“How we achieve these goals and at what pace will take great thought and imagination mixed with pragmatic caution,” Brown said in Monday’s Inaugural Address for his fourth term as governor. “And we will need active collaboration at every stage with our scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs, businesses and officials at all levels.”

Yet, as state leaders take up Brown’s ambitious renewable energy agenda, two of California’s most opinionated energy experts will be missing from the debate.

For more than a decade the Capitol’s two most forceful energy voices have been State Sen. Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles, an influential member of key energy committees, and Public Utilities Commission President Michael Peevey, who spent 12 years as the state’s top energy regulator. Last fall, both were brought down by scandal.

Wright objected to current renewable energy mandate

Wright’s departure, in particular, eliminates a major legislative roadblock for Brown. A former chairman of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce and influential member of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, Wright had been the Legislature’s biggest critic of renewable-energy mandates. That was until last September when he resigned his position after being convicted of multiple felonies for lying about his residence.

In 2011, California lawmakers approved Senate Bill 2X1, the state’s first major renewable energy mandate. The bill required that a third of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2020. This requirement, known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS, was criticized for legislating by popular slogan — rather than setting out a clear plan for achieving its goal.

“Legislation to increase the RPS goals to 33 percent has been attempted in each of the last two sessions,” a Senate bill analysis of SB2X1 stated. “There has been little or no debate about the goal, but there has been great controversy over how to get there and from where the generation should be secured.”

When the bill reached the Senate Floor, Wright expressed concerns about the cost to consumers and taxpayers.

“Today we are about to vote on a bill that could result in a 15 percent to 20 percent rate increase,” Wright, the most passionate critic of the bill, said in his floor speech. “SB2X could very well result in a $1.5 billion hit to the general fund without any demonstrable benefits.”

“Thirty-three percent by 2020 is a great slogan,” Wright complained, “but what are we trying to achieve?”

Brown’s renewable energy adviser set to lead PUC

Brown defended the move as the first step in the state’s long-term renewable energy effort.

“While reaching a 33 percent renewables portfolio standard will be an important milestone,” Brown said in his signing message, “it is really just a starting point — a floor, not a ceiling.”

Brown had help in crafting the mandate from his then-renewable-energy adviser, Michael Picker, who was appointed last month to take over as president of the PUC. If confirmed by the state Senate, Picker can be expected to push Brown’s renewable energy agenda at the PUC. After all, according to Smart Voter, it was Picker’s job in the governor’s office, to coordinate “the statewide effort to help reduce California’s reliance on polluting coal and fossil fuels and bring us closer to our goal of providing at least 33 percent of electricity from renewable generation sources.”

For all his faults, and there are many well-documented by NBC Bay Area’s Tony Kovaleski, Peevey pushed back against elected officials. Throughout his controversial tenure, Peevey seemed impervious to public criticism. He also sought “more flexibility in implementing California’s RPS law,” according to an Restructuring Today, an energy industry newsletter.

Lawmakers unlikely to challenge Brown

It’s unlikely that state lawmaker will fill the energy vacuum left by Wright. In the Assembly, the Utilities and Commerce Committee will be chaired by Assemblyman Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood. A well-liked lawmaker with two years’ experience on energy, Rendon isn’t expected to rock the boat. In December, Rendon said his top priority as chair of the utilities committee will be transparency.

“Transparency in deciding how California’s businesses and families invest in energy will play a critical role in assuring our state’s vibrant, smart and safe renewable energy future,” he said in a press release announcing his appointment.

Similarly, State Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, who took over as chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications, won’t thwart Brown’s renewable energy agenda. Last session, he introduced legislation to “force the state’s three investor-owned utilities — SDG&E, PG&E and Southern California Edison — to buy 500 megawatts of geothermal power annually from the Imperial Valley by 2024.” The bill died in the Assembly.

According to Hueso’s web site, his district “incorporates all of Imperial County,” which includes Imperial Valley.

Rate hikes: Wright’s prediction proving true

And what does this all mean for consumers?

Wright’s prediction that RPS would increase energy rates is proving true. School districts throughout the state have been hit with higher electricity bills, due in part to the state’s renewable energy mandate. According to the UT San Diego, the San Marcos Unified School District has seen its energy bill increase by $700,000 over a five-month span compared to the same period in 2013.

