Supervisor-elect Mark Ridley-Thomas will formally resign his position as an elected member of the California State Senate on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 12:00 a.m. (midnight).

Senator Ridley-Thomas formally communicated his intent to resign on Sunday night in a letter delivered on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 to the state Senate President and Senate President Pro Tempore.

Senator Ridley-Thomas’ pending resignation of his seat in the California State Senate paves the way for his oath of office and swearing-in ceremony as an elected member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

Mr. Ridley-Thomas said, “My resignation from the California State Senate ends the chapter of my tenure as a legislative leader in our State Capitol and it turns the page on a new chapter in my life of public service in local government. I look back fondly on my time in the state Assembly and Senate. I am proud of my accomplishments as a policy-maker. I care deeply about the people I served.

“I am energized by the challenges that lie ahead. My move to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors comes with a strong voter mandate for change, empowerment and results on important issues, such as health services, public safety, and economic development and jobs. This is as invigorating a homecoming as any public official could ever hope for. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for the people of the 2nd District,” he added.

Mr. Ridley-Thomas transmitted his letter of resignation – effective at midnight on Sunday, November 30 – to California Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, serving in his capacity as President of the Senate, and to state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, chair of the Senate Rules Committee.

Mr. Ridley-Thomas was elected to represent the people of the county’s Second District on the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, November 4, 2008 on a 61%-39% vote with a margin of victory of more than 111,000 votes over defeated challenger, L.A. City Council member Bernard C. Parks, in an election where voters chose change over the status quo and picked the next generation of leadership that promised to deliver results on critical voter concerns. The official vote certification in the 2nd District is expected by Tuesday, December 2.

In his letter of resignation from the state Senate, Mr. Ridley-Thomas formally recommended that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – pursuant to state law governing elections to fill vacant legislative seats – schedule a special election to fill his vacant Senate seat on Tuesday, March 3, 2009. Mr. Ridley-Thomas indicated that consolidating the special state legislative election with local elections on March 3 in the City and County of Los Angeles could reduce the projected $1.5 million in local government election costs of administering a separate election solely for the voters of the 26th District.

State law provides Governor Schwarzenegger with a 14-day deadline from the effective date of a state legislator’s formal resignation to issue a proclamation setting the precise date for a special election too fill a vacant legislative seat.

In his resignation letter, Mr. Ridley-Thomas wrote, “It has been an honor to serve the constituents of the 26th Senate District. I have enjoyed working with my Senate colleagues and legislative staff whose commitment to public service remains an inspiration for my own work.”

“Although I am moving to a new public service assignment, I look forward to engaging members of the Legislature on important policy issues on an ongoing basis, especially members in the Senate – the body for which I have the utmost respect and regard – in our continuing effort to make government work for the people we represent,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas added.