SACRAMENTO – Speaker Fabian Núñez (D-Los Angeles) today announced that the Assembly Democratic Caucus has unanimously agreed to keep Núñez as Speaker through the end of session. The Caucus also agreed to schedule a Caucus vote on a new Speaker March 11.

“The conversation we had today was a very important conversation,” Speaker Núñez said. “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.”

Audio and a complete transcript of today’s press conference are below.

Speaker Fabian Núñez says there will be a vote to elect a new Speaker of the Assembly in just over a month.

Speaker Fabian Núñez says he suggested stepping down this summer but the Democratic Caucus asked him to remain Speaker until the end of the legislative session at the end of the year.

Speaker Fabian Núñez says he will work closely with whoever the next Speaker will be to insure a smooth transition.

Speaker Fabian Núñez says deciding who will be the next Speaker of the Assembly is one of the most important votes a lawmaker will cast.

Speaker Fabian Núñez says he will take some time off after he leaves office and says he’s honored to have been able to serve as Speaker of the Assembly.

Speaker Núñez:

“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 mad 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.

“We will have a vote for Assembly Speaker in the Democratic Caucus, and that will take place on March 11. If by March 11, one of the various candidates for Speaker doesn’t have the necessary votes – in our view, it’s a minimum of 25 votes – then we will allow for more time for the candidates to have an opportunity to meet with all the members of the Caucus to convince the members of the Caucus why they should be the next Speaker of the California Assembly and to have the honor and privilege to serve as Speaker.

“Secondly, I proposed to the members that I leave my post as the Speaker after the budget or in the summer. The members rejected that and overwhelmingly – unanimously – supported a vote that took place in the Caucus that I remain Speaker until the end of the legislative session. We have agreed that that is what this Caucus will do.

“Now, I do want to say, with respect to what will happen, we have one common objective beyond what I’ve said beyond the day-to-day operations. We like the stability this house now has, the relationship we now have with our Republican colleagues, and the respect that we express to them day in and day out. None of that will change.

“The person who will be nominated out of our Caucus to be the next Speaker is going to be working with me immediately after they’re elected by the Caucus as the nominee to work on the political campaigns, on the fundraising. And as we get close to the end of the legislative session, they’ll be working very close with me on the management of the house. We have agreed to do that, and we believe that will bring the type of fluidness, integrity of the house, as well as making sure that we maintain in this house the stability that I believe we have earned over the past several years and that makes the Assembly an equal partner with the Senate in this two-house legislature.”

Question: Do you have names?

“By the way, I did say that after today, you might hear people say they’re a candidate for Speaker. I know people have been speculating up to this point. I think by the end of the day today or maybe after this press conference, you’ll have members of the Caucus expressing their interest in the Speakership.”

Question: Is there a preference in the Caucus now to pick somebody from Southern California?

“The will of the Caucus is the will of the Caucus. That is going to be a decision that is a collective decision where all of us have a vote. Nobody has more than a vote in terms of our voice in expressing where we are with respect to whether it should be someone from Northern or Southern California. Everybody and anybody who wants to be Speaker should have the opportunity to campaign for the job and make their case known to the Caucus.”

Question: How involved will you be in the process?

“I’m not going to be involved. I’ve made a commitment to my members that, at least for the next couple of weeks, I’m going to let things gel. And before I do that, I’m going to consult with all the members of the Caucus. I would like for the Speakership effort to evolve as naturally as possible without being influenced by anybody. But I do reserve the right to support somebody eventually. But I think I’m going to give it at least a couple of weeks to evolve before I make any decisions. I think its incumbent upon me as the Speaker to give that kind of deference to anybody interested in running for the position.”

Question: Given the certainty that there will be a fairly large turnover in the Caucus in next year’s election because of term limits, why not let this go through December and let the Caucus that will have to deal with the new Speaker elect him?

“That’s an idea. I guess if you were one of us, you could have made that case in Caucus. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. It’s a point of view. No one expressed that today. I’m not saying that’s not valid. I think it is a valid point. But I do think also that what’s important here is the institutional memory you establish along the way, and I think everyone here wants to partake in that process.

“You know, a lot of people talk about how the most important vote you make is for the budget, and it is. But a lot people today said in the Caucus, that one of the most important votes anyone here behind me today will make is whom we will elect as our next Speaker. I think that’s a valid point, we’ll consider that, but obviously, whoever’s elected to be the next speaker is going to have some races in November and will have to be reconfirmed in January.”

