I have votes to become speaker, Assembly member Rivas says
SACRAMENTO >> Assembly member Robert Rivas says he has enough votes to become the next speaker of the state Assembly.
Rivas, a Democrat whose district includes part of Santa Clara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties and San Benito County, would replace Anthony Rendon. Rendon has been speaker since 2016.
It's not clear when Rivas would take over. In a news release, Rivas said he met with Rendon on Friday morning “to begin discussions on a transition.”
Rendon's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Anthony Rendon has been an effective and unifying speaker, and I am grateful to him for his steady leadership, and I am confident a smooth transition of power is a shared value of ours,” Rivas said in a statement.
State lawmakers in California are limited to 12 years in office. Rendon has been in office since 2012, part of a large number of Democrats elected that year who would be termed out in 2024. Many of Rendon's colleagues who were elected with him already have left office or are planning to leave as they near their term limits, which has eroded Rendon's base of support.
Rivas first was elected to the Legislature in 2018. In a news release, Rivas said he would be the “first California state Assembly speaker in the modern era to represent a rural district.”
The change comes at a key time of the legislative calendar as lawmakers must pass an operating budget by June 15 or forfeit their salaries. Legislative leaders have been deep in negotiations with Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration for weeks, with lawmakers unable to agree on how to give out billions in tax rebates.
Rivas said he was raised by his mother and his grandparents, who moved to California from Mexico. His biography on his official website says Rivas struggled to overcome a severe stutter as a child “that rendered him almost speechless.”
Rivas said his grandfather was a migrant farmworker who stood with César Chávez and the United Farm Workers to advocate for farmworker rights.
“My family's story is similar to the millions of immigrants who have come to California in search of a better life,” Rivas said. “It shows what is possible in our state. As speaker, I will fight to keep the door of opportunity open for future generations.”