John A. Pérez (born September 28, 1969) is an American union organizer and politician. He has been a
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
since November 17, 2014, previously serving as the 68th
Speaker of the California State Assembly from March 1, 2010, to May 12, 2014. A member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
, he represented the
46th district (2008–2012) and
53rd district (2012–2014) in 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.
The A ...
.
On October 9, 2013, Pérez announced his candidacy for
California State Controller
The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-two individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. The incumbent is Betty Yee ...
. Pérez finished third in the
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...
, trailing
Betty Yee
Betty T. Yee (born October 19, 1957) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as California State Controller since 2015. She previously served as a member of the California Board of Equalization from 2004 to 201 ...
by 481 votes. After initially calling for a recount in 15 California counties, Pérez ultimately conceded to Yee more than a month after the election. In late 2014, he was appointed by Governor
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, he was elected Secretary of S ...
as a
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of the
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
; in May 2019, the regents elected him as chairman.
Early life and career
Pérez grew up in
El Sereno and
Highland Park before attending the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. At Berkeley he was a member of the CalServe political party. He did not graduate from Berkeley but dropped out after his junior year citing family medical reasons in mid-1990. Early biographies of Pérez dating back to the 1990s called him a Berkeley graduate, a misstatement that was repeated in several press releases issued by Los Angeles mayors and in 2004 remarks inserted by Congresswoman
Hilda Solis
Hilda Lucia Solis (; born October 20, 1957) is an American politician and a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for the 1st district. Solis previously served as the 25th United States Secretary of Labor from 2009 to 2013, as par ...
into the
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
. When 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. de ...
'' wrote about these inconsistencies in May 2011, Pérez's office verified that he was not a Berkeley graduate.
Pérez is the cousin of Los Angeles mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr.; born January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary ...
and has spent seven years handling political matters for the
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in industries including retail; meatpacking, food processing and manufacturing; hosp ...
, a union representing supermarket workers.
He has also served as political director of the California Labor Federation. He was a member of the board of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency until 2008, when he resigned to run for the Assembly.
Election to the Assembly and rise to the speakership
Background in politics
Long active in the labor movement, Pérez is a member of the
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...
, which named him a
superdelegate
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote. These Democratic Party superdelegates (who make up slightly under 15 ...
to the
2008 Democratic National Convention
The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The conventi ...
in
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
He endorsed
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
on June 3, 2008, the day of the final primaries in the Democratic presidential nominating calendar.
Election to the Assembly
The
46th district includes the Los Angeles neighborhoods of
Boyle Heights
Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include:
Disambiguation
*Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
,
Little Tokyo,
Westlake,
Vernon and part of
South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
. Pérez succeeded
Fabian Núñez
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 mem ...
, the former Assembly speaker who was forced out by
term limit
A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...
s as the district's assemblyman. Pérez faced only a little-known primary challenger in the race to succeed Núñez, winning convincingly.
In the general election held on November 4, 2008, he won 85% of the vote.
In 2010, he ran uncontested and received 100% of the vote. In the 2012 election Pérez won the Assembly's 53rd district with 82.8% of the vote.
In 2011, after constitutionally mandated redistricting by the
California Citizens Redistricting Commission most of the areas belonging to the 46th district became the 53rd.
Election as Speaker
Pérez had planned to run for the
California 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.
Due ...
in 2010 with
Kevin de León
Kevin Alexander Leon (born December 10, 1966), known professionally as Kevin de León and colloquially as KDL, is an American politician serving as the Los Angeles City Council member for district 14 since 2020. A member of the Democratic Party, ...
slated to be elected speaker. An agreement had apparently been reached by Los Angeles power brokers that would have seen Pérez support de León for speaker while Pérez would run unopposed in
the 22nd senate district, the seat being vacated by term-limited
Gil Cedillo
Gilbert Anthony Cedillo (born March 25, 1954) is an American politician, who served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council for the 1st district from 2013 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Cedillo was previously a member of both the ...
. Cedillo, in turn, would seek Pérez's seat in the Assembly.
The deal appears to have been derailed by opposition among certain Assembly Democrats to de León becoming Speaker and by a desire to elect a Speaker who could serve longer than two years. (De León, unlike Pérez, could not serve beyond 2012.)
[ The leadership battle came to a head on December 3, 2009, when Assembly Speaker ]Karen Bass
Karen Ruth Bass (; born October 3, 1953) is an American politician, social worker and former physician assistant who is serving as the 43rd mayor of Los Angeles since 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, Bass had previously served in the U.S. ...
announced that Pérez had enough support to succeed her. On December 10, the Assembly Democratic caucus met to select the next speaker. During the meeting, de León threw his support to Pérez, who was elected unopposed. He was formally elected by a 48–26 vote of the full Assembly on January 7, 2010, and replaced Bass on March 1, 2010.
Speaker of the California Assembly
Pérez took office as California's 68th Speaker March 1, 2010 and was subsequently reelected in 2010 and 2012, making him one of the longest serving Speakers in the era of term limits.