“We are stuck,” said Assistant Superintendent Gary Hamels. “It’s a big, big shock.”

A spokeswoman for San Diego Gas & Electric Co. identified “higher costs for the electricity the utility provides customers — due mainly to the growing percentage of more expensive renewable power” as one of three reasons for the rate hike.

The Times reported:

If no candidate wins 50% of the vote plus one, a runoff election will be held Feb. 10.

Three candidates have already emerged for the contest: Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton), Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) and perennial runner-up candidate Merv Evans, a Democrat who received 27% of the vote in his last challenge to Bradford.

Currently, the website for SD35 holds just placeholder information:

Constituent Services

Staff are available to assist you with information and services.

When you have an issue with a state agency or need information on state legislation, the office can be of service. Getting your questions answered and problems solved are only two of the ways the office can help. The District Offices can help you find and work though government forms, provide information on legislation, or assist you in dealing with state agencies.

Wright is the only one to resign of the three Democratic state senators indicted this year on corruption charges. According to the Chronicle:

Sen. Leland Yee, a San Francisco Democrat, and Sen. Ron Calderon, a Los Angeles-area Democrat, are facing unrelated federal corruption charges. Like Wright, they were suspended but continue to hold office with full pay, making them of no use to constituents.

The three cases have been casting a shadow across the state Capitol.

The cases also have prevented Democrats from keeping the supermajority they won in the 2012 State senate elections. Although Wright’s replacement also will be a Democrat, if the replacement election will be drawn out to Feb. 10, the return to supermajority status might be delayed until then — or even later if the other two corruption cases remain unresolved.

It’s also possible Republicans might pick up a couple state Senate seats on Nov. 4, preventing the Democratic supermajority no matter the disposition of the three corruption controversies. Indeed, the election might show that the tainting of Democrats by these three scandals cost them some legislative seats.

In a Wednesday afternoon email (reprinted at the end of this article), Kathy Dresslar, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg‘s chief of staff, requested that Senators, committee staff and Capitol office employees “clear their calendars for this one day to devote to the ethics training and discussion which is being planned.”

“All Committees that were scheduled for Wednesday, April 23 will be postponed until the following day, with the exception of Senate Budget Sub 1, which is being postponed until the following week,” Dresslar wrote in her email to Senate chiefs of staff. “Senate Rules Committee is being rescheduled earlier to Monday, 4/21.”

Steinberg: No ethics class on gun-running

The Senate Ethics Discussion and Training day comes as three suspended members of the State Senate face ongoing criminal charges ranging from weapons trafficking to public corruption. The most serious of the three cases surfaced in late March, when the FBI arrested Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, on weapons trafficking and pubic corruption charges.

Allegedly referred to as “Uncle Leland” by his co-conspirators, the San Francisco Democrat allegedly offered to smuggle millions of dollars worth of automatic weapons into the United States from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines, according to the FBI affidavit.

In February, state Senator Ron Calderon was charged with a 24-count indictment in connection with bribery and corruption. In January, state Senator Rod Wright, D-Inglewood was found guilty of eight counts of felony voter fraud, perjury and filing a false declaration of candidacy. Wright’s case did not involve any allegations of bribery or corruption.

Following Yee’s arrest, Steinberg called upon “our entire body to take a deeper look at our culture.” But he has also recognized the limits of an ethics review.

“I know of no ethics class that teaches about the illegality and the danger of gun-running,” Steinberg said during the Senate’s debate over whether to suspend the members with pay.

Canceled Pro Tem Cup, kept money, and deleted websites

The Senate has been mixed in its response to the scandals. Earlier this month, Senate Democrats canceled a luxurious annual fundraising event, known as the Pro Tem Cup, citing the “recent and extraordinary breaches of the public’s trust” by three Democratic state senators as the reason.

However, the Senate Democrats also kept the campaign cash, and in place of the golf tournament, personally called each of the event sponsors.

Over the weekend, the California State Senate scrubbed the websites and online archives of the three Senators that face criminal charges.

In addition to pictures and video clips, the websites contained detailed information about the senators’ legislative achievements and ties, which could shed light on past deals or questionable votes. Although some of the information, such as bill language and votes, remains available on other websites, the individual pages acted as a repository or central clearinghouse for information about the Senators.

