HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Fabian Núñez (also transcribed variously as Fabián Núñez, Fabian Nuñez and Fabian Nunez; born December 27, 1966) is an American politician and labor union adviser. A member of the Democratic Party, he served three two-year terms as a member of the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
, leaving office in late 2008. During his last two terms, Núñez served as the 66th
Speaker of the California State Assembly The speaker of the California State Assembly is the speaker (politics), presiding officer and highest-ranking member of the California State Assembly, controlling the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The speaker is nominated by th ...
.


Early life

Fabian Núñez is the tenth of twelve children. He was born in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, California, to Mexican parents, but the family lived in
Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...
,
Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...
, Mexico until Núñez was 7 years old. He spent the rest of his youth in the Logan Heights neighborhood of San Diego. His parents eventually became United States citizens. At the age of 31, Núñez earned
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degrees in both political science and education from
Pitzer College Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was founded in 1963 as a women's college in the Claremont Colleges consortium and became coeducational in 1970. Pitzer enrolls approximately 1000 students. Pitzer off ...
in
Claremont, California Claremont () is a suburban city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States, east of Los Angeles. It lies in the Pomona Valley at the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had ...
. From 1996 to 2000, Fabian Núñez served as the Political Director for the
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
Federation of Labor and, between 2000 and 2002, was the Government Affairs Director for the
Los Angeles Unified School District Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is a State school, public school district in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. It is the largest public school system in California in terms of number of students and the List ...
.


