Some are suggesting that politics may be behind the lack of action to eject a member of the California Senate who recently was convicted of eight felonies connected with fraudulently claiming to live in the district he represents.
The senator, Roderick Wright, is also one of the strongest supporters of online poker in the Golden State, and has been the main force behind trying to legalize it the last three years.
Some wonder why Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg has not moved to eject Wright. Steinberg has said that the Senate has the authority to eject Wright and that it doesn’t automatically follow just because he is now a convicted felon.
However, according to longtime political columnist Dan Walters, the reason may be simple: once Wright is removed, the Democrats won’t have their ability to pass a number of actions without Republic votes due to a two-thirds majority. A two-thirds margin is required for such things as non-budget urgency bills, tax increases and constitutional amendments.
The Democrats have been freely using their supermajority this year with the full knowledge that they are likely to lose it in the November election. As long as Wright stays in the Chamber, they can continue to use the supermajority until next year.