Major initiatives
Middle Class Scholarship Act
Pérez introduced Assembly Bill 1500 and 1501 in January 2012, together known as the Middle Class Scholarship Act. These bills were double-joined and were crafted to lower the cost of tuition at state colleges and universities for middle-class families by up to 2/3. It also would have provided up to $150 million to California community colleges. As tax measures they were required to achieve a 2/3 supermajority in order to pass as the California Constitution requires due to Proposition 13. AB 1500 and 1501 passed in the Assembly with 54 votes in favor and 25 votes against with 1 not voting; in the Senate the bills failed to pass, receiving 15 votes in favor and 22 votes against with 3 not voting.
Pérez pledged to introduce another measure directed at college affordability during the 2013–2014 legislative sessions.
Governor's Office of Business Development (GoBiz)
In December 2010 Pérez introduced AB 29 to create the Governor's Office of Economic Development (GoBiz) establishing a centralized location for all business resources. AB 29 eased access to the multitude of programs designed to assist businesses looking to move or incorporate in California. AB 29 passed the Assembly with 72 votes in favor and 6 votes against with 2 not voting; in the Senate the bills passed with 31 votes in favor and 3 votes against with 6 not voting.
GoBiz is planning to open satellite offices in China and Mexico as a key function of their mission of attracting investment and businesses to California.
Disincorporation of Vernon, CA
Vernon is an industrial city located in the County of Los Angeles that is home to fewer than 150 residents but acts as a business hub with more than 50,000 employees. Vernon has had a long history of corrupt public officials, official corruption, and voter intimidation. In December 2010, Perez introduced AB 46 to dis-incorporate the city and make it part of unincorporated Los Angeles County. There was broad support from the surrounding communities which have been plagued by the pollution and ill-effects of Vernon's businesses but resistance met with from organized labor. After passing the assembly with 62 votes in favor, 7 votes against, and 10 not voting, the bill was defeated in the Senate with 13 votes in favor, 17 votes against, and 10 not voting.
Following the bill's defeat, Vernon has continued to have serious issues with their elections and public officials, including allegation of voter fraud and disenfranchisement. Additionally, the local power authority, cited frequently as a reason to keep Vernon as an independent, business-focused city, announced significant rate increases. Audits also determined that the city was millions in debt, causing some businesses to announce they were considering moving elsewhere.
Healthcare exchange (Covered California)
Following the passage of President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...
, Pérez introduced AB 1602 in January 2010 which created the California Health Benefit Exchange, the first such state based program in the nation created to assist with implementation of the Affordable Care Act. This gives individuals and small businesses access to a broad range of insurance products and cost saving options. AB 1602 passed in the Assembly with 51 votes in favor and 27 votes against with 0 not voting; in the Senate the bills passed with 21 votes in favor and 13 votes against with 5 not voting. States across the nation have used AB 1602 as a model for their own programs.
In January 2013 Governor Jerry Brown called a special legislative session to address California health care costs and solutions. During this session, Pérez introduced AB1X1. This bill is designed to allow implementation of the health care coverage expansion envisioned in President Obama's Affordable Care Act. AB1X1 makes Medi-Cal available to 1,000,000 Californians who earn at or below 120 percent of the federal poverty limit.
Farmers Field
In 2011 Pérez was instrumental in the passage of SB-292, which would have sped up construction of the proposed Farmers Field project in Los Angeles. Farmers Field was ultimately never built but the bill he passed later served as the basis of a statewide law that speeds approval of major construction projects without compromising the environmental standards Californians value.
California State Budget
In the first year Pérez served as an Assemblymember, the state faced a budget deficit totaling 64 billion dollars out of a total $110 billion. In his time as Speaker, California's structural deficit has been eliminated, resulting in an estimated 1 billion dollar reserve for the 2013/14 fiscal year and the first across-the-board increase in the state's credit rating since November 2004.
In 2010, he successfully blocked former Governor Schwarzenegger's final budget proposal, which would have wiped out 430,000 jobs for police officers, firefighters, teachers, nurses, and their support personnel. His California Jobs Budget¸ which balanced the budget and created a ten billion dollar private sector job creation fund, forced Gov. Schwarzenegger to back down and agree to a compromise which protected virtually every job eliminated by the initial proposal.
California's budget was frequently passed after the constitutionally-mandated deadline, as the Legislature and Governors negotiated to close multibillion-dollar deficits under the requirement that budget votes have a two-thirds majority to pass. With the 2010 voter approval of Proposition 25, which lowered the threshold necessary to approve a budget to a simple majority, the Legislature adopted two consecutive, balanced and on-time budgets.
Management of the Assembly
The Speaker is charged with the overall management and supervision of the Assembly. She or he appoints members to all committees and subcommittees of the Assembly, allocates funds, staffing, and other resources for the effective operation of the House, and establishes committee schedules.
Operating budget
Under Pérez's leadership, the California Assembly has made a practice of redirecting savings from cutting their operating costs to save fund other state programs. Between 2010 and 2012, millions were transferred from Assembly operating accounts to save or supplement programs benefitting veterans, families and women.
