As soon as the 2009-10 legislative session came to a start, members of both houses were already making career moves due to outside opportunities opening up and thus while the November election is behind us, there remains to be determined more elections to occur in the near future to address this continual movement.

The Senate lost a member as Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas won his run-off to replace Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Braithwaite Burke who retired after serving sixteen years on the board. That departure triggered a special election that will take place on March 24 and has State Assembly members Mike Davis and Curren Price and six other candidates sparring to fill the vacancy

Mr. Davis represents the 48th Assembly District. Prior to being elected, Mr. Davis served as Los Angeles County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke’s Senior Deputy Director. He also served as District Director for Maxine Waters during her tenure in the California State Assembly and when she was elected to Congress. He received his Bachelor's Degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; a Masters of Public Administration Degree from California State University at Northridge; and a Masters of Arts Degree in Behavioral Science with a concentration in Negotiations and Conflict Management from California State University at Dominguez Hills. He also recently completed Innovations in Governance Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mr. Curren Price represents the 51st Assembly District. He is a graduate of Stanford University; and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Santa Clara. Mr. Price served as an elected member of the Inglewood City Council from 1993 to 1997 and 2001 to 2006. Price's 51st District includes Inglewood, where Price served on the City Council, and takes in Playa Vista in Los Angeles, all or parts of the cities of Hawthorne, Lawndale and Gardena, the community of Lennox and portions of Harbor Gateway. Senate Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg has endorsed Price for this seat.

The other candidates who returned nomination papers are Robert Cole, a member of the Los Angeles County Economy & Efficiency Commission; Saundra Davis, member of the Culver City school board; Mervin Leon Evans, an author, crisis consultant and perennial candidate; Jonathan Friedman, a financial analyst; Cindy Varela Henderson, a communications technician; and Nachum Shifren, an educator.

The candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote on March 24th will win the seat. If no one gets a majority, there will be a May 19th runoff. Assuming that Mr. Price or Mr. Davis wins the Senate seat, then the Governor will need to call a special election to fill the vacant Assembly seat.

The confirmation of Congressional Member Hilda Solis to serve as the Secretary of Labor in the Obama Administration could potentially mean that the Senate will lose another member as the two leading candidates to replace Solis are State Senator Gil Cedillo and State Board of Equalization Member Judy Chu. State Senator Gloria Romero and Assembly member Ed Hernandez were also initially interested in this seat but withdrew. When Solis resigns the seat, Governor Schwarzenegger will have fourteen days to call the special election, which will be between 112 and 126 days from the day of Solis’ resignation.

The positioning and jockeying in this race, that hasn’t even officially become available yet has been on-going since Christmas when Ms. Solis’ nomination was announced. Senator Romero was considered a very strong candidate for the seat, but decided to focus on her run for Superintendent of Education. Mr. Hernandez has decided to focus his attention on replacing Senator Romero when she is termed out in two years.

Senator Cedillo is termed out of office in two years and former Speaker of the Assembly Fabian Nunez has initiated the paperwork necessary to run for that seat. Should the congressional seat become vacant and should he run, Senator Cedillo’s seat would be eyed by many members of the Assembly and Mr. Nunez as well.