Perez is very skilled. He's also an out gay man. I could see him quickly rising the ranks of House dems.
Senate Pro Tem Kevin de Leon is also rumored to be interested.
This area is the center of Latino power in California so it would be a good base for a future Democratic leader. It's where many of California's legislative leaders--Villaraigosa, Nunez, Perez, de Leon--hail from.
I like Becerra but he doesn't strike me as the cutthroat political operator one really needs to be to rise as House leader. I think he's a better senator or executive type.
Also has a substantial Asian population.
City Councilman David Ryu might be a potential candidate and in a special the Asian-American vote might be disproportionately higher because of better turnout vis-a-vis latinos. But I expect that it will more likely be a battle royale between two key power broker factions or a coronation for Perez.
Here are some of Perez' endorsements:
California State Controller Betty Yee
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (Ret.)
U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass
U.S. Congresswoman Julia Brownley
U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu
U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman
U.S. Congressman Scott Peters
U.S. Congressman George Miller (Ret.)
California Board of Equalization Chair Fiona Ma
California Democratic Party First Vice Chair Alex Rooker
State Senator-elect Steven Bradford
State Senator Bob Wieckowski
State Senator Isadore Hall
State Senator Jerry Hill
State Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon
State Assembly Member Phil Ting
State Assembly Member Rich Gordon
State Assembly Member-elect Todd Gloria
State Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal (Ret.)
State Assembly Member Paul Fong (Ret.)
L.A. County Assessor Jeffrey Prang
Los Angeles City Council Member Bob Blumenfield
San Francisco County Supervisor David Campos
U.S. Congresswoman Julia Brownley
U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu
U.S. Congressman Jared Huffman
U.S. Congressman Scott Peters
U.S. Congressman George Miller (Ret.)
State Senator Bob Wieckowski
State Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon
State Assembly Member Rich Gordon
Some items to note:
1. Of course he has the support of his relation Antonio Villaraigosa but he also has support from the influential Calderon family. These lists are impressive but there aren't too many Latino powerbrokers on here yet. They may be biding their time.
2. I don't expect that he will see an Asian-American or African-American challenger. He has strong support from key Asian-Americans (Betty Yee, Fiona Ma, Ted Lieu) and African-Americans (Karen Bass, Steven Bradford and Isadore Hall) whose support would be critical for an Asian-American or African-American candidate to contest the seat. If he can do well with the black and Asian American communities in the district, that will give him a leg up on another latino challenger.
3. Perez is well-regarded for his handling of the speakership and his ability to get things done with Arnold and Gov. Brown--hence the big name officials endorsing him all over the state. He also has strong connections to the powerful gay mafia ;-) that controls the state party behind the scenes.
