Sen. Abel Maldonado will have another chance to be confirmed as lieutenant governor of California.
On April 21, the Assembly Committee on Rules approved Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s nomination of Maldonado, which sent the nomination to an Assembly floor vote scheduled for April 22.
Maldonado thanked committee members and said he looked forward to working with them and the governor regardless of what happens with the Assembly vote.
The Assembly rejected Maldonado’s first nomination, but Schwarzenegger challenged the legitimacy of that decision, sending it back through the approval process. The seat was vacated by Democrat John Garamendi who left the position for a congressional seat.
If approved, Maldonado’s Senate seat could go to a November runoff election, allowing an opening for Republican Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, who’s expected to run for the position.
This article appears in Apr 22-29, 2010.