Email: State Senate Ethics Discussion and Training on April 23

The following is the complete text of Kathryn Dresslar’s memo on Senate ethics training:

From: Kathryn Dresslar

Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Subject: Ethics Discussion/Training – Wednesday, April 23

Hello everyone:

I wanted to give everyone a heads up that the Senate Ethics Discussion and Training for all Senators, their Capitol offices and Committee offices will take place on Wednesday, April 23, 2014. Dana Callison will be sending out a more detailed memo soon, but I wanted you to know that the pro Tem is requesting that Members and staff clear their calendars for this one day to devote to the ethics training and discussion which is being planned.

All Committees that were scheduled for Wednesday, April 23 will be postponed until the following day, with the exception of Senate Budget Sub 1, which is being postponed until the following week. Senate Rules Committee is being rescheduled earlier to Monday, 4/21.

Following is a list of hearing room assignments for the Committee hearings that will convene on
Thursday, April 24:

COMMITTEE ROOM
Education 4203 – upon adj. of session
Health 4203 – upon adj. of Education

Labor 2040 – upon adj. of session
Agriculture 2040 – upon adj of Labor

Governance and Finance 112 – upon adj of session
Insurance 112 – upon adj of G and F

Budget Subcommittee #5
(Corrections, Public Safety, & Judiciary) 113 – upon adj of session

Budget Subcommittee #2
(Resources, et al) 3191 – upon adj of session

Budget Subcommittee #3 4202 (ASSEMBLY HEARING ROOM) – 1:30 p.m.

As I mentioned, we will send more details as they are available, but wanted you to clear the calendars for Wednesday, April 23 for Members staff.

State Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, the lone dissenter in Friday’s vote to suspend with pay three members of the state Senate, said that his three colleagues, who stand accused of criminal charges ranging from weapons trafficking to public corruption, should be expelled.

“There should be only one measure on this floor,” Anderson said in his floor speech, “and that’s to expel these members.”

None of his colleagues, Republican or Democrat, joined Anderson in that call for expulsion. Instead, the Senate voted 28-1 to suspend with pay Democratic State Sens. Leland Yee of San Francisco, Ron Calderon of Montebello and Rod Wright of Inglewood. The suspension restricts the members from returning to the Senate floor, or exercising any power of their elected offices until they are formally cleared of all criminal charges.

The members, however, will continue to collect their $7,940 monthly paychecks, courtesy of California taxpayers, which Anderson describes as a paid holiday.

“Which is it today? More smoke and mirrors? More paid holidays for bad behavior?” Anderson asked on the Senate floor. “What we’re doing is incentivizing bad behavior with this resolution. It’s wrong.”

He added, “How is it sitting at home … getting paid by the state Senate and the people … acceptable and a punishment in any way, shape or form?”

Kevin de Leon: “Best legislative institution in the country”

Anderson’s speech drew a haughty and flippant response from State Sen. Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles, who is expected to take over as Senate president pro tem later this year.

“Smoke and mirrors, paid Roman monthly holiday vacations, raising my kids, incentivizing bad behavior, letters, thousands of letters upon letters that I guess have descended from the sky to the State Capitol,” he said in a stream of consciousness. “No individual, no group, no ethnicity, no gender, no political party has a monopoly on ethics or good behavior.”

Without referencing him by name, de Leon accused Anderson of engaging in “cannibalistic” behavior.

“Let’s burn the house down,” de Leon said sarcastically in defense of the Senate. “Let’s become cannibalistic, as long as my ratings go up in my district.”

De Leon then added that the California State Senate was the best institution in the country.

“I cherish this august institution, the California State Senate,” de Leon said. “There is no greater political legislative body in this land than the California State Legislature … and that includes, yes, the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Senate.”

Of the three Democratic members facing criminal charges, de Leon said, “It’s an anomaly, a once-in-a-generation thing” and added that “the system in fact worked.”

“This is the best legislative institution in the country, hands down,” he said. “We’re going through very difficult times, and we’re going to get past this.”

Steinberg: No ethics class on gun-running

In contrast to de Leon, the current Democratic leader, Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, spoke in a serious and contrite tone as he urged his colleagues to address their disgraced colleagues. He added that the latest accusations had changed his point of view.

“One is an anomaly. Two is a coincidence. Three?” he said. “I am calling on our entire body to take a deeper look at our culture.”

