Sen. Cogdill won’t seek re-election in 2010

State Sen. Dave Cogdill announced Tuesday that he will not seek re-election in 2010.

He will instead return to the private sector in order to return to the private sector and spend more time with his family.
  

Cogdill, R-Modesto, represents the state’s 14th Senate District, which takes in all of Tuolumne County and includes parts of Fresno, Madera, Mariposa, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.

Cogdill, 49, has held the post since 2006. From 2000 to 2006, he served in the California Assembly. Cogdill has also operated a real estate appraisal business in the Central Valley.

Cogdill is perhaps best known for breaking ranks from his fellow Republicans to help pass a series of bills designed to balanced the state’s budget at the start of the fiscal year. At that point, the state’s budget was facing a roughly $42 billion shortfall.

The move led to him being stripped of the Senate minority leader’s post and he lost out on party campaign financing for his next election. He was also nearly censured.

The situation arose because state law requires a two-thirds majority to pass budget bills and all Republicans had agreed to fight against the then-proposed budget fix as it involved tax increases.

Cogdill broke that weeks-long stalemate.

State Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, whose district also includes Tuolumne County, called Cogdill “a true statesman who has served this state with honor and integrity.”

Cogdill called his involvement with the recently passed bills related to water distribution on the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta “the pinnacle of my legislative career.”