California Assembly elects new leader after showdown over speaker post
Madera
The Democratic Party has chosen its next leader at a critical moment.
The party’s top elected official, Speaker-elect Sharon Runner, won a landslide victory Monday night, securing the Assembly’s top spot after a months-long struggle over who would lead the powerful chamber.
The win came less than a month after the resignation of Nancy Nadelbach, after the House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach her over a personal matter.
“I’m happy that Sharon Runner has been elected by the Democratic majority. Her hard work and dedication deserve the recognition of our membership,” Speaker-elect Runner said in a statement.
Runner said she would work to make the Assembly a “strong and effective legislative body” that serves its constituents by focusing on “common sense” issues in order to “improve the quality of life for all Californians.”
“We did what we needed to do to have a peaceful transition and get this election behind us,” Runner said.
Nadelbach had been a stalwart on the Assembly floor and a passionate defender of her members, but she was embroiled in a dispute with fellow Democrats after she disclosed on Fox News that her ex-boyfriend was having an affair with her.
Nancy Nadelbach was just the latest Democrat to see her career end in a way that had been predicted for some time, even as she held the leadership post.
The loss of Nadelbach, who represented the 45th Assembly District, was a blow to the party and a morale booster to her successor in the Assembly.
Runner, a state senator, had fought back against the opposition’s attempts to replace her with Speaker-elect Alex Padilla. Running away from the speaker’s chair wasn’t an easy task for Runner, who faced questions over whether she had been out of the state in an attempt to