The standoff led to days of division in the Assembly between Rendon supporters and those rallying behind Rivas. So he initially shrugged off Rivas when he said he had the votes to take him out as speaker. Rendon had previously survived many attempts at his job, which usually ended in embarrassment for his challengers. Until next time, send your comments, suggestions and news tips to takes his shot That same evening, a proposal Rendon backed to allow legislative staffers to unionize was dramatically killed by the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee chair, who disliked the proposal despite its broad support among staffers and many Democrats.īut Rendon’s biggest problem bubbled up in May of 2022, when Rivas made his swing for the speakership.ĭid someone forward you this? Sign up here to get California Politics in your inbox. Gavin Newsom’s top priorities for the year. Last year, a bill to limit who can obtain a concealed-carry license in California died on the final night of session amid Democratic infighting, despite it being one of Democratic Gov. Rendon’s leadership approach also meant that bills he supported could die on the whim of one or two lawmakers. Rendon was accused of letting the measure languish for hours in his chamber before bringing it up for a vote, at which point it was too late for the Senate to finalize the measure before a midnight deadline. The backlash piled on after the housing bill died that same night. So the new mom - in the middle of nursing - hauled her fussy baby to the floor when the proposal came up so she could cast her vote in person after Rendon rejected her request to vote remotely. Wicks’ support was needed to help pass a contentious housing measure. Rendon’s legacy will include the final night of the 2020 legislative session, when he was publicly lambasted and eventually forced to apologize for making Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland) come to the Capitol during the COVID-19 pandemic despite recently giving birth. Your support helps us deliver the news that matters most. Despite the political turmoil, or maybe because of it, Rendon helped grow the Democratic caucus to an ironclad supermajority, and added enough women and LGBTQ+ members to help the Legislature break diversity records.Įnjoying this newsletter? Consider subscribing to the Los Angeles Times Rendon led the chamber through the COVID-19 emergency and Trump era, a time when public health measures, abortion and gun control became heavily politicized issues in state legislatures. His members modified California’s police use-of-force law under his leadership, expanded renter protections and cracked down on predatory lending practices. Without authoring legislation himself, Rendon helped Democrats earn major policy wins such as increasing the minimum wage strengthening labor protections for gig and farmworkers launching universal preschool and broadening a program to combat climate change. “He wanted it to be a more collaborative process, a process that involved all the members.” Win after legislative win “He had a different vision for (the speakership),” said Bill Wong, a longtime Rendon ally who served as political director for the Assembly Democratic caucus. Instead, he kept a bird’s-eye view of the chamber over the last seven years, where he could push for more sweeping policy changes behind the scenes without getting bogged down with the daily slog of politicking. Rendon made the decision early on that he’d abandon the more militant and autocratic style that speakers before him preferred as a way to keep members in check. (I did some math, with help from Alex Vassar at the California State Library, and Rendon narrowly beats out former Speaker Jesse Unruh for the silver medal.) His unusually long run - prompted, in part by a voter-approved change to term limits allowing lawmakers to serve in one house for 12 years - earned him a spot in the state’s history books as the second-longest serving Assembly speaker, second only to Willie Brown, who led the chamber in the 1980s and ‘90s. Rendon’s tenure began in March 2016, when he ascended to power under the promise of a “decentralized” speakership and leaving much of the decision-making up to his members and the chairs he hand-selected to lead policy committees. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
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