O’Connell Succeeds Roos in Leadership
Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) was elected Speaker pro tem by his colleagues Monday.
O’Connell, 39, first elected to the Assembly in 1982, succeeds Mike Roos, a Los Angeles Democrat who has resigned to head a group formed to improve Los Angeles public schools.
O’Connell defeated Assemblywoman Bev Hansen (R-Santa Rosa) on a 41-27 party-line vote. The action, which climaxed weeks of speculation, signals that the former Oxnard High School government teacher has become part of the inner circle of the Assembly’s Democratic leadership.
The other top leaders remain Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) and Majority Leader Thomas M. Hannigan (D-Fairfield).
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