The Democratic leader, who had previously called for restraint as the members pursued their legal options, said that the Senate would conduct an “office-by-office ethics review” on April 7. Yet, he recognized the limits an ethics review.

“I know of no ethics class that teaches about the illegality and the danger of gun-running,” Steinberg said. “We express our anger and our revulsion at today’s events.”

Senate GOP leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar did not speak during the floor debate on the suspension measure. He has faced criticism for his response to the ethics scandals.

3 separate criminal cases

Three members of the California State Senate are the subjects of three separate criminal cases. The most serious of the three cases surfaced last week, when the FBI arrested Yee on weapons trafficking and pubic corruption charges. Referred to as “Uncle Leland” by his co-conspirators, the San Francisco Democrat allegedly offered to smuggle millions of dollars worth of automatic weapons into the United States from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines, according to the FBI affidavit.

In February, Senator Calderon was charged with a 24-count indictment in connection with bribery and corruption. In January, Senator Wright was found guilty of eight counts of felony voter fraud, perjury and filing a false declaration of candidacy.

The indictment released Wednesday of state Sen. Leland Yee depicts a San Francisco-Oakland-Daly City culture in which gangsters traffic in a long laundry list of crimes — in this case, with the alleged assistance of a Democratic officeholder.

“A 137-page criminal complaint charges 26 people — including Yee and Chow — with a panoply of crimes, including firearms trafficking, money laundering, murder-for-hire, drug distribution, trafficking in contraband cigarettes, and honest services fraud.

“Yee is charged with conspiracy to traffic in firearms without a license and to illegally import firearms, as well as six counts of scheming to defraud citizens of honest services.”

Similarly, the details in the indictment of state Sen. Ron Calderon depict a Los Angeles County political culture in which lots and lots of folks strive to make dirty money — either by doing compensated favors for private businesses using their political connections or just figuring out a way to skim from government, especially in health care:

“The U.S. attorney’s office [announced] ‘charges being filed in a political corruption matter and a case involving a massive healthcare fraud scheme.’

“An affidavit obtained last year by Al Jazeera America includes allegations that Ronald Calderon accepted $88,000 in bribes from an undercover FBI agent and a businessman to affect legislation to extend film-industry tax credits and to change workers’ compensation laws.

“The document also said there was also probable cause to believe that Ronald Calderon ‘participated in a separate bribery scheme with Michael D. Drobot,’ the chief executive officer of Pacific Hospital of Long Beach. The lawmaker allegedly accepted $28,000 from Drobot in exchange for ‘supporting legislation that would delay or limit changes in California’s workers’ compensation laws,’ the affidavit said. … the FBI investigation has looked into the Central Basin Municipal Water District, where Calderon’s brother Tom worked as a consultant.”

The FBI smells a rat — lots of them — in CA

Then there’s the case of former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner. People remember the sexual harassment and the groping. But Filner was getting FBI attention even before his lurid scandal — for turning America’s Finest City into shakedown street, one in which people seeking city assistance needed to understand they “don’t get free things.”

This is from early July 2013 — before the memorable press conference at which three of Filner’s former allies denounced him as a perv:

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, was arrested Wednesday morning as part of a massive federal investigation into arms dealing, murder-for-hire, money laundering and international weapons trafficking. According to a 137-page complaint by the FBI, Yee solicited campaign donations in exchange for introducing an undercover FBI agent to an arms dealer.

“I’m just trying to run for Secretary of State,” Yee allegedly said, according to the complaint. “I hope I don’t get indicted.”

3rd Democrat State Senator to face criminal charges

Yee becomes the third Democratic state senator to face criminal charges in as many months, although the accusations against Yee make the other cases seem tame by comparison. In February, state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, was charged with a 24-count indictment in connection with bribery and corruption. In January, state Sen. Rod Wright, D-Inglewood, was found guilty of eight counts of felony voter fraud, perjury and filing a false declaration of candidacy.

The San Francisco politician, referred to as “Uncle Leland” by his co-conspirators, allegedly explained to an undercover FBI agent how he could smuggle millions of dollars’ worth of automatic weapons into the United States from a Muslim separatist group in the Philippines, according to the FBI affidavit.

“I told him about rocket launchers and things like that,” Yee allegedly said at a March 5 meeting to arrange one weapons deal. The meeting was less than 48 hours after he participated in the first candidate debate for Secretary of State.

