Roderick Wright
Roderick D. "Rod" Wright is a former Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing District 35 from 2008 to September 22, 2014.
Wright resigned in 2014 following his conviction and sentencing in a perjury and voting fraud case.[1] In 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) pardoned Wright.
Wright served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002.
Biography
Wright earned his 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 |
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 blanket primary on June 5, 2012, defeating Paul Butterfield (D). Wright was victorious in the general election on November 6, 2012.[2][3][4]
| 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 | |||
| 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.[5] Wright raised $570,968 for his campaign fund.
| California State Senate, District 25 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Roderick Wright (D)
|
179,654 | |||
| Lydia Gutierrez | 70,199 | |||
Noteworthy events
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.[6]
When Wright registered to vote on March 14, 2007, he listed his 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 residencies of contender Mervyn Dymally and Wright were questioned because both of them owned homes in the district as well as 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."[6]
Registration documents were filed under penalty of perjury, which is a felony. 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 more faced all eight charges: two counts of perjury, one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy and five counts of voting fraud.[7] He pleaded not guilty to the charges.[8]
A prejury trial against Wright began on January 2, 2014, in Los Angeles. Wright’s lawyer, Kevin Winston McKesson, disputed the charges when contacted by media sources on December 30, 2013. “He’s complied with all the residency requirements as required by law,” McKesson said, adding that Wright had “multiple places that he owns, which the code allows.”[9][10]
Wright was convicted on all eight counts on January 28, 2014.[11] He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and a lifetime ban from holding public office. He was not automatically removed from his current position, however.[12] He resigned from his position on September 22, 2014, following his conviction and sentencing.[1]
On March 28, 2014, Wright was suspended from the chamber by a 28-1 vote along with fellow Sens. Ronald S. Calderon (D) and Leland Yee (D).[13]
On November 21, 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown (D) pardoned Wright. In 2018, Brown signed SB 1250, changing residency rules and rendering Wright's ownership of multiple homes and living situation legal.[14]
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2014.
- California Chamber of Commerce — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- California Civil Liberties Council — Legislators are scored by the California Civil Liberties Council on their votes on "bills related to due process, privacy rights, equal protection, and criminal justice."
- California Clean Money Action Fund — Legislators are scored by California Clean Money Action on their votes on bills "to limit the undue influence of Big Money in politics in California."
- California Environmental Justice Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- California League of Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Congress of California Seniors — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that relate to senior issues.
- Consumer Federation of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to consumers.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by the organization.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on taxpayer-related issues.
- National Federation of Independent Business — Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Secular Coalition for California — Legislators are scored on their stances on secular policy.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2013.
- California Environmental Justice Alliance — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- California Humane Society — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills and letters supported by CHS.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- California ProLife Council — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by CPC.
- Capital Resource Institute — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to family issues.
- Congress of California Seniors — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to senior issues.
- Consumer Federation of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to consumers.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by EQ CA.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on taxpayer-related issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by PP.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Below you can find the scorecards found for the California State Legislature in 2012.
- California Clean Money Action Fund — Legislators are scored by California Clean Money Action on their votes on bills "to limit the undue influence of Big Money in politics in California."
- California Humane Society — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills and letters signed supported by CHS.
- California Labor Federation — Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- California League of Conservation Voters — Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Clean Water Action — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to water issues.
- Congress of California Seniors — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to senior issues.
- Consumer Federation of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to consumers.
- Equality California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by EQ CA.
- Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association — Legislators are scored on their votes on taxpayer-related issues.
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Sierra Club California — Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.
- The American Conservative Union — Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
In 2011, the California State Legislature was either not in session or no scorecards were found. Please contact us if you would like to suggest a scorecard.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Roderick + Wright + California + Senate
See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate
- California Senate Committees
- California State Senate District 35
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2000, 1998
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Los Angeles Times, "Sen. Wright to resign Sept. 22, start sentence Oct. 31," September 15, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2012 General election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 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
- ↑ ‘’The Sacramento Bee,’’ “The Buzz: As California lawmakers convene for 2014, trial against Sen. Rod Wright set to begin,” January 2, 2014
- ↑ ‘’Los Angeles Times,’’ “State Sen. Roderick Wright’s trial to get underway this week,” January 2, 2014
- ↑ latimes.com, "California Sen. Rod Wright convicted of perjury, voter fraud," January 28, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "State Sen. Wright jail sentence could trigger special election," September 12, 2014
- ↑ Associated Press, "California Senate suspends 3 Democratic lawmakers," May 28, 2014
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Jerry Brown gets OK to pardon convicted politician Roderick Wright," November 20, 2018
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tom Harman (R) |
California State Senate District 35 2008–2014 |
Succeeded by Isadore Hall, III (D) |
