Roderick Devon "Rod" Wright (born July 3, 1952) is an American
Democratic politician who previously represented
California's 35th State Senate district
California's 35th State Senate district is one of 40 California State Senate districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Steven Bradford of Gardena.
District profile
The district straddles Interstate 110, including the inland port ...
until his resignation on September 22, 2014. He previously represented the
25th district from 2008-2012. Wright also represented
California's 48th State Assembly district
California's 48th State Assembly district is one of 80 California California State Assembly, State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by California Democratic Party, Democrat Blanca Rubio of Baldwin Park, California, Baldwin Park.
...
from 1996 until he was term limited in 2002.
Education and pre-legislative career
Senator Wright obtained his degree in Urban Studies and City Planning at
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and th ...
.
Prior to his initial entrance into elected office in 1996, Senator Wright was the District Director to Congresswoman
Maxine Waters
Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1991. The district, numbered as the 29th district from 1991 to 1993 and as the 35th district from 1993 to 2013, inc ...
where he assisted citizens with federal matters such as Social Security, Medi-Care and veterans issues among others.
Legislative career
Wright was then elected to the California State Assembly in 1996 representing the 48th Assembly District covering much of south Los Angeles County. From 1998 until 2002, Wright served as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce (U&C) which held legislative jurisdiction over electricity, natural gas, telecommunications, private water corporations and other issues related to commerce. Wright has been recognized for his work in the areas of public safety, education, energy and utilities, small business, family law and
consumer privacy
Consumer privacy is information privacy as it relates to the consumers of products and services.
A variety of social, legal and political issues arise from the interaction of the public's potential expectation of privacy and the collection and ...
.
2008 primary
Entering the 2008 primary season, Wright had been out of politics for six years and was initially not considered a strong candidate against the front runner, former Lieutenant Governor and Congressman
Mervyn Dymally
Mervyn Malcolm Dymally (May 12, 1926 – October 7, 2012) was an American politician from California. He served in the California State Assembly (1963–66) and the California State Senate (1967–75) as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Californ ...
. However, with his own fundraising and help from independent expenditure groups, Wright was able to overcome his lack of name recognition in the area – most of the area Wright represented in the
California State Assembly is in
California's 26th Senate District.
2010 harassment settlement
In April 2010, California Senate leaders secretly approved a $120,000 settlement in a harassment claim against Wright.
2010 indictment and 2014 conviction
In September 2010, a Los Angeles County grand jury unsealed an eight-count felony indictment against state Sen. Roderick Wright accusing him of filing a false declaration of candidacy, voter fraud and perjury beginning in 2007, when he changed his voter registration to run for the Legislature.
Wright was convicted of eight counts of voter fraud on January 28, 2014. In September, he was sentenced to ninety days' confinement and banned from public office for the rest of his life.
Wright resigned from the State Senate on September 22, 2014.
Pardon
On November 21, 2018,
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 ...
,
Governor of California, pardoned Wright.
Jerry Brown pardons California lawmaker convicted of felony voter fraud
/ref>
References
External links
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Join California Rod Wright
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Roderick
1952 births
Living people
African-American state legislators in California
Democratic Party California state senators
Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly
Pepperdine University alumni
People of the African Methodist Episcopal church
People from Inglewood, California
Politicians from Chicago
American politicians convicted of fraud
California politicians convicted of crimes
21st-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians