Sen. Ron Calderon Suspended by Rules Panel

By Brian Hews and Randy Economy

Sen. Ron Calderon (D-Montebello).

Reports from Sacramento are indicating that the Senate Rules Committee has suspended embattled Sen. Ron Calderon from all legislative committees. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said last Wednesday that Calderon (D-Montebello) should be temporarily removed until he faces a federal bribery probe.

Hews Media Group was was told last Wednesday that Steinberg wanted Calderon removed from “all committee assignments, including the chairmanship of the Senate Insurance Committee, until the sting investigations is resolved.”

“Senator Ronald Calderon currently Chairs the Senate Insurance Committee and sits on the Senate Banking Committee and Financial Institutions Committee, the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, the Senate Governmental Organization Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Procurement. Senator Steinberg also asks the Senate Rules Committee to eliminate the Senate Committee on California’s Film and Television Industry, chaired by Senator Calderon, which has not convened since its inception earlier this year,” the statement read.

ASSEMBLYWOMAN GARCIA REACTS

Artesia area Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, who demanded that Calderon step down earlier this week, told HMG-CN on Wednesday: “I applaud Senator President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg for taking action to remove Senator Calderon from his chairmanship and other committee assignments. I hope he finds the will to join me in requesting for Senator Calderon’s resignation as over the last week his constituents, activists and colleagues have shared that they have lost faith in his ability to govern with integrity,”

“I fully realize that we must respect the presumed innocence of Senator Calderon, but the distraction caused by this case, in my own backyard and its long term implications are detrimental to the fabric of government and to the citizens that the Senator represents,” Garcia continued.

“Last week I requested the Senator’s resignation. Serving the public is a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. It is my hope, that with the Senator stepping away, we can begin to restore faith in government and faith in our elected leaders and remove the black cloud over our backyard, the Capitol, and the State of California,” she concluded.

Calderon issued a blistering email on Friday denouncing Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia after she demanded his resignation one week ago.

Calderon is the center of a massive political corruption probe by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as other law enforcement agencis on allegations of accepting bribes, money laundering as well as influence peddling.

The story about Calderon and the FBI probe has attracted media attention from around the world, and was first reported by Hews Media Group several months ago.

Calderon through his spokesperson Mario Beltran told members of the media that “It is outrageous in a democratic society for (Assemblywoman) Cristina Garcia, an elected official, to trample on the Constitution by making a mockery of the presumption of innocence, a fundamental right, and seek political gain by embracing the criminal acts of media outlets that violate federal law by revealing the contents of sealed federal documents. I would suggest that Assemblywoman Garcia would best serve her constituents by reviewing her notes from her 8th grade civics class.”

Garcia was the first lawmaker in California to ask for Calderon’s resignation.

“It is with mixed feelings, but with strong conviction that today I ask Senator Calderon to step down from his office to allow this black cloud to be removed from over the Capitol and over the State of California,” Garcia said late last week.

“I fully realize that we must respect the presumed innocence of Senator Calderon, but the distraction caused by this case, in my own backyard and its long term implications are detrimental to the fabric of government and to the citizens that the Senator represents,” said Garcia who is in the middle of her first two-year term in office.

“Every Legislator takes an oath to faithfully discharge their duties as an elected official. When this pledge is for any reason jeopardized, an officeholder has the duty to step away. I hope Senator Calderon will look in to himself and make the proper decision,” Garcia said.

Tim Reardon, Chief of Staff to Garcia told Hews Media Group-CN that he had “no official comment” on the matter.