SACRAMENTO -- — Two days after voters rejected a bid by sitting lawmakers to stay in office longer, veteran Democratic legislator Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento was chosen to replace Don Perata later this year as leader of the state Senate.
In the state Assembly, legislators set a March 11 date for choosing a new speaker.
The houses' current leaders, Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tem Perata (D-Oakland), are expected to remain in place until after a budget is negotiated this summer. Steinberg said he would wait until Perata's term is up in November to take over.
The changes are a direct response to the defeat Tuesday of Proposition 93, the term limits initiative that would have permitted Nunez, Perata and others to run for reelection this year. That might have allowed the men to hold on to their leadership posts.
In the Senate, the dominant Democrats agreed by acclamation Thursday that Steinberg would be the only candidate to replace Perata when a formal vote is held Aug. 21.
Steinberg, 48, a former labor lawyer and educator, is well-liked and respected by Senate colleagues. They know him as a policy wonk who has led the push for education and mental healthcare reform in California.
"I would like to thank my colleagues in the Democratic caucus for the faith and confidence you are showing in me," Steinberg said at an news conference. "I know from watching Sen. Perata and watching many speakers what a difficult challenge this is. But I want to tell you, at the right time, which is after Sen. Perata's term ends, I will be ready to go."
Perata indicated Wednesday that he had hoped to put off a decision on a successor until August. Senators who attended Thursday's closed-door caucus meeting said Steinberg's supporters forced the issue, and Perata agreed to announce the news.
Perata emerged from the meeting saying that he supported the consensus for providing "an orderly transition" of leadership and removing distractions from the daunting task of closing the state's $14.5-billion budget gap.
"Our No. 1 priority this year is to tackle a giant budget deficit in a way that protects California's future," Perata said.
The decision helps avert months of behind-the-scenes deal-making and jostling between Steinberg and Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), who also had aspired to the post.
