But after Nunez's spending was publicized, the FPPC wrote new rules requiring politicians who spend political funds to name gift recipients and travel destinations, and to show how those expenditures relate to official business. And for some in his party and his constituency, Nunez's behavior was self-serving.
"Most people in this country and world will never be able to buy Louis Vuitton in their life," said Democratic activist Brad Parker, referring to the Paris designer-goods store where Nunez spent $2,562 that he reported as "office expenses."
"Regular citizens are having a hard time," Parker said. "They need somebody who will give them a reason to believe."
In Boyle Heights, part of Nunez's district, 53-year-old George Arroyo offered this advice: "Think for the community, not for yourself."
Last week, in his final news conference as speaker, Nunez declared that if he could do it all over, he'd change nothing.
"If it ended here today, and this was the extent of Fabian Nunez's political career," he said, "I would die and go to heaven, because to me, being here is incredible. Walking around this beautiful building every day, being able to govern for 36 million people in California, to be able to debate, discuss and engage on the issues of the day in a way that allows me to fight for the things I believe in . . . has been just an enormous experience."
The father of three said he has no intention of running for public office again soon. He said he will probably work at least a couple of years in the private sector, though he has not announced a new job.
Nunez still seems amazed by his own rise from a humble, sometimes hungry childhood and his family's transition from Tijuana to San Diego, where he arrived as a 7-year-old "with different-colored socks, maybe just a couple of pairs of high-water pants." He speaks movingly of his father Pablo's work as a field hand and gardener, and of the success in America of his 11 siblings.
"The promise of hope and opportunity in the Golden State is real," he said last week.
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A quick grasp of policy
A charming, athletic man who ditched his glasses and upgraded his wardrobe upon becoming speaker, Nunez got his political start in organized labor, which he has called "the only thing standing between the haves and the have-nots." He was political director of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and a lobbyist for the Los Angeles Unified School District before running for the Legislature.
