John A. Perez became one of the most powerful openly gay elected officials in the country Monday when he was sworn in as speaker of the California Assembly.  His election to the post by his peers makes him the second most powerful elected official in the state, which is one of the biggest economies in the world.  Perez is serving his first term in the Assembly, meaning he could remain its speaker for five years, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Chuck Wolfe, president and CEO of the Victory Fund, offered the organization’s congratulations:  ”We are enormously proud of Speaker Perez and grateful that his Assembly colleagues made this historic choice.  His election proves that LGBT Americans are able, willing and ready to serve at the highest levels of government.”

According to the Associated Press, Perez said jobs creation and the state’s deficit will be his top priorities:

Democrat John Perez of Los Angeles said creating jobs as the state struggles with an unemployment rate above 12 percent will be his legislative priority.

He also wants to start healing rifts between Democrats and Republicans that have made it difficult for either house to pass meaningful legislation in recent years.

Perez announced during his acceptance speech that he will appoint two Republicans to serve as chairs of Assembly committees. While Republicans are the minority in the Assembly and Senate, he said their ideas deserve to be considered.

Getting both sides to work together, he said, will be key to solving the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis.

California faces a budget deficit of about $20 billion through June 2011. Democrats have argued against deep spending cuts, while Republicans oppose tax increases.

“We don’t have sufficient resources to meet all our needs, but that cannot be an excuse to turn on each other,” Perez told his colleagues in a packed Assembly chamber.

Perez is a former Victory Fund-endorsed candidate.

Rep. Gordon D. Fox, who is openly gay, has locked up enough support to be elected speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, according to the Providence Journal:

If all goes according to plan, the Democrats will choose Fox to be the next speaker and will also back his selections for a new leadership team in the positions of majority leader, majority whip, speaker pro tem, deputy whip and deputy majority leader.

Only the speaker’s position needs approval from the full House, but with Democrats holding 69 of 75 seats, it’s a foregone conclusion that whomever the party chooses will be the next speaker.

Fox said he has 53 votes — 15 more than the simple majority he needs.

Fox’s ascension to the powerful political post would come on the heels of the election of John Perez as speaker of the California Assembly.  Perez was the first openly gay person of color ever elected to the California legislature when he won his race in 2008.  The only other openly LGBT elected official to lead a state legislative body was the late Allan Spear, who presided over the Minnesota Senate for a decade.

Photo:  Providence Journal

According to the Sacramento Bee, California Democrats have now united around out assemblyman John Perez for the role of Speaker.  The sole remaining challenger, Kevin de Leon, bowed out and endorsed Perez, a move which removed the necessity of relying on GOP votes.  With that hurdle removed, Democrats were able to agree on their choice and, with Democrats holding the majority in the Assembly, only a formal floor vote in January will be necessary to officially install Perez as Speaker.

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Members emerged from a closed-door caucus at the historic Stanford Mansion to announce that Democrats had chosen Perez, of Los Angeles, on an unanimous vote.

The move came after Assemblyman Kevin de Leon agreed to bow out. A public vote on the Assembly floor is expected in January.

It followed a morning of smaller private meetings in which Perez, de Leon and a core group of the latter’s supporters discussed how to go forward after a bitter speakership fight.

Assemblyman Jose Solorio, a Santa Ana Democrat who supported de Leon, said Perez is “going out of his way now to reach out to everyone.”

Speaker-elect Perez is a first-term legislator and former Victory-endorsee.

Capitol Weekly is reporting that out California state assemblyman John Perez is a leading candidate for the position of speaker of the assembly.  Bolstered by the dropping out of other top-tier candidates, Perez’s candidacy for the position began with an effort started by several of his colleagues in the assembly:

Perez entered the race after a number of his Assembly colleagues mounted an effort to draft him as a speakership candidate. Capitol sources said if Perez is able to secure a majority of his caucus, the vote on a new speaker could come by next week, when the Assembly reconvenes to vote on education legislation.

One of those involved in the Draft Perez movement was Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael. Huffman told Capitol Weekly Tuesday, “I believe John now has the votes. I think it’s over.”

Huffman said the pivotal moment came when Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, dropped out of the race and pledged his support to Perez.

If elected, former Victory-endorsee Perez would become the first openly gay speaker of a state legislative body.

California’s caucus of openly gay state legislators will likely gain at least two new faces after November’s general election, given results in primary voting Tuesday night.  Community activist John Perez (right) won his primary to represent District 46 in the State Assembly and faces token opposition in November.  Perez would become the first openly gay person of color to serve in the Assembly.  Further north, San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano took the Democratic nomination to fill the seat of Assemblymember Mark Leno, who was term limited.  Ammiano is the prohibitive favorite to win the seat this fall.

Leno, meanwhile, won a hard fought primary campaign for a seat in the California Senate and is heavily favored to win this November.  He first won a seat in the Assembly in 2002, where he fought for civil rights for the LGBT community.  In recent sessions, Leno lead an effort to legalize marriage for same-sex couples, twice passing a historic bill only to have it vetoed by California’s governor.

In Montana, Sen. Christine Kaufmann won her Democratic primary to keep her seat in the Montana Senate.  Kauffman was appointed to the seat in 2007 after serving in the Montana State House for six years.  She is favored to win the general election this fall.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund backed Perez, Ammiano and Kaufmann.  It did not endorse Mark Leno because his race involved multiple openly gay candidates who were considered viable.

In other California races, Gary Haehnle won his race for a judgeship on the San Diego Superior Court and Dwayne Crenshaw won his primary for a seat on the San Diego Community College Board of Trustees.

The Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund is the only national organization dedicated to increasing the number of openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender elected officials at all levels of government.  Since its founding in 1991, the Victory Fund has helped to grow the number of openly LGBT elected officials in the U.S. from 49 to more than 410.