Assembly Republicans oust leader

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Assembly Republicans replaced their leader Thursday afternoon after an election in which the caucus lost a seat to a Democrat. California was one of the few places where Democrats actually picked up a legislative seat amid the landslide for Republicans nationwide.

The new Assembly GOP leader is Connie Conway of Tulare. She replaces Martin Garrick of Solana Beach. Conway, who was elected to her second term in the Assembly on Tuesday, would be the first woman to hold the post in nearly three decades. Before coming to the Assembly she was a county supervisor, and also served in leadership of the California State Assn. of Counties.

Democrats now control 52 seats in the 80-member Assembly. The last time Democrats had that many members in the Assembly was in 1974, the same year Jerry Brown was first elected governor.

-- Anthony York in Sacramento