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Roderick Wright
| Roderick Wright | ||
 | ||
| California State Senate District 35 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2008-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| December 5, 2016 | ||
| Years in position | 5 | |
| Party | Democratic | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $95,291/year | |
| Per diem | $141.86/day | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| Last election | November 6, 2012 | |
| First elected | 2008 | |
| Next election | November 8, 2016 | |
| Term limits | 2 terms (8 years) | |
| Prior offices | ||
| California State Assembly | ||
| 1996-2002 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Pepperdine University | |
| Personal | ||
| Place of birth | Chicago, IL | |
| Profession | Business Owner | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
 | ||
Contents |
Senator Wright served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002.
Biography
Wright has a B.A. in Urban Studies and City Planning from Pepperdine University.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Wright served on the following committees:
| California Committee Assignments, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Budget and Fiscal Review | ||||
| • Energy, Utilities and Communications | ||||
| • Governmental Organization, Chair | ||||
| • Human Services | ||||
| • Joint Rules | ||||
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Wright served on these committees:
| California Committee Assignments, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Budget and Fiscal Review | ||||
| • Energy, Utilities and Communications | ||||
| • Governmental Organization, Chair | ||||
| • Human Services | ||||
| • Rules | ||||
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Wright served on these committees:
| California Committee Assignments, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Budget and Fiscal Review | ||||
| • Governmental Organization | ||||
| • Energy, Utilities and Communications | ||||
| • Public Safety | ||||
Issues
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. [1],[2]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Wright ranked as a 53. [3]
Elections
2012
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2012
Wright ran in the 2012 election for California State Senate District 35. He and Charlotte Svolos (R) advanced past the June 5, 2012, blanket primary, defeating Paul Butterfield (D). Wright was victorious in the general election on November 6, 2012. [4][5]
| California State Senate, District 35, General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Roderick "Rod" Wright Incumbent |
76.5% | 192,483 | |
| Republican | Charlotte A. Svolos | 23.5% | 59,077 | |
| Total Votes | 251,560 | |||
| California State Senate, District 35 Blanket Primary, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |
Charlotte Svolos |
57.4% | 40,312 | |
| Democratic | Rod Wright Incumbent |
26.8% | 18,793 | |
| Democratic | Paul Butterfield | 15.8% | 11,091 | |
| Total Votes | 70,196 | |||
2008
In 2008 Wright was elected to California State Senate, District 25. He finished with 179,654 votes while his opponent Lydia Gutierrez finished with 70,199 votes.[6] Wright raised $570,968 for his campaign fund.
| California State Senate, District 25 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Roderick Wright (D)
|
179,654 | |||
| Lydia Gutierrez | 70,199 | |||
Campaign donors
2012
Campaign donor information is not yet available for this year.
|
|
2010 (Off-cycle)
| California State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Roderick Wright's campaign in 2010 | |
| AT&T | $12,589 |
| California State Council Of Laborers | $10,000 |
| Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 | $7,800 |
| California State Association Of Electrical Workers | $7,800 |
| Time Warner | $7,800 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $671,101 |
2008
In 2008 Wright raised $570,968 in campaign donations. His top four donors are listed below.[7]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| California Teachers Association | $14,400 |
| California State council of Service Employees | $14,400 |
| Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters | $14,400 |
| AT&T | $13,300 |
Controversies
Residency investigation
The Los Angeles County district attorney's office confirmed in late September 2009 that it was investigating Wright based on the possibility that Wright incorrectly reported his legal address of residence when he sought his state senate seat in 2008.[8]
When Wright registered to vote on March 14, 2007, he listed as address as being a four-plex in Inglewood.
The issue of residency was a campaign issue in the heavily-contested June 2008 primary election. The residency of contender Mervyn Dymally and of Wright was questioned because both of them owned homes in the district, and in more affluent areas outside of the district. At that time, when questioned about where he lived, Wright told a local newspaper, "It wasn't like I switched last week to be eligible. I've owned the house for years. It's a kind of nonissue."[8]
Registration documents are filed under penalty of perjury, which is a felony.
David Demerjian of the Los Angeles District Attorney's public integrity division said he could not discuss details of the ongoing investigation into Wright but did go so far as to say that when the office investigates residency issues, they are generally interested in "whether false documents were filed."[8]
The charges against Wright were thrown out in March 2011 by a California Superior Court judge for being improperly filed, but reinstated by the California 2nd District Court of Appeals in July. Wright once again faces all eight charges -- two counts of perjury, one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy and five counts of voting fraud.[9]
He pleaded not guilty to the charges.[10]
25th district profile
In the City of Los Angeles, the 25th includes part of Westchester near Los Angeles International Airport, as well as parts of South Los Angeles and a small portion of San Pedro that connects the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the remainder of the district.[11]
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Roderick + Wright + California + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Roderick Wright News Feed
- Lawmakers want to restore dental care to Medi-Cal - abc7news.com
- California Senate approves measures aimed at reducing gun violence - Los Angeles Times
- California bills on firearms, violence clear hurdles - Los Angeles Times
- Lawmaker Wants to Make Sports Betting Legal in Calif. - NBC Bay Area
- INTERNET GAMING: Online poker bill still no sure bet - Press-Enterprise
- Third Online Poker Bill In California Comes Forward - CardPlayer.com
- California Considering Online Poker Once Again - Online Casino Archives
- California Community and State Coalition defeats Senator Leno's Extension of ... - HispanicBusiness.com (press release)
- Senate opposes ceding control of parking at Coliseum - Los Angeles Times
- USC's Coliseum Take-Over Bid Slowed By Parking Lots - Neon Tommy
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External links
References
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard", December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene", December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly", Downloadable 2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard
- ↑ California Secretary of State, Official candidate list
- ↑ California Secretary of State - Official 2012 Primary Results
- ↑ California State Senate official election results
- ↑ Campaign donations
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Los Angeles Times, "If Sen. Wright lives outside his district, it may not matter", September 28, 2009
- ↑ LATimes.com, "Two charges against state senator reinstated," July 12, 2011.
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Some California legislators bring arrest records to their campaigns," May 5, 2012
- ↑ Overview of Senate District 25
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Harman (R) |
California State Senate District 35 2008–present |
Succeeded by NA |
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