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California Assembly Speakers
From Los Angeles County

Since 1900

California Assembly, Speaker Dais, 2016

Speaker’s dais of the California State Assembly, viewed from the public gallery, 2016. Image from California State Assembly.

Since 1900, 18 people elected to the California Assembly from Los Angeles County were elevated to serve as Speaker of the Assembly. These include the first openly-gay Speaker (John Perez), the first African American Woman Speaker (Karen Bass), one who went on to be Mayor of Los Angeles (Antonio Villaraigosa), the longest-serving Speaker who went on to be State Treasurer (Jesse Unruh), one who authored the legislation to create the UCLA campus (Charles Lyon), one who went on to be a California Supreme Court Justice (Paul Peek), and one who went on be Governor of California (Frank Miriam).


Speaker Period Serving as Speaker Political Party Constituency
Anthony Rendon Mar. 2016-present Democrat Lakewood
John Perez Mar. 2010-May 2014 Democrat Los Angeles
Karen Bass May 2008-Mar. 2010 Democrat Los Angeles
Fabian Nunez Feb. 2004-May 2008 Democrat Los Angeles
Herb Wesson Feb. 2002-Feb. 2004 Democrat Culver City
Robert Hertzberg Apr. 2000-Feb. 2002 Democrat Van Nuys
Antonio Villaraigosa Feb. 1998-Apr. 2000 Democrat Los Angeles
Bob Moretti Jan. 1971-Jun. 1974 Democrat Van Nuys
Jesse M. Unruh Sep. 1961-Jan. 1969 Democrat Inglewood
Charles W. Lyon Jan. 1943-Jan. 1946 Republican Los Angeles
Paul Peek Jan. 1939-Jun. 1939 Democrat Long Beach
William Mosley Jones Jan. 1937-Jan. 1939 Democrat Montebello
Walter J. Little Jan. 1933-Jul. 1933 Republican Santa Monica
Frank Miriam Jan. 1923-Oct. 1926 Republican Long Beach
Henry W. Wright Jan. 1919-Jan. 1921 Republican South Pasadena
Cornelius W. Pendleton Jan. 1901-Mar. 1901 Republican Los Angeles