CALIFORNIA: Jeff Gorell will join Assembly -- then head to Afghanistan with Navy Reserve

Sacramento Bee ^ | 11/5/10 | Jim Sanders

[SmithL]

Newly elected Republican Assemblyman Jeff Gorell is bracing for war – literally.

The 39-year-old Camarillo resident hardly will have time to take his Capitol seat before he bids goodbye to it.

Gorell announced days before Tuesday's election that he is headed to Afghanistan in March as a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve.

He easily won election in a district stretching through Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles counties, though Gorell will be overseas for 12 months – half of his first Assembly term.

Now what?

"I didn't anticipate this, and it's obviously a challenge," said Gorell, whose name was on the ballot for the general election after his June primary win before he learned of his deployment.

"I'm working really hard to put together a well-thought-out plan to ensure that my district has a voice in Sacramento," he said.

One possibility is to propose legislation that would allow a temporary replacement – perhaps he could propose a fill-in Assembly member for appointment by the governor and maybe confirmation by the Senate, Gorell said.

California currently does not permit an appointed fill-in for a deployed lawmaker, but provisions of the state Military and Veterans Code ensure that Gorell can regain his seat upon return and mentions the possibility of a temporary replacement if the state opts to authorize it.

[SmithL]

Then-candidate Jeff Gorell poses with wife Laura and their children at a campaign event Sept. 25 in Newbury Park. As a Navy Reserve member, Gorell will ship out for a year in Afghanistan just after he is sworn in. He and others are trying to figure how his constituents can be represented in his absence.

[SmithL]

Follow-up to Assembly candidate Gorell recalled to Afghanistan

[Chet 99]

Well as things stand now, Republicans needs not show up in Sacramento anyway.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SmithL for this update!