Posted by
landandy on Thursday, December 10, 2009 8:32:54 PM
California Assembly members voted to support Democrat John Perez as their next speaker. The move puts Mr. Perez in line to become the first openly gay official to lead any state legislature, according to the Victory Fund, which supports gay and lesbian candidates around the country
Democrats
cheap ugg, who dominate the state's Assembly, voted unanimously to support the 40-year-old legislator from Los Angeles. Mr. Perez will succeed Karen Bass, the first black female leader of any state legislature. A formal vote to officially maker Mr. Perez speaker will be held next month.
The role of the state's Assembly speaker is especially important given California's troubled fiscal situation. As speaker, one of Mr. Perez's main jobs will be to negotiate budget pacts on behalf of Assembly Democrats. California faces annual $20 billion budget shortfalls until at least June 2015.
In a
ugg outletstatement, Mr. Perez said his top priority will be "helping the state recover from the recession."
Mr. Perez is a former union leader and the cousin of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who also served as a state Assembly speaker. As a first-term legislator, he could hold his leadership position for five years before term limits force him out of office.