“SENATOR YEE asked [an Undercover Agent] to provide an inventory list of desired weapons and he would see what they can do,” the affidavit states.

Yee agnostic to working with Muslim rebels

The author of California’s 2005 ban on the sale of violent video games to children said he was “agnostic” about working with a Muslim rebel group which was responsible for “kidnapping individuals, killing individuals and extorting them for ransom.”

“People want to get whatever they want to get. Do I care? No, I don’t care. People need certain things,” Yee said, according to the FBI complaint.

Yee expressed interest in expanding his weapons trafficking to Africa, which he considered an untapped market.

“Do I think we can make some money? I think we can make some money. Do I think we can get the goods? I think we can get the goods,” he said.

When an undercover agent told Yee that he lived a great life, Yee responded that he was unhappy and thought about hiding out in the Philippines.

“There’s a part of me that wants to be like you,” said Yee, a child psychologist. “You know how I’m going to be like you? Just be a free agent there.”

Corruption charges, never walked away from quid pro quo

In exchange for brokering the weapons deal and arranging other meetings with officials, Yee is accused of accepting contributions to his 2011 campaign for mayor of San Francisco and ongoing campaign for secretary of state. At one point, shortly after the FBI raided the offices of one of his Senate colleagues, Yee allegedly urged his co-conspirators that they needed to be careful.

“Once things start to move, it’s going to attract attention,” Yee allegedly told an undercover agent. “We just got to be extra-extra careful.”

He also allegedly complained that the bribes were too low.

“$15K man, sh*t. For what we did man? Sh*t. You know, we got him close to [State Senator 1],” Yee allegedly said.

In addition to introductions to a Senate colleague, Yee allegedly lobbied the state Department of Public Health in support of a contract in exchange for a $10,000 campaign contribution. He also allegedly awarded a Chinatown gangster with an official Senate proclamation in exchange for a $6,800 donation to his secretary of state campaign.

Chinatown gangster Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow

Yee was one of 26 people arrested in connection with a five-year federal investigation into Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow, a notorious Chinatown gangster who claimed to have to be on a path toward rehabilitation, according to the San Jose Mercury News. The FBI infiltrated the group by posing as a member of La Cosa Nostra, also known as the American Mafia.

“Hundreds of officers are involved in this,” San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr told KCBS about the operation, which he referred to as “massive.”

As part of its raid, the FBI also arrested San Francisco-based political consultant Keith Jackson, according to NBC News Bay Area. Jackson, a former member and president of the San Francisco Board of Education, had been listed as a “senior consultant” at Singer Associates, a San Francisco agency that provides public relations and crisis communications advice to corporations, trade associations, government agencies, cultural institutions and nonprofits.

By Wednesday afternoon, the firm, whose clients include Stockbridge Capital, CalPine and the San Francisco Chronicle, had removed any mention of Jackson from its website. The firm said that Jackson “has no affiliation with our agency.”

Culture of corruption in Sacramento

The state Senate has been slow and restrained in its response to the criminal cases facing its members. Four Republican state senators have called for Wright and Calderon to be expelled. However, the Senate has blocked any action on that proposal, or on a weaker resolution by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, to formally suspend the members with pay until their criminal cases are resolved.

In January, Mark Vafiades, the chairman of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, described a “culture of corruption” in Sacramento.

Of Wright’s conviction, he said, “It proves beyond any doubt there is something seriously wrong with the absolute power that Democrats have amassed in Sacramento and the lengths they have gone and will go to collect and keep it.”

That message is now gaining bipartisan traction.

“Coming on the heels of the corruption charges of Senator Calderon and the conviction of Senator Wright, today’s actions need to be a wake up call,” Derek Cressman, a Democrat candidate for secretary of state, said in reaction to Yee’s arrest. “We are clearly beyond the point of looking at one bad apple and instead looking at a corrupt institution in the California senate.”

The former head of California Common Cause added, “The constant begging for campaign cash clearly has a corrosive effect on a person’s soul and the only solution is to get big money out of our politics once and for all.”

Yee’s career: Honored by Society of Professional Journalists

The first Chinese American ever elected to the California state Senate, Yee has made national headlines for his legislative proposals. His most prominent bill, a ban on the sale of violent video games to children, was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. He has also received numerous awards from the media for his work on behalf of open government.

