Brian Setencich

Re "Speaker Assails 'Fear' Tactics of Some in GOP," Nov. 7: The Assembly speakership of Brian Setencich was on its last legs on its first day. That's the price a Republican pays for turning his back on his colleagues. That is why it was so nauseating and pathetic to read about Setencich's tales of victimization at the hands of those mean boys he presumably is leading. He also says it was "wrong" for state Senate Republicans to replace their longtime leader Ken Maddy with conservative Sen. Rob Hurtt of Garden Grove.

Former state Assembly speaker Brian Setencich was ordered Tuesday to spend seven months at a halfway house for cheating on his taxes. Setencich, a special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, was convicted by a federal jury in June of looting his campaign account and understating his 1996 income by $19,300.

As opponents traded salvos in the battle over Assembly leadership, Speaker Brian Setencich--a Republican elected last year mainly by Democrats--predicted he has picked up sufficient Republican backing to remain at the top in 1996. Meanwhile, his main challenger, GOP Leader Curt Pringle of Garden Grove, and the party's conservative establishment turned up the heat on lawmakers still waffling over whom to back for Speaker. In an attempt to aid Pringle, California GOP Chairman John S.

Brian Setencich, a former state Assembly speaker and former City Council member, was convicted Thursday of cheating on his taxes. A U.S. District Court jury found that Setencich, now a special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, filed a false tax return understating his 1996 income by $19,300. He was cleared of filing a false 1997 return. The trial was Setencich's second after a jury in February acquitted him of bribery and mail fraud, but deadlocked on the tax counts.

If this were his beloved game of basketball, the odds would be obvious: longshot at best, like sinking a 70-footer at the buzzer. Assemblyman Brian Setencich is running for reelection--but not in the usual way. To keep his job in the Legislature, the Fresno Republican must persuade voters to write in his name on their ballots when they go to the polls Nov. 5. This is a Herculean task, one rarely accomplished in the annals of state political history.

A jury found Brian Setencich, former speaker of the California Assembly, innocent of bribery and mail fraud charges Monday but deadlocked on two counts of filing false tax returns. "It's like a big weight off my shoulders. I've been held up by this for too long," said a jovial Setencich after the jury was escorted out of the courtroom. Setencich was indicted in 1998 on charges of bribery, mail fraud and filing false tax returns for 1996 and 1997.

The walls of his office are nearly bare, and he prefers it that way. Blank, plain, open space is what Brian Setencich likes. It's soothing, lets a guy think. "I'm into space," says Setencich, a freshman Republican assemblyman from Fresno. "I'm not a crowd person. I'm a loner, really." It's a good thing, because the 33-year-old Setencich has chosen a lonely path. Two weeks ago he declared his support for new Assembly Speaker Doris Allen.

Brian Setencich, a former state Assembly speaker and former City Council member, was convicted Thursday of cheating on his taxes. A U.S. District Court jury found that Setencich, now a special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, filed a false tax return understating his 1996 income by $19,300. He was cleared of filing a false 1997 return. The trial was Setencich's second after a jury in February acquitted him of bribery and mail fraud, but deadlocked on the tax counts.

Assemblyman Brian Setencich of Fresno, defeated in a stunning Republican primary election upset, says he is strongly leaning toward a write-in candidacy to retain his seat this fall. But there is no certainty he will remain a Republican if he is elected in a write-in candidacy, which carries no party affiliation, Setencich said after a brief address to the state conference of the Reform Party over the weekend. "I haven't decided," he told reporters on Saturday.

Former state Assembly speaker Brian Setencich was ordered Tuesday to spend seven months at a halfway house for cheating on his taxes. Setencich, a special assistant to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, was convicted by a federal jury in June of looting his campaign account and understating his 1996 income by $19,300.

A jury found Brian Setencich, former speaker of the California Assembly, innocent of bribery and mail fraud charges Monday but deadlocked on two counts of filing false tax returns. "It's like a big weight off my shoulders. I've been held up by this for too long," said a jovial Setencich after the jury was escorted out of the courtroom. Setencich was indicted in 1998 on charges of bribery, mail fraud and filing false tax returns for 1996 and 1997.

Former state Assembly Speaker Brian Setencich has been accused in a federal indictment of taking a $6,000 bribe when he was a Fresno city councilman. Setencich, 36, now works for the city of San Francisco, whose mayor, Willie Brown, engineered Setencich's brief stint as speaker in 1995. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury Thursday and released Friday, charges Setencich and Fresno businessman Robert Yang, 38, with bribery and mail fraud.

Assemblyman Brian Setencich, who served a short term as California Assembly speaker to the ire of fellow Republicans, has been defeated in a long-shot write-in bid to keep his 30th District seat. The outcome of four other Assembly races also became clear Wednesday and Thursday, after more than a week in which absentee ballot counting seemed to advance at a glacial pace. In Setencich's race, conservative Republican Robert Prenter Jr.

If this were his beloved game of basketball, the odds would be obvious: longshot at best, like sinking a 70-footer at the buzzer. Assemblyman Brian Setencich is running for reelection--but not in the usual way. To keep his job in the Legislature, the Fresno Republican must persuade voters to write in his name on their ballots when they go to the polls Nov. 5. This is a Herculean task, one rarely accomplished in the annals of state political history.

Maverick GOP Assemblyman Brian Setencich, narrowly defeated by a March primary opponent backed by major Republican contributors, announced Wednesday that he will wage a write-in campaign this fall to keep his seat. The party dissident from Fresno, who briefly served last year as Assembly speaker, said "people were fooled" into voting for his opponent, political unknown Robert Prenter Jr. In running as a write-in candidate, Setencich has set up a rematch with Prenter in November.

Assemblyman Brian Setencich of Fresno, defeated in a stunning Republican primary election upset, says he is strongly leaning toward a write-in candidacy to retain his seat this fall. But there is no certainty he will remain a Republican if he is elected in a write-in candidacy, which carries no party affiliation, Setencich said after a brief address to the state conference of the Reform Party over the weekend. "I haven't decided," he told reporters on Saturday.

Former state Assembly Speaker Brian Setencich has been accused in a federal indictment of taking a $6,000 bribe when he was a Fresno city councilman. Setencich, 36, now works for the city of San Francisco, whose mayor, Willie Brown, engineered Setencich's brief stint as speaker in 1995. The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury Thursday and released Friday, charges Setencich and Fresno businessman Robert Yang, 38, with bribery and mail fraud.

Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle unceremoniously yanked maverick Republican Brian Setencich off a committee Thursday after the Fresno freshman helped Democrats defeat a trio of privatization bills that top the GOP agenda. At the behest of Pringle, a GOP conservative from Garden Grove, Republicans on the Assembly Rules Committee voted to pull Setencich and Democrat Assemblyman Wally Knox of Los Angeles off the Local Government Committee.

An Assembly committee rejected a measure Wednesday that would let cash-strapped Orange County expand the menu of public services that can be contracted out to private companies. The privatization measure by Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) fell after a maverick Republican lawmaker joined with Democrats on the Assembly Local Government Committee to ensure its defeat.