Attempt to Install Wright as Top Assembly Republican Fails

A move to install Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) as leader of the Assembly Republicans has fizzled, according to several GOP lawmakers.

Assemblyman Richard L. Mountjoy (R-Monrovia) on Monday described the effort to oust Assembly GOP Leader Ross Johnson as “very much short-lived to say the least.”

Wright’s bid surfaced about two weeks ago. Lawmakers who asked not to be identified cited complaints about the leadership style of Johnson and his top lieutenants. As a result, one lawmaker said, Wright was asked to consider replacing Johnson.

Others said the effort stalled when Wright’s supporters failed to secure a majority in the 32-member Assembly GOP Caucus to strip Johnson of his position.

First elected in 1980, Wright has been regarded as a Johnson ally. Indeed, Wright said she “didn’t do anything to begin with, and I’m not doing anything now.”

But Wright maintained that she would continue to talk to other lawmakers about a variety of issues, including concerns about leadership. “I’m not going to change the way I do things around here,” said Wright, whose district straddles Ventura and Los Angeles counties.

Since he was elected leader in 1988, Johnson has beaten back several challenges. Just last November, Republicans voted 23 to 9 for Johnson over Assemblyman Bill Jones, a Fresno rancher, who had claimed to have commitments from enough Republicans to oust Johnson. Assemblyman Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) also failed in an earlier bid to remove Johnson.

Johnson on Monday declined to comment on reports that there had been a renewed threat to his leadership. But one legislative source close to the Republican leader suggested that because of splits among GOP lawmakers “there will always be someone who will take a pop at” Johnson.

Assemblyman Pat Nolan (R-Glendale), a former GOP Assembly leader, said that sometimes it seems that every few months an effort is made to knock off the Republican leader.

He dismissed the latest flurry of activity as “much ado about nothing.” Said Nolan: “There’s a rule of thumb I have: Either they have the votes and they do it, or they talk about it.”