Yee’s arrest comes less than a week after he was honored by the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter with its Public Official Award. “Senator Leland Yee was instrumental in moving forward numerous bills dealing with transparency in government and public access to records,” concluded a committee of the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter.

Yee served four years in the California State Assembly before being elected to the state Senate in Nov. 2006. According to his official biography, “In 2010, Senator Yee was re-elected, receiving the most votes of any Democratic legislator in the State.”

He currently represents the 8th Senate District, which includes San Francisco and San Mateo Counties.

The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office argued that Wright’s Inglewood home was “a Hollywood prop.” Wright’s defense, according to the Daily Breeze, was based on a 1982 lawsuit upholding the residency of a special district director. In addition to the Inglewood residence, the moderate Democrat had maintained residences in Baldwin Park and Sacramento. Even Wright conceded at trial that his official residence wasn’t where he spent most nights.

“If you asked me where I stayed the most, that’s kind of unfair,” Wright said on the stand. “I have three residences.”

At his March 12 sentencing hearing, Wright could face up to eight years and four months in prison. However, an attorney for Wright told the Los Angeles Times that they would appeal the verdict. It is unclear whether Wright will be able to retain his seat in the California Senate while he pursues an appeal.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg: “A Punch in the Gut”

Wright’s conviction is another blow to a state Senate that has been embroiled in scandal. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, initially described the verdict as “a punch to the gut.”

“I respect the jury’s verdict,” Steinberg said in a statement later released to the press. “Senator Wright is a valued colleague and he has the right to appeal this verdict.”

As to Wright’s future as a member of the Senate, Steinberg said he is consulting with his Senate colleagues and legal counsel about the Senate’s options. That didn’t appease Los Angeles Republicans, who quickly called for Wright’s resignation.

“Sen. Steinberg can save his crocodile tears,” said Mark Vafiades, Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County. “As the most powerful Democrat in the Legislature, he has to bear some responsibility for the corruption that has taken place.”

Vafiades said that Wright’s conviction, coupled with corruption allegations against State Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, represent a larger culture of corruption in the State Capitol.

“The Capitol’s Culture of Corruption has claimed yet another Democrat,” he said. “It proves beyond any doubt there is something seriously wrong with the absolute power that Democrats have amassed in Sacramento and the lengths they have gone and will go to collect and keep it.”

Wright’s Reputation as Moderate, Pro-Gun Democrat

Wright has earned a reputation as a moderate Democrat who consistently bucks his party’s positions on controversial issues. An expert on energy policy, Wright has questioned whether the state’s environmental policies are based on sound science or over-hyped talking points.

“Wright often bucks his party’s orthodoxy,” observed Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters. “But his self-appointed role as Democratic contrarian is in many ways refreshing and valuable to the legislative process, because he brings a level of common sense to many issues that is otherwise lacking in the robotic positions taken by members of both parties.”

By far the clearest example of his unorthodox views is on the Second Amendment. Wright has opposed background checks for ammunition purchases and bans on lead ammunition, large-capacity-magazine conversion kits and semi-automatic rifles.

The Calguns Foundation, which has been challenging the state’s conceal carry laws, owes much of its legal standing to Wright. In 1998, then-Assemblyman Wright authored the state law that requires state agencies to universally apply their regulations for firearm permits and follow a written policy on the process. In 2002, Wright was recognized by the National Rifle Association’s with its “Defender of Freedom” Award.

“You have to ask yourself the question,” Wright once asked in an interview. “‘It’s two o’clock in the morning and someone just breaks into your home, what do you want to have available to you?”

Wright’s Home: Domicile or Prop?

Wright’s office did not respond to a request for comment. However, during the trial Wright’s attorney, Winston Kevin McKesson, criticized the district attorney’s case.

“Their case is unsupported by the existing law,” said McKesson, according to the Los Angeles Wave. “There’s no fraud here. There’s no victims. There’s no crime. To find him guilty of any charge in this case would be a gross injustice.”

The case against Wright has slogged on for three years, during which time Wright won re-election to the Senate in a different district following redistricting after the 2010 U.S. Census. A Los Angeles County grand jury indicted him in September 2010.

Elected to the California State Senate in 2008, Wright previously served three terms in the California State Assembly representing the 48th Assembly District. From 1996 until 2002, he served as chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce, where he developed his reputation as the Legislature’s top expert on energy policy.