Special Election Set For 35th Senate District Seat

INGLEWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A Feb. 10 special election has been set to fill the state Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Roderick Wright, who was convicted of voter fraud for living outside his district.

Gov. Jerry Brown set the date for the special election Friday, with a primary election set for Dec. 9.

The 35th Senate District includes much of Inglewood, plus parts of Long Beach, Torrance, Carson, Compton, Gardena, Hawthorne and Lawndale.

Assemblymen Isadore Hall, D-Compton, and Steve Bradford, D-Gardena, have both already announced plans to seek the seat.

Wright, who was indicted in 2010, was convicted Jan. 28 of five counts of fraudulent voting, two counts of perjury by declaration and one count of filing a false declaration of candidacy. Prosecutors said Wright was living in Baldwin Hills, outside the Inglewood-area district he was elected to represent in November 2008.

He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three years of probation and was ordered to perform 1,500 hours of community service.

He is expected to surrender Oct. 31 to begin serving his jail time.

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