Yesterday, when the Assembly mustered a simple majority but not a 2/3 vote for the Democratic budget plan, Yacht Dog Democrat Nicole Parra did not cast a vote. She has said that she would not vote for a budget unless it included a water bond for the November ballot.
In the latest episode of Capitol punishment, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass tossed Assemblywoman Nicole Parra from her office on Monday morning after the Central Valley Democrat failed to vote for the budget on Sunday.
In a twist, Parra hasn’t been reassigned to more cramped quarters in the Capitol itself – but booted straight across the street to the Legislative Office Building. She will be the only member of the Legislature whose office is not housed in the Capitol.
“I knew going in Sunday that if I didn’t support the budget, something was going to happen,” Parra, D-Hanford, said in an interview shortly after receiving the news. The budget, now 49 days late, failed 45-30, with 54 votes needed for passage.
The state Assembly’s chief administrative officer informed Parra of the change shortly before noon and gave her staff until late afternoon to clear out of the office, she said.
“Boxes have been delivered,” said Parra, who added that she was unhappy she would be unable to pack her “personal stuff” because the Assembly was in session and she was on the floor.
Move her into Storage B for all I care. Parra, who has all but endorsed a Republican to succeed her in the 30th Assembly district when her term ends in November, is putting her own interests above the needs of the state. Water is obviously a crucial issue to the Central Valley but there are a variety of opinions on how to best deal with it. There are no other Democrats in the Central Valley intending to hijack the state budget. Parra, in short, is a selfish Yacht Dog who is comfortable with drawing attention to herself and being a media darling and uncomfortable with moving the state forward.
The quotes in the piece of Todd Spitzer coming to Parra’s defense are fairly nauseating, too. Parra is done as a viable electoral prospect in the Democratic Party. And when Fran Florez wins in November, we’ll at least have some leadership in the 30th Assembly district. In my mind, that’ll be a pickup.