California State Assembly

Núñez was elected to the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
to represent the 46th district in 2002. Later, on February 9, 2004 he was selected as the Speaker of the California Assembly. When Núñez was elected, the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' reported that he promised to "foster a spirit of bipartisanship in the Assembly ..." He was quoted saying, "We should reestablish this great legislative body as the house of ideas. And more importantly, we must work together for the benefit of all Californians." During his tenure as speaker, the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...
'' editorialized that the 2005/2006 "legislative session represented one of the most productive in recent memory." Throughout his term, Núñez authored several laws including a $1.25 increase in the minimum wage, and a measure to promote competition among cable television providers. In August 2005, Núñez traveled to Mexico to meet with then-
president of Mexico The president of Mexico (), officially the president of the United Mexican States (), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Constitution of Mexico, the president heads the executive branch of the federal government and ...
,
Vicente Fox Vicente Fox Quesada (; born 2 July 1942) is a Mexican businessman and politician who served as the 62nd president of Mexico from 2000 to 2006. After campaigning as a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist, Fox was elected president on the Nat ...
, other high level government officials, and business leaders. The declared purpose of his journey was to strengthen ties between Mexico and California that he claimed had deteriorated under California's governor,
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
. At Núñez's invitation, president Fox eventually traveled to Sacramento and addressed a special joint session of the
California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...
. Núñez supported and advocated for the passage of the 2006 infrastructure bonds. He authored both the education (Proposition 1B) and water levee bond (Proposition 1D) in the Legislature. Former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg spoke about Núñez' involvement with the passage of the bonds on May 17, 2006: "And ultimately credit goes to Speaker Fabian Núñez, who is a very keen legislator who understands how to put the pieces and parts together and see the big picture. He was instrumental in taking what was failure last time and putting it all together this time. Fabian is willing to work with all sides and wants to get things done." Núñez passed a law in 2006 to establish a program to provide prescription drugs at discount prices to about five million uninsured and underinsured Californians. The new law will require the state department of Health Services to negotiate discounts with drug manufacturers. In 2006, he also authored AB 32, which was signed into law by Schwarzenegger. AB 32 created the nation's first cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The law set new regulations on the amount of emissions utilities, refineries and manufacturing plants are allowed to release into the atmosphere. In 2007, Núñez was named "Public Official of the Year" by ''Governing Magazine''. The magazine highlighted his legislative leadership and accomplishments:
Fabian Núñez doesn't think compromise is a dirty word. California's Assembly speaker has played a classic legislative leadership role as the bridge between Republican governor and a strongly liberal majority Democratic caucus, helping to forge and shepherd through a long list of impressive legislation over the past couple of years.
His personal scorecard includes a $40 billion infrastructure bond package, a $7 billion prison building and rehabilitation measure, and a landmark global-warming law that is already being imitated by other states. "Some people feel you can't compromise because you're setting your values aside," he continues. "I believe the opposite. You're fighting for your beliefs when you can move the ball forward."
On October 10, 2007, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that Núñez had allegedly spent tens of thousands of dollars of campaign money for personal expenses. However, October 27, 2009
Political Blotter
reported that the FPPC had cleared Núñez of all accusations. Due to
term limits A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of Term of office, terms a Incumbent, person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in Presidential system, presidential and Semi-presidential republic, semi-president ...
, Núñez had to retire from the Assembly after 2008. Starting in fall 2007, he actively campaigned in support of a statewide proposition to amend the term limits law, including being made eligible to serve an additional six years as speaker. This ballot measure, California Proposition 93 (2008), was widely seen as a power grab on the part of Núñez and Senate Majority Leader Don Perata. On February 5, 2008 election, a majority of California voters rejected Proposition 93. Núñez was succeeded by
Karen Bass Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician who has served as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Bass previously served in the United States House ...
. After serving as speaker of the Assembly, Núñez was named as co-chair of the
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
2008 presidential bid. He joined a national bipartisan public strategy firm
Mercury
as a partner managing the Sacramento and Los Angeles offices. Núñez also serves on th
Board of Directors
for the U.S Soccer Federation and previously serviced on the University of California Board of Regents. In October 2008, Núñez's son Esteban and his friends provoked a fight where Luis Santos was murdered. Esteban admitted to stabbing two other students. In May 2010, Esteban entered into a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 16 years in prison for the death of Santos. Núñez was a close friend and key political ally of then governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
. When Esteban Núñez was first arrested, his father used his influence to get him more favorable conditions. Letters pleading for a reduction in his son's $2-million bail were sent to the San Diego County Superior Court.Esteban Núñez profile
latimes.com; accessed May 6, 2017.
One letter, on official stationery, came from Núñez's longtime friend, then Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; one letter came on official stationery from Maria Elena Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor; one came from California Assembly Republican Leader
Michael Villines Michael N. Villines (born March 30, 1967) is an American businessman and former California State Assemblyman, who served from 2004 to 2010 representing the 29th district. The 29th Assembly District includes Clovis, Fresno, Madera, Orange C ...
; and one was sent by California State Assemblyman Kevin de León. His bail was reduced to $1 million. Just hours before he left office, Schwarzenegger commuted Esteban Núñez's sentence to seven years. The commutation, along with Schwarzenegger's failure to notify the family of the victim, outraged them who then tried to sue to stop the commutation but were unsuccessful. Subsequently, Schwarzenegger's successor
Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
signed a bipartisan bill in 2011 requiring victims and their families to be given at least 10 days notice before prison sentence commutations. In April 2016, Esteban Núñez was released from Mule Creek State Prison after serving less than six years. In 2010, Núñez filed paperwork to run for the
California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature (the lower house being the California State Assembly). The state senate convenes, along with the state assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...
but withdrew. Núñez created a campaign finance committee and announced that he would run for
California State Treasurer The state treasurer of California is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the Government of California, government of the U.S. state of California. 34 individuals have held the office of state treasurer since statehood. The incumb ...
in 2014, when incumbent
Bill Lockyer William Westwood Lockyer (born May 8, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer from the state of California. A Democrat, he served in both houses of the state legislature, having been a member of the California State Assembly from 1973 to 19 ...
was termed out. Núñez formed an exploratory committee for California State Treasurer in 2018. Núñez is currently a partner at the public relations and lobbying firm Actum.


References


Newspaper profiles


"On the rise"
sacbee.com, February 7, 2004
"''Nuñez travels the world like a high-roller"
''Los Angeles Times, October 5, 2007''
How Núñez rose to power so fast -- Champion of Prop. 93, in Assembly only 5 years, had modest beginnings
sfgate.com


External links


Official California State Assembly profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez, Fabian 1966 births Living people American politicians of Mexican descent Pitzer College alumni Speakers of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California Politicians from Los Angeles University of California regents 21st-century members of the California State Legislature