John Perez

John Perez
California State Assembly District 53
Incumbent
In office
2008-Present
Term ends
December 1, 2014
Years in position	5
Party	Democratic
Leadership
Speaker of the House
2009-Present
Compensation
Base salary	$95,290.56 per year
Per diem	$141.86/day
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 6, 2012
First elected	November 2008
Next election	November 4, 2014
Term limits	3 terms (6 years)
Personal
Profession	Legislator
Websites
Office website
Campaign website

John Perez is a Democratic member of the California State Assembly, representing District 53. He was first elected to the chamber in 2008. On December 10, 2009, he was chosen as the Speaker of the House by his Democratic Party colleagues in the state assembly. He was formally elected to the post in a floor vote on January 7, 2010, and sworn in on March 1. Perez is the first openly gay man to hold the position of Speaker of the Assembly in the California State Assembly. He replaced Karen Bass.

Perez is also the chairman of the California Assembly Democratic Caucus.

Biography

Perez's professional experience includes working as the Political Director of the United Food and Commercial Workers He has served on the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the Democratic National Committee, and on the boards of the California League of Conservation Voters and Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation.

In August 2012, he was included in a list of 20 Latino political rising stars compiled by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Perez served on the following committees:

California Committee Assignments, 2013
• Joint Rules

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Perez served on these committees:

California Committee Assignments, 2011
• Rules

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Perez served on these committees:

California Committee Assignments, 2009
• Appropriations
• Business and Professions
• Transportation
• Water, Parks and Wildlife

Issues

Sponsored legislation

Perez's sponsored legislation includes:

• AB 780 - Elections: failsafe ballots
• AB 1045 - HIV and AIDS reporting
• AB 1139 - Income taxes: credits: enterprise zones

For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.

Disincorporation of Vernon

In 2011, Pérez submitted a bill (AB46) to the California State Legislature to disincorporate Vernon as a city. This was partly done in response to reports of rampant corruption. The Perez plan would have been the first forced disincorporation of a city since Hornitos (in Maricopa County) was disincorporated in 1973. Assemblyman Pérez argued that Vernon lacks a legitimate electorate and postulated that dissolving the city would be the only way to permanently root out corruption. The proposed legislation failed on a 13-17 vote in the California State Senate. Perez heatedly lambasted fellow Democratic legislators Charles Calderon and Kevin de León, saying that they are responsible for any future misdeeds in the city.

Campaign themes

2012

Perez's campaign website lists the following issues:

• Jobs and the Economy

Excerpt: "John believes getting Californians back to work should be our number one priority. In one of his first acts as Speaker, John pushed legislation to create thousands of jobs by expanding green businesses in California."

• Education

Excerpt: "John understands the importance of quality education to our children’s future. A world-class education is no longer a luxury, it is a necessity. Today our children are competing with kids from India and China – and all over the world."

• Health Care

Excerpt: "One in four Californians lack health insurance. Millions more struggle with rising health care costs. John believes that affordable health care is critical to creating jobs and getting our economy back on track."

• The Environment

Excerpt: "John knows that clean air and clean water are vital to the quality of life of every Californian. As a former board member of the California League of Conservation Voters, John understands California’s environmental challenges."

• Budget

Excerpt: "John understands that a key to fixing our state budget is to ensure public input and independent review. He pledged that the budget will not be written behind closed doors."

Legislative scorecard

Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score. ,

On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Perez ranked as a 94.

Elections

2012

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2012

Perez won re-election in the 2012 election for California State Assembly District 53. Due to redistricting following the 2010 census, he was displaced from District 46. He advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Michael Aldapa (D) and Roger Young (D). Perez defeated Jose Trinidad Aguilar (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.

California State Assembly, District 53, General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John A. Perez Incumbent	82.8%	61,651
	Republican	Jose Trinidad Aguilar	17.2%	12,803
Total Votes				74,454

California State Assembly, District 53 Blanket Primary, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Michael Aldapa	14.5%	2,494
	Democratic	John Perez Incumbent	58.5%	10,051
	Democratic	Roger Young	10.1%	1,738
	Republican	Jose Trinidad Aguilar	16.8%	2,889
Total Votes				17,172

2010

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2010

Perez won re-election to the 46th District Seat in 2010. He had no opposition.

2008

In 2008 Perez was elected to the California State Assembly District 46. Perez (D) finished with 51,556 votes while his opponent Manuel Aldana (R) finished with 9,180 votes.

California State Assembly District 46
Candidates		Votes
John Perez (D)		51,556
Manuel Aldana (R)		9,180

Campaign donors

2012

Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.

2010

In 2010, Perez raised $2,058,587 in contributions.

His four largest contributors were:

Donor	Amount
AT&T	$23,400
California State Pipe Trades Council	$15,600
Longshore & Warehouse Local 13	$15,600
California Dental Association	$15,600

2008

Below are Perez's top 5 campaign contributors in the 2008 election:

Contributor	2008 total
Food & Commercial Workers Region 8 States Council	$14,400
CA Medical Assoc	$14,400
California State Council of Service Employees	$14,400
Building & Construction Trades Council of CA	$14,400
Food & Commercial Workers Local 8	$14,400

Other top donors included the California Teachers Association, the Peace Officers Research Association of California, and more than a dozen labor unions. Altogether, Perez raised nearly $1 million for his 2008 campaign, earning him a reputation as a "prodigious fundraiser."

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term John + Perez + California + Legislature

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

John Perez News Feed

• A Blueprint for California's Budget - Huffington Post
• California Assembly Speaker P
• Senators push alternate budget plans - Los Angeles Times
• In the darkness of the California Legislature - San Francisco Chronicle (blog)
• Legislative analyst sees $3.2 billion more in California revenues than Governor - 89.3 KPCC (blog)
• Assembly adds its version of school finance reform to the mix - EdSource Today
• Manuel Perez, John Benoit avoid awkward moment - The Desert Sun
• Senate District 16: Updated vote count means runoff likely for Vidak, Perez - Fresno Bee
• P
• AP Exclusive: Calif. exchange granted secrecy - U-T San Diego

External links

Suggest a link

• John Perez's campaign website
• Official state assembly website of John Perez
• Legislative profile of John Perez on Project Vote Smart
• Biographical profile of John Perez on Project Vote Smart
• Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008
• Facebook page
• Twitter feed
• YouTube channel

References

Political offices
Preceded by Betsy Butler (D)	California Assembly District 53 2012-present	Succeeded by NA
Preceded by -	California State Assembly District 46 2008–2012	Succeeded by Adrin Nazarian (D)