Complete Remarks of Fabian Nunez in Announcing Assembly Democratic Caucus Decision Keeping Him as Speaker and Election Next Mont

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

Here is the entire transcript of what Fabian Nunez, Speaker of the California State Assembly, had to say and his answers to questions in a press conference on the Assembly floor flanked by members of the Democratic caucus. Nunez took personal responsibility for the passage of Proposition 93. He announced that although he had offered to resign this summer as Speaker he will remain in the position and that there would be a vote on March 11 for a new Speaker to assume the position at the end of the session.

Nunez also revealed some personal details: That he will take some time off after he leaves office and will not run for the State Senate or Mayor of Los Angeles in 2010. He spoke emotionally about what the honor of being Speaker has meant to him.

“We have a very important announcement to make here today. As all of you know, the results of Tuesday’s election brought about a wave of change to California, and in particular, Sacramento. While there has been a lot of rumor and speculation about what may become of the Assembly Democratic leadership, I first want to say that today, for me, is one of my proudest days as a member of the California State Assembly and certainly as a member of the Democratic Caucus.

“Today was one of the only times I think that I’ve gone to the Caucus with a suggested plan, and my plan was flatly rejected by the members of the Caucus, and I’ll tell you what that was about in a minute.

“But first, I want to recognize a person that did such a great job in leading us in what was I believe a very important conversation in the Democratic Caucus, and that person is Noreen Evans, our Caucus Chair. She kept us on target and on time, believe it or not. We could have been there five hours having this conversation.

“The conversation we had today was a very important conversation. It’s a conversation about leadership. It’s a conversation about the future of the Assembly. It’s a conversation about the Speakership. But more importantly, it’s a conversation about the Democratic values that we all cherish as Democrats with both a capital and lower case “d,” because we believe that the stability of the Assembly is but a reflection of our commitment to good policy and to the hard work that defines who we are through the work that we do here.

“The Assembly Democratic Caucus has made some very important decisions today that we want to announce to you. First and foremost, this Caucus will remain 100% unified behind selecting a Democratic member to be the next Speaker of the California Assembly. We’re selecting a Democratic member to be a Speaker, and we’ve agreed to a process in a way that expressed the utmost political maturity that I believe this house has expressed in a very long time.