Senator Wright, who has consistently maintained his innocence, was convicted of perjury, false declaration of candidacy and fraudulent voting or attempting to fraudulently vote in January 2014, In September 2014, an L.A. County Superior Court judge sentenced him to 90 days in jail, barred him for life from holding public office and imposed three years probation with 1,500 hours of community service.

Senator Wright famously spent roughly 70 minutes in L.A. County jail, swiftly released by the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. whose spokesperson at the time cited LASD policy on non-violent crimes/overcrowding. Wright then filed an appeal, in which a California Appeals Court upheld his conviction in May 2016.

In his Pardon, Governor Brown stated in pertinent part:

Mr. [Senator] Wright listed a room in an apartment building he owned [in Inglewood] as his legal domicile on his voter registration and statement of candidacy. The trial court dismissed the prosecutor's case, but the Court of Appeal reversed, concluding that the address Mr. Wright listed did not meet the legal test to establish domicile. Mr. Wright served three years, six months probation and completed 1,500 hours of community service [discharged on Aug. 15, 2017.]

...Mr. Wright has devoted much of his life to public service, including serving six years in the California State Senate and six years in the California Assembly. Following his conviction, in a bipartisan vote the Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1250 (2017-2018 Leg Sess.), which clarifies the law regarding the domicile of an elected official. The Legislative history of that bill specifically cited Mr. Wright's conviction as the reason why clarity in this area of the law was necessary."

...Roderick D. Wright has paid his debt to society and earned a full and unconditional pardon...

[Scroll down for further.]

The Governor's website states that "Individuals who have been convicted of a crime in California may apply to the Governor for a gubernatorial pardon. A gubernatorial pardon is an honor that may be granted to people who have demonstrated exemplary behavior following their conviction. A pardon will not be granted unless it has been earned. Historically, governors have granted very few pardons."

A Governor's pardon doesn't seal or erase the conviction or prevent the pardoned offense from being considered as a prior conviction if there is a later conviction of a new offense and doesn't let a pardoned person answer that he/she has no record of conviction on employment applications.

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In September 2010, an L.A. County grand jury indicted Senator Wright on the charges above. At trial, prosecutors said Wright lived in an upscale area of Baldwin Hills while listing the address of an apartment complex he owned in Inglewood. Wright used the Inglewood address in seeking and winning election to the state Senate seat in 2008 and listed it for voting purposes in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, prosecutors searched Wright's Baldwin Hills address and said they found Wright there along with items reflecting residence.

Senator Wright wasn't without controversy locally. In 2009, he was one of only four state Senators to vote against a bill supported by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) to establish a pilot program requiring persons convicted of driving under the influence (DUI) to install an ignition interlock device (IID) on all vehicles they own or operate. The measure passed the state Senate, but not before Sen. Wright took to the Senate floor to argue against it (to hear audio clip, click here.

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In 2013 (during the trial process) he co-authored SB 470 (joined by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal), a bill sponsored (strongly sought) by the City of Long Beach, dubbed the "Economic and Community Development Act" which restoring some significant powers that cities and counties previously had under the dissolved Redevelopment process. An Assembly committee legislative analysis said:

The bill gives local officials vitally needed flexibility to sell land at "fair reuse value" rather than "fair market value" and reestablishes the powers and protections that allowed them to clean up brownfields.

In urging Governor Brown to veto the bill, NLB constituent Dan Pressburg (a longtime participant in the Redevelopment process) wrote:

SB 470 was advanced by Long Beach City Hall with virtually no public input on how it would impact taxpayers and neighborhoods in former Redevelopment areas. City Hall got what it wanted: a bill that fails to provide the public with serious checks and balances over how City Hall will spend public money from selling to developers -- at below market prices -- properties acquired with public funds that were supposed to eliminate blight in our neighborhoods. Instead of returning to the areas the funds were supposed to help, the money can be spent virtually anywhere in Long Beach for virtually anything that a Council majority accepts...As crafted by City Hall, SB 470 gives the public no meaningful checks and balances, apart from a "public hearing" where Councilmembers can ignore us for 180 seconds each while text-messaging their friends, writing thank you notes or talking on the phone, and then smile at us as they vote against our interests.

Sponsor

Sponsor

Prior to seeking election to a south L.A. County Assembly seat in 1996, Wright was District Director for Congresswoman Maxine Waters. He served in the Assembly from 1996-2002, then in 2008 sought the state Senate seat and prevailed in the primary against presumed frontrunner former Lt. Governor/former Congressman Mervyn Dymally.

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