john perez. | ap photo/rich pedroncelli by carla marinucci 11/29/16 09:54 pm est washington, d.c. <u+2014> john perez, who was the first openly gay speaker of the california state assembly, says he<u+2019>s exploring a run for the chairmanship of the democratic national committee. in an interview tuesday with politico california, perez said democrats need a full-time party chair who can focus on countering the gop's message and confronting the possible threats posed by president-elect donald trump's administration, which he says endangers hard-fought lgbt and progressive gains, including same-sex marriage. story continued below <u+201c>i don<u+2019>t have any plans for elective office, but there have been some conversations where people have tried to get me to explore the chairmanship,<u+2019><u+2019> perez said while attending a day-long conference in the nation's capital sponsored by the institute for governmental studies at the university of california at berkeley. he says he is still <u+201c>evaluating" whether to make a run for the position. democrats will decide their party<u+2019>s next chair in february. the post has attracted interest from minnesota rep. keith ellison and former vermont governor howard dean, who was chairman of the dnc from 2005 to 2009. perez, who served as a longtime labor organizer and former political director of the california labor federation in los angeles <u+2014> and who is a cousin of former los angeles mayor and current gubernatorial candidate antonio villaraigosa <u+2014> says he could bring an <u+201c>on-the-ground state perspective<u+201d> about the concerns of latinos and working people. <u+201c>in the last eight years, democrats have lost control of many state legislatures across the country, and have lost over 900 seats in state legislatures across the country, in vast contrast to the success we<u+2019>ve had in california,<u+2019><u+2019> a state in which hillary clinton beat trump by more than 30 points and 3.9 million votes, he said. perez told attendees at tuesday<u+2019>s conference that there is an immediate need for the democratic party to protect lgbt voters against possible action by conservative activists buoyed by the trump win. for lgbt voters, <u+201c>everything is on the table <u+2014> and everything is very scary <u+2014> when you look at both houses of congress,<u+2019><u+2019> he said. <u+201c>trump has spoken in very unclear terms about ... issues in the lgbt community. hence, he<u+2019>s been very clear,<u+2019><u+2019> said perez. vice president-elect mike pence, he said, is <u+201c>one of the most ardent opponents of equality, who has advanced the notion of legalizing discrimination." he said his concerns go beyond marriage equality. "fundamentally, it's people being able to live free of fear for their personal safety and their economic stability,'' he said. the dnc chair has a hugely influential role in shaping the message and the strategy of the party. the previous chair, rep. debbie wasserman shultz of florida, resigned earlier this year after she was accused of favoring clinton over her challenger, vermont sen. bernie sanders, in the democratic primaries. perez, a member of the university of california board of regents, was elected assembly speaker in 2010 and 2012. he ran an unsuccessful campaign for state controller in 2014, losing to fellow democrat betty yee by just 484 votes, one of the closest contests in state history. carla marinucci and david siders' must-read briefing on politics and government in the golden state
john perez mulling run for dnc chair
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