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Roy Ashburn
Roy Ashburn (b. 1954) is a former Republican member of the California State Senate, representing District 18 from 2002 to 2010.
Prior to his election to the state senate, Ashburn served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002, was a Kern County supervisor from 1984 to 1996 and ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2004.
Committees
Ashburn was a member of:
He was a vice-chair of:
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Ashburn was a primary sponsor of California Proposition 13, Seismic Retrofitting (June 2010), which was on the June 8, 2010 ballot in the state.
"Sacramento Six"
Senator Ashburn on the California budget |
Senator Ashburn, along with five other Republicans in the California State Legislature voted for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's solution to the state's $41 billion dollar funding gap. The six Republicans became known as the Sacramento Six.[1]
A recall effort targeting Ashburn for his tax hike votes in early 2009 was formed in March 2009 but later abandoned.[2]
Elections
2010
- See also: California State Senate elections, 2010
Ashburn was ineligible to run for re-election in 2010 because of California's term limits.
2006
In 2006, Ashburn was re-elected to the California State Senate, District 18. He finished with 147,767 votes and was followed by Fred Davis with 59,187 votes and Matthew Rick with 4,923 votes.[3] Ashburn raised $383,488 in campaign funds.
| California State Senate, District 18 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
 Roy Ashburn (R)
|
147,767 | |||
| Fred Davis (D) | 59,187 | |||
| Matthew Rick (G) | 4,923 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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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.[4][5]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Ashburn ranked as a 17.[6]
Noteworthy events
DUI charge
Arrest
- See also: Politicians convicted of DUI
Ashburn was pulled over in downtown Sacramento around 2:10, the morning of March 3, 2010 for allegedly driving erratically. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI after being given a sobriety test. Ashburn was taken to Sacramento County jail, given a blood-alcohol test, booked and released.
In a statement Ashburn said, "I am deeply sorry for my actions and offer no excuse for my poor judgment. I accept complete responsibility for my conduct and am prepared to accept the consequences for what I did."[7]
Homosexuality
A report was released in the days following the arrest that Ashburn had been at a gay nightclub on the night of his arrest. During a radio interview on the morning of March 8, Ashburn ended the speculation, stating, "I'm gay. Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long."[8] Ashburn, who has a history of voting against gay rights issues, explained that his votes were based on the feelings of the majority of his constituents.
Sentenced
On April 14, Ashburn pleaded no contest to 2 counts of driving while intoxicated. He was sentenced to 2 days in jail and 3 years probation. Additionally his driver's license was suspended, he had to attend a class for DUI offenders and paid fines and fees of nearly $2,000.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for Roy + Ashburn + California + Senate
See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate
- California Senate Committees
- California state legislative districts
External links
- Ashburn's senate profile
- Vote Smart legislative profile of Ashburn
- Vote Smart biographical profile of Ashburn
- Campaign contributions: 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "'Sacramento Six' face conservative backlash," March 22, 2009
- ↑ Recall Roy
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2006 General election results," accessed December 8, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Mercury News, "GOP state senator arrested on suspicion of DUI," March 3, 2010
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Sen. Roy Ashburn: 'I'm gay'," March 8, 2010
- ↑ Desert Dispatch, "Sen. Ashburn gets jail, probation following DUI arrest," April 14, 2010
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 18 2002-2010 |
Succeeded by Jean Fuller |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
