Convicted felon Roderick Wright (D-Calif.) to resign from state Senate
Source: Los Angeles Times
Democratic State Sen. Roderick D. Wright said Monday that he will resign from office effective Sept. 22-- bowing to pressure three days after a judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail on felony perjury and voting fraud charges for lying about living in his Senate district when he ran for office in 2008.
Wright, who was threatened with an expulsion vote if he did not step down, agreed to step down but asked for a week to say goodbye to his staff and constituents.
... Wright had originally proposed to step down Oct. 31, but Senate Democratic leaders worried the longer he stayed in office the bigger issue it would become in the Nov. 4 election, where their party is struggling to regain a two-thirds majority. In agreeing to delay Wright's resignation one week, Senate leaders considered that it would cost about $20,000 to reconvene the Senate, which had adjourned until December, for an expulsion vote.
Wright is the first state legislator to resign over a criminal conviction in 20 years. The last lawmaker to quit under those circumstances was state Sen. Frank Hill (R-Whittier), who resigned in 1994 after being found guilty of extortion, money laundering and conspiracy in a corruption sting known as Shrimpscam, state officials said.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-convicted-felon-roderick-wright-to-resign-from-state-senate-20140915-story.html
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