*California Commission on the Status of Women — The Commission on the Status of Women is a non-partisan agency which acts as a public policy body for proposals to address women's issues in the public domain. In April 2012, Pérez transferred money from the Assembly operating budget to the commission to ensure it will continue its vital mission. Along with the transfer of money, the Speaker was able to announce that Academy Award-Winning actor Geena Davis would serve as Chair of the commission.
*California National Guard Work for Warriors program — In April 2012, Pérez announced that the Assembly would contribute $500,000 to establish the National Guard "Work for Warriors" Program. This program places National Guard members with jobs, striving to reduce the unemployment rate in California while ensuring that California's veterans have access to jobs, healthcare, and support service they deserve. Additionally, The Speaker also provided two $300,000 grants to the California Military Department for mental health services which provides resources to better support their members. For his work for Veterans and Military personnel, he was named the California Assembly Legislator of the Year by the Vietnam Veterans of America
Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. (VVA) is a national non-profit corporation founded in 1978 in the United States that is committed to serving the needs of all veterans. It is funded without any contribution from any branch of government. VVA is th ...
and was honored with the National Guard Associations of the United States' Charles Dick Medal of Merit
The Charles Dick Medal of Merit is awarded by the National Guard Association of the United States
The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A memb ...
Award.
*Restoration of Stage III Child Care — In the 2010 budget Governor Schwarzenegger line item vetoed child care which provided subsidized child care for over 81,000 children in 60,0000 working families. In response, Pérez authorized that $6 million from the Assembly operating budget be shifted to provide bridge funding for those child care programs.
Bipartisan Committee Chair Appointments
In each of his terms as Speaker, Pérez has appointed Assemblymembers from the minority Republican Party to chair committees. Then-Assemblymember Col. Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook (born 20 July 1956) is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He was also called "Cookie" by his friends on the punk music scene.
Early life and career
Cook was raised in Hammersmith and atte ...
(R-Yucca Valley) served as Chair of the Committee on Veterans Affairs, before being elected to the United States House of Representatives. The Committee on Local Government was chaired by Assemblymember Cameron Smyth
Cameron Smyth (born August 19, 1971) is a Republican politician who served in the California State Assembly. He succeeded Keith Richman who was term-limited.
Prior to being elected to the state legislature, Smyth served on the Santa Clarita ...
(R-Santa Clarita), who termed-out of office in 2012, and is now chaired by Assemblymember Katcho Achadjian (R-Arroyo Grande).
International Relations
According to the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, if California's GDP were compared to those of leading nations, it would rank as the ninth largest economy in the world. Pérez has led bipartisan delegations of Assembly members on official visits to some of California's most important trading partners, including Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, the Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its east ...
, and the State of Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Those visits have been reciprocated by a number of foreign leaders, including Israeli President Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
, and a delegation of federal Senators from Mexico.
Pérez has also met with officials from Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
, and Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
to help strengthen ties with those nations, greeted the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on their trip to California, and worked closely with the California Travel & Tourism Commission to promote foreign tourism in California, traveling to London with Commission Members to launch the Dreamland Campaign.
Post-Assembly career
After the election, in late 2014, California Governor 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, he was elected Secretary of S ...
appointed Pérez as a Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of the University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
.
In 2016, after Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra ( ; ; born January 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services since March 2021. Becerra previously served as the attorney general of California from Jan ...
was chosen to be the new Attorney General of California
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Section ...
, Pérez announced his candidacy for the special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
to succeed Becerra in the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
for . However, on December 10 he announced his withdrawal from that race, saying that he had received a recent medical diagnosis that he said would prevent him from engaging fully in a campaign.
Personal life
Pérez is openly gay and the first openly LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
Speaker of the California State Assembly. After Minnesota's Allan Spear
Allan Henry Spear (June 24, 1937 – October 11, 2008) was an American politician and educator from Minnesota who served almost thirty years in the Minnesota Senate, including nearly a decade as President of the Senate.
Biography
Spear was born ...
, he is the second LGBT person elected to lead a state legislative chamber. His election as speaker preceded the February 2010 election of Gordon D. Fox, an openly gay Democrat, to be speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives
The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...
, though Fox took office immediately and Pérez did not take office until March 1. Pérez was the 2nd openly gay person appointed to the University of California Board of Regents. The first was Sheldon Andelson, board member of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, who was appointed in 1980, also by then-Governor Jerry Brown.
The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund
The LGBTQ Victory Fund (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund), commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of openly LGBT, LGBTQ public officials in the United States. Vict ...
endorsed Pérez for election. He was a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus
The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus (formerly the California Legislative LGBT Caucus) is an American political organization formed in June 2002 and composed of openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the California State Leg ...
.
References
External links
Campaign website
Join California John A. Perez
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, John
1969 births
21st-century American politicians
Candidates in the 2014 United States elections
Candidates in the 2016 United States elections
Gay politicians
LGBT state legislators in California
LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California
Living people
Politicians from Los Angeles
Speakers of the California State Assembly
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Trade unionists from California
University of California, Berkeley alumni
United Food and Commercial Workers people