Senate leader calls on Sen. Calderon to resign or face suspension

SACRAMENTO -- Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said the Senate Democratic Caucus agreed Friday to ask Sen. Ronald Calderon to resign or take a leave of absence, and if he refuses, the Senate would move to suspend him pending the outcome of the criminal case.

Calderon, a Democrat from Montebello, was charged Friday with 24 federal counts involving the taking of $100,000 in bribes to affect legislation.

Steinberg said in a statement that he values the legal process and the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty.

“Given the seriousness of charges that strike at the very heart of what it means to be a public official, Senator Calderon’s continued service is a cloud over all the important work that we must get done this year,” Steinberg said. “It is in the best interests of the people and the Senate if he resigns. I call on him to do so. The Senate Rules committee has already stripped him of his committee chairmanship and his committee assignments.”

Steinberg said that if Calderon refuses to resign, he should at least take a leave of absence until the criminal case is resolved.

“If he does not resign, or take that leave of absence voluntarily, the Senate will seek to suspend him,” Steinberg said.

Mark Geragos, an attorney for Calderon, said no decision would be made before Monday.

A Senator can be suspended by a majority vote of the body. Expulsion would require a two-thirds vote.

A suspension or leave of absence would suspend a lawmaker’s ability to claim per diem expenses, but the Legislature has no Constitutional power to suspend salary, said Rhys Williams, a spokesman for Steinberg.

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patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com