The speakership scuffle continued yesterday, with current Assembly leader Karen Bass crowning Assemblyman John Pérez her heir apparent.
Bass said yesterday Pérez has secured the support of at least 29 Democrats. Those numbers would give him the blessing of the majority of the caucus, a move that typically clears the path for a "yes" vote by the full Assembly.
But Pérez's rival for the post, Assemblyman Kevin de León , and de León's supporters didn't appear to be ready to wave a white flag Wednesday.
As de León and Pérez duke it out on the main stage, there's another player who's found himself in the fray:
Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles.
Cedillo and Pérez were set to pull your basic seat switcheroo in 2010.
Cedillo, who's termed out of his Senate seat, has launched a bid for the 46th Assembly District-- a seat he previously represented for two terms.
That seat would be the one currently occupied by Pérez , who was expected to make a run to represent Cedillo's senate district.
Going for the speaker's post, however, means that Pérez plans to stay put.
Team Pérez has argued that one of their guy's key draws is that he's got five years left in the Assembly, which they say will bring stability to lower-house leadership.
But what about the possibility that Pérez will get knocked out in the June 2010 primary, shrinking his the five years supporters say he could serve as speaker to a mere five more months?
Bass insisted at a Wednesday press briefing that Cedillo "will not win that election."
"The election's a lifetime away," she continued. "I'd just bet at the end of the day, he doesn't [run]."
June may be a "lifetime" away, but Cedillo says his lifelong ties to the district will keep him in the running.
"I'm running for my seat that I've been in for 10 years. It's a district that I grew up in," he told The Bee, noting that he experienced his First Communion and went to high school within the 46th District bounds.
We'll always have water: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is down in San Diego today, touting the recent water package in remarks at the Association of California Water Agencies' 2009 Fall Conference and Exhibition.
Gov2010: Still-undeclared Democratic guv hopeful Jerry Brown is holding a big-ticket fundraiser in San Francisco tonight. Co-chairing the cocktail reception will set you back $50,000, with individual tickets running for $2,500. We hope it's top-shelf liquor for those prices. On the GOP side, Tom Campbell is set to speak at the Silicon Valley Association of General Counsels annual conference in Santa Clara.
Susan Ferriss contributed to this report.
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