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Scandals plague democrats in California

Published:Friday | March 28, 2014 | 12:00 AM
State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (centre), D-Sacramento, calls for Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, to resign his seat in the wake of his arrest on federal corruption and firearm charges. He is flanked by fellow Senate Democrats, Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles (left) and Mark Leno, of San Francisco. - AP

SACRAMENTO (AP):

So far in 2014, each month has brought news of another arrest or conviction of a Democratic California state senator. The separate investigations culminated Wednesday in the arrest of Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco on federal corruption charges that roiled the capital, leading one of Yee's opponents in the race for secretary of state to call the Legislature a "corrupt institution."

Democrats hold large majorities in both chambers of the Legislature and should be flying into election season this year, easily passing legislation and setting the agenda after taming California's busted budgets and turning their Republican rivals into a "superminority" in the nation's most populous state.

But now their dominance could be dampened by new revelations of dirty dealings by Democrats in the state Senate. One senator was convicted of voter fraud and perjury, and two others face federal charges for alleged misdeeds that include accepting large financial bribes for friends and family in exchange for legislation, and orchestrating weapons and drug trafficking to help pay off campaign debts.

On Wednesday, the Democratic leader of the Senate, President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, called a news conference at his Capitol office, flanked by 14 other Democratic senators as he called on Yee to resign or face suspension by his colleagues, saying "he cannot come back".

UPHOLD INTEGRITY

"I know what people are thinking. This is the third incident the Senate has had to deal with," an emotional Steinberg said. "We are going to do everything in our power to uphold the integrity of the Senate and do the people's business and still have a great and productive year."

Yee had been best known publicly for his efforts to promote government transparency and public records, for which he was celebrated just last week by the Society of Professional Journalists. He also introduced several bills last year to restrict gun possession. The federal affidavit unsealed Wednesday accuses Yee of conspiracy to deal firearms without a licence and to illegally import firearms.