Question: Speaking of races in November, what are your plans into the future?

“I don’t have plans as of now. I will tell you, I was home on Tuesday night with my wife and son. He went to bed about ten, stayed up about an hour over his bedtime. He was watching the returns, was excited about the campaigns, woke up Wednesday morning and said ‘Dad, did we win?’ And I said, ‘No, Carlos, we lost.’ And he started jumping up and down on the bed, and he said, ‘Hooray, hooray,’ and I said ‘Why are you celebrating?’ He said, ‘Now that you’ve lost you get to spend more time with me.’ And of course he also wants me to get him a dog eventually.

“But I tell you what, once this is over, and I’m committed to the Caucus, through the end of legislative session to work my heart out for this Caucus, after that we’ll see what else comes. I do think that I probably need to take some time off to do other things and spend more time with my family, because I think they’ve made a big sacrifice. And, you know, the pressures that kids get in their schools and see television commercials attacking you, you know those things affect you. You’re an adult; you’ve got thick skin; you can deal with it, but it affects the kids more.

“So I think I owe it to my family, certainly to my younger one, Carlos, who’s seven, that once I’m done here I think I’ll stay away from politics for a couple years, at least, and if I get really comfortable, I might never get back into it. But I’ll tell you what, if this is the last thing I ever do in the world of politics, I’m blessed to be surrounded by and serve such a great state at a capacity that was beyond my wildest imaginations. As a kid, growing up poor in Tijuana and in San Diego, I think I’ve had a decent life. Some of you have written about it, and it is what it is. I really believe that the opportunity to be Speaker is one of the greatest things I probably will have ever done in my life, and if that’s where it ends for me I’ll tell you what, it will have been worthwhile.”

Question: Now that this is your last term, do you think it will be a little bit harder for the Democratic Caucus to get what you want on some of the big issues?

“Absolutely not. I don’t think that in any way shape or form that this is going to dilute the power of this Caucus. This is my last in year in the legislature, so all of us in our last year, I guess folks in politics call it ‘lame duck status,’ but make no mistake about it, this Caucus is going to remain firm, and is going to remain strong. And I think what you’re going to see in this legislative session is you’re not going to see me carrying big legislation, big bills, you’re going to see more members from this Caucus doing it. But the strength of this Caucus, I think, will be put through the test, but I can tell you now, in anticipation of what might happen over the next couple of months, this Caucus is going to be really strong and everybody here is committed to that.”

Question: Mr. Speaker, the Governor yesterday and today, in assessing Proposition 93, said the legislature failed to convince the people that they were doing a good job. Is that a reflection of your leadership?

“Well, look. There are many reasons, and the pundits will give you 25 different reasons why Prop 93 failed. I think in hindsight I can tell you I would have done a lot of things differently. But I respect the will of the voters. The voters said they didn’t want to reform the term limits law that we have in place. I respect that decision of the voters. And you got to know how to win, you got to know how to lose. If you don’t know how to lose, you don’t deserve to win. I’m humbled by the result of that vote, I accept it wholeheartedly, and I tell you what, I take full responsibility for Prop 93 going down. I don’t blame anybody else in the legislature. I, myself, am prepared to take full responsibility. I made some mistakes along the way. Case in point: I thought we were going to be able to work out a redistricting deal with my Republican colleagues. But as I said to my Caucus, the one thing I will never do is to hand over power, even though I like my Republican friends, but I’m not going to hand them the tools so that they can draw the district boundaries the way they want to draw them. I wanted a fair and objective process. I could never get that out of this place.

“So, short of selling out the Democratic majority, I wasn’t going to pass Prop 93 at any cost. So I take full responsibility for the redistricting initiative not passing. But know that the responsibility that I take, and that decision that I made is based upon some very key factors, most important of which is that I could not get a deal that was fair enough for this Caucus to embrace. We talked about it a lot in the Caucus. We talked about different variations, and I knew all along that if we had the redistricting deal, that ultimately Prop 93 would pass. There was no question about it. So again, I take full responsibility for it, and I’m prepared to take all the bullets that one needs to take. I think that it’s only fair that I do that. Nobody else, neither here or in the other house, deserves the blame for the failure of Prop 93. I take full responsibility for that. Thank you very much.”

Question: Will you run for Senate in 2010?

“Absolutely not.”

Question: What about LA Mayor in 2010?

“I’m not interested.”