{"id":9004,"date":"2022-12-05T17:44:35","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T00:44:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9004"},"modified":"2022-12-05T17:44:35","modified_gmt":"2022-12-06T00:44:35","slug":"brian-jones-elected-next-senate-minority-leader-as-new-and-returning-members-sworn-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegonewsdesk.com\/?p=9004","title":{"rendered":"Brian Jones Elected Next Senate Minority Leader as New and Returning Members Sworn In"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Today,\u00a0members of the California Senate Republican Caucus<\/a>\u00a0unanimously voted to elect\u00a0Senator Brian Jones<\/a>\u00a0(R-Santee)\u00a0as their next leader. Jones currently serves as Senate Republican Caucus Chair and succeeds\u00a0Senator Scott Wilk\u00a0<\/a>(R-Santa Clarita)\u00a0who was elected to the post by his colleagues in January 2021. Jones will officially take the leadership reins from current Senate Minority Leader Wilk on January 1, 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite strong political headwinds, we held our own in the 2022 elections. We are reaching new communities through our re-purposed Caucus communications program,\u201d said\u00a0Wilk. \u201cI\u2019m thankful to my Senate Republican colleagues for their support.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Senate Republican Caucus Chair, Senator Jones has been a valuable leader of our team and he\u2019s ready to build upon the foundation we established. He enjoys my full confidence and I\u2019m excited to see what he and our team is able to accomplish in the upcoming legislative session. He\u2019s ready to lead!\u201d<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader-elect Brian Jones\u00a0said,\u00a0\u201cThank you to my colleagues for their trust in my vision to lead our caucus. Senator Wilk has been a strong leader for this caucus as he has supported us in our communication, legislative, and constituent services in important ways.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornians are best served by hard-working elected officials that put bipartisanship and the betterment of the community first. This philosophy is something I have always tried to adhere to in the past and I will carry over as Senate Minority Leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cSmall businesses, middle class families, and college-bound Californians move out of state every day, with many of them never wanting or able to return because of the high cost of living, lack of affordable jobs, and increasing property and violent crime in our state. As a sign of the severity of the issue, the moving company U-Haul ran out of trucks trying to meet the demand of those fleeing California.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in situations such as this that we in the Minority Party will continue stepping up and offering alternative solutions that we think work better than the stale, big-government, Democrat Party knee-jerk standard responses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI, and all the members of the California Senate Republican Caucus, have our sleeves rolled up and are ready to collaborate with our colleagues across the aisle to fix California. Now let\u2019s all get to work!\u201d<\/p>\n

For Leader-elect Jones\u2019 full statement, please click\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Leadership election, the\u00a0California Senate Republican Caucus<\/a>\u00a0was joined by the following new members as they were sworn in today:<\/p>\n