California's Democratic-controlled state Senate on Friday voted to suspend three of its members, including Leland Yee, who was arrested this week on federal charges of corruption and arms trafficking.
The 28-1 decision, marking the first time in the state Senate's history that it has voted to suspend members, also targets Sen. Ron Calderon of Montebello (Los Angeles County), who was charged with bribery and corruption in an FBI sting last month, and Sen. Roderick Wright of Inglewood (Los Angeles County), convicted this year of eight counts of perjury and voter fraud. All three suspended senators will continue to receive their salaries, but they can't return to the Senate until a vote is made to reinstate them.
Late Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown called on all three state senators to resign.
Yee's attorney, Paul DeMeester, issued a statement saying, "Suspension is the right step for now and is appropriate in a system that assumes the innocence of the accused."
But suspension didn't satisfy everyone. During the floor debate, Republican Joel Anderson of San Diego - the sole no vote - argued that suspensions alone were not sufficient and that all three should be expelled.
Senate's best option
Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, who pushed for the suspensions, argued that lacking convictions of Yee and Calderon, suspension was the Senate's best option. Moments before the vote, Steinberg noted "how easy it is in a time like this to attack - and attack one another."
"We can either bury our heads or we can hold them high," he said. "We have a lot of work to do on behalf of the people of California, and we intend to do it."
But Steinberg also acknowledged that just weeks earlier - before the arrests of Yee and Calderon - he had resisted GOP calls to suspend Wright and had "obviously, changed my point of view."
The dramatic proceedings were sparked by Yee's arrest this week. The scandal has caused political upheaval in Sacramento, where Democrats control both houses of the Legislature and all statewide offices.
Yee was one of 26 people caught up in a five-year federal investigation that targeted Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, a Chinatown gangster who had claimed to have left a life of crime behind, officials said. Investigators made the investigation public Wednesday after Yee, Chow and others were arrested and several locations from Sacramento to San Francisco were raided.
Yee - whose alleged crimes contradict his public image as an advocate for gun control, open government and limiting youths' exposure to violent video games - is out on $500,000 bail and has not commented on the charges. DeMeester says Yee plans to plead not guilty.
Investigators say Yee took bribes from undercover agents in exchange for political favors to pay off a $70,000 debt from an unsuccessful run for San Francisco mayor in 2011 and to raise money for his secretary of state campaign, which he abandoned a day after the allegations were made public.
Yee raised $800,000
Yee had raised $800,000 for the state race and, according to recent campaign finance filings, has spent all but $134,000, which he can now use for his legal defense. Despite withdrawing, Yee's name will remain on the ballot for the June 3 primary.
Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar (Los Angeles County) criticized Steinberg for being late to the table in suspending Calderon and Wright - but said he was glad members finally acted Friday to suspend all three.
Huff also said he believes he is one of the two unnamed senators mentioned in Yee's criminal complaint, in which he is accused of accepting $10,000 from an undercover agent for setting up a meeting with "State Senator 2."
The Republican leader said he remembered an odd meeting with Yee and another man on the same date last year that was listed in court documents. Huff recalled Yee's associate as having long hair.
"He was reportedly a medical marijuana guy," Huff said. "He wanted to know what Republicans' issues were with legalizing marijuana. ... I told him I grew up believing marijuana is a gateway drug and, at a minimum, we don't need more people operating heavy machinery or behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. That was pretty much the conversation."
But with Republicans such as state Sen. Andy Vidak of Hanford (Kings County) charging that Yee, Calderon and Wright would now enjoy "taxpayer-paid vacations," Steinberg addressed concerns about them being paid.
Rules of suspension
"The Constitution is very clear that the Legislature has no authority to suspend a member without pay," Steinberg said. He vowed to introduce a constitutional amendment to go on the November ballot "that would give future legislatures the option of suspending a member without pay under these kinds of circumstance."
The Democratic leader also said he would require office-by-office ethics reviews in the coming weeks to see if other potential red flags may be raised.
The historic vote was a first for the state Senate, which expelled - but did not suspend - four senators in 1905 for malfeasance.
But, already, the Yee scandal has prompted other calls for political reform in Sacramento.
Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens (Los Angeles County), on Friday introduced a package of five bills that she said would "start rebuilding the public's trust in this institution."
The bills aimed to prevent lobbyists from hosting political fundraisers in their homes, prevent campaign funds from being used to pay fines, and toughen laws surrounding conflicts of interest and bribes.
Leland Yee
For complete coverage: SFChronicle.com/LelandYee
Melody Gutierrez and Carla Marinucci are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com, cmarinucci@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez, @cmarinucci
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