the Desert Sun.
"We can grow the economy," he said. "We can get more wealth and more jobs created. Republicans have to lead the way."
AD 71 - Jeff Miller, R-Corona
Corona mayor.
Replaces Todd Spitzer, R-Orange
District: Parts of Orange and Riverside counties
Main cities: Corona, Mission Viejo, Norco, Rancho Santa Margarita, and parts of Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Anaheim
Jeff Miller, the mayor of Corona, ran as a strong conservative in the GOP primary against Neil Blais, the mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita.
He inherits the district of outspoken Assemblyman Todd Spitzer, who leaves due to term limits. With a degree in criminal justice, perhaps he'll follow in Spitzer's footsteps in pursuing law-and-order issues in Sacramento.
Here's a fun fact about Miller: He's already been assigned the tiniest office in the Capitol, better known as the "doghouse."
A less fun fact for Democrats: He's yet another Republican freshman to sign the no-new-taxes pledge.
"We're in a very unique circumstance," Corona told The Bee during his first post-election swing through Sacramento, "where raising taxes would actually make things worse in helping turn this economy around."
AD 73 - Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point
Dana Point City Council member, former Dana Point mayor.
Replaces Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel
District: Parts of Orange and San Diego counties
Main cities: Laguna Niguel, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Oceanside
Diane Harkey ran for state Senate in 2006 against Republican then-Assemblyman Tom Harman and lost. But her strong showing (she lost by less than 300 votes) helped clear the way for her 2008 campaign.
The mayor of Dana Point, Harkey has spent 30 years in the banking industry. She is one of two freshman GOP women lawmakers (the other is Connie Conway in AD 34.)
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Harkey is another signer of the no-new-taxes pledge. Her Web site outlines her approach to the budget, including a spending cap, zero-based budgeting, a "rainy day" fund and protecting the two-thirds vote.
On the budget: "The Republican minority has a seat at the budget table and has insisted that they will not support new taxes," she told Red County San Diego in August. "So it is up to the Democrats, who control the agenda, to put forth a budget that Republicans can accept."
AD 75 - Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego
Businessman, Iraq veteran.
Replaces George Plescia, R-La Jolla
District: Part of San Diego County
Main cities: Escondido, La Jolla, Poway, San Diego
It takes a certain something to appear in your first political TV ad in skin-tight biker shorts.
But that is exactly what Nathan Fletcher did. An avid triathlete and decorated former Marine who served in Iraq and Africa, Fletcher has a sterling resume for a young GOP officeholder.
He can also bend the ear of his wife -- Mindy Tucker Fletcher, a former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger -- any time he's looking for political advice. Mindy also served on President Bush's two presidential campaigns.
Nathan is yet another GOP signer of the no-new-taxes pledge.
"We need to create a true spending cap and rainy day fund to ensure budget stability and the full and recurring funding of our most vital services and programs," he says on his campaign site.
Watch that first TV ad below:
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