State Sen. Wright jail sentence could trigger special election

The sentencing of Democratic state Sen. Roderick D. Wright to 90 days in jail and a lifetime ban from public office on voting fraud charges Friday could end up requiring a special election but is unlikely to have a significant impact on the ability of Democrats to regain a supermajority in the Senate, officials said.

“Starting today, he’s barred from holding any future elective office,” said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney’s Office.

If the state Senate wants to remove Wright from his current office, it would have to vote to expel him, she said.

Wright has not said whether he will resign, but the Senate leadership warned him earlier this year that he would be expelled if he is sentenced to jail and does not step down.

Once Wright’s office is vacant, Gov. Jerry Brown will have 14 days to issue a proclamation calling a special election and it must be set at least 126 days, but not more than 140 days, from the date of his proclamation. The primary for the special election would be held nine or 10 Tuesdays before the special election runoff.

Wright was a moderate, but his heavily Democratic district means he would likely be replaced by a more liberal person.

The Democrats are two votes short of a two-thirds majority. Democratic Sens. Leland Yee of San Francisco and Ronald S. Calderon of Montebello were suspended in March.

Yee and Calderon face federal charges of public corruption. Both have pleaded not guilty. Neither could run for re-election because of term limits so their seats will be filled Nov. 4.

Wright’s 35^th Senate District is safely Democratic (only 14% of registered voters are Republican), so the majority party can expect to maintain that seat in a special election, according to Allan Hoffenblum, who publishes California Target Book, a nonpartisan election guide.

Democrats would still need to win at least one of three competitive seats on Nov. 4 to have a chance of regaining a supermajority, and their candidates placed second to Republicans in the primary for all three seats.

If they win one of the three competitive races Nov. 4, “then it’s just a matter of time” before they get their supermajority back, given that Wright’s district will likely elect a Democrat, Hoffenblum said.

The Senate begins the next session with an organizational meeting Dec. 1 and then resumes the session for good on Jan. 5. As a result, the supermajority could be back in place, even if Wright resigns or is expelled, well before key votes are cast on the state budget and legislation starting in June.

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