A couple of state legislators who represent various sections of the city’s center have set their sights on new seats, preparing for electoral bids that would have them swap their current posts if both are successful in elections later this year.
22nd District State Senator Gil Cedillo recently confirmed that he plans to seek the 45th District seat in the State Assembly currently held by Kevin DeLeon. Meanwhile, DeLeon is expected to seek the 22nd District seat currently held by Cedillo in the State Senate.
Cedillo and DeLeon are both Democrats who face term limits in their current posts.
Cedillo served as the representative for the 46th District in the Assembly before winning his seat in the Senate in 2002. Current laws on term limits mean that Cedillo will be eligible for only one more term in the Assembly should he win the 45th District seat.
Cedillo had considered run for his old Assembly seat in the 46th District when it appeared that current incumbent John Perez would make a bid for the 22nd District seat in the Senate. Perez then surprised many political observers by making a late and successful push to win the post of Assembly Speaker, giving him the likelihood of spending four years as one of the most powerful elected officials in the state. Perez won the Speaker’s post by beating one-time front-runner DeLeon in an internal vote conducted among Assemblymembers.
Cedillo and DeLeon are both likely to be heavy favorites in their respective races for the Democratic nominations for the two legislative seats during the statewide primaries in June.
Cedillo could face extra scrutiny because he will have to move and establish a new residence in the 45th District in order to qualify for the ballot. Cedillo currently lives in an area of Downtown with an address that is within his Senate district and the 46th Assembly district he used to represent.
Such moves close to a campaign often bring charges of opportunism by candidates, with opponents painting them as outsiders looking for little more than a political perch. Such criticisms could also come amid what many political observers have identified as a growing sense of voter discontent with elected officials at every level of government. (see related Dot Dot Dish item, “Dogfight in 14th District?,” home page).
Cedillo discounted any such criticisms over residential status, pointing to his long experience representing the people of the 45th District as a labor leader and as their representative in the 22nd District, which includes that includes much of the 45th and 46th Assembly districts and parts of two others.
“The people of the 45th District know me by the work I’ve done on their behalf for years,” Cedillo said. “They’ve already voted for me a number of times.”
