Editing Don Perata (section)

==Rise to the California State Senate==
Having served eight years representing Oakland as an Alameda County Supervisor, Perata's first attempt at state politics came in the 1994 democratic primary for controller, aged 49. He was unsuccessful, capturing 27.27% of the vote. Afterwards, Perata served as a staff assistant for then Senate Pro Tem [[Bill Lockyer]]. In 1996, Perata was elected as a [[California State Assembly]]man for the Oakland, Alameda, and Piedmont district.<ref>[http://www.perata4mayor.com/about/don perata4mayor.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302193004/http://www.perata4mayor.com/about/don|date=March 2, 2010}}</ref>

In 1998, Perata ran for the State Senate for the 9th District which currently includes [[Alameda, California|Alameda]], [[Albany, California|Albany]], [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], [[Castro Valley, California|Castro Valley]], [[Dublin, California|Dublin]], [[Emeryville, California|El Sobrante]], [[Emeryville, California|Emeryville]], [[Livermore, California|Livermore]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], [[Piedmont, California|Piedmont]], [[Richmond, California|Richmond]], and [[San Pablo, California|San Pablo]].

Perata's run (and election) to the State Senate in 1998 was part of a series of five special elections that were held in the East Bay within less than 12 months, as Perata and other East Bay politicians vied for different political offices.  For a detailed account of events, see [[Special election musical chairs]].

Don Perata was selected by his peers in the [[California Democratic Party]] to lead the party in the California State Senate in 2004, becoming the California State Senate President Pro Tempore and leader of Senate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legislature.ca.gov/the_state_legislature/leadership_and_caucuses/leadership.html|title=California State Legislature—Leadership and Caucuses|website=Legislature.ca.gov|accessdate=10 August 2017}}</ref> The position is the highest-ranking leader and most powerful member of the Senate.<ref>[[President pro tempore of the California State Senate]]</ref>
The state Democratic Party re-elected Perata as President pro Tem until his retirement from the State Senate in 2008.<ref>[http://www.perata4mayor.com/about/don Perata4Mayor.com] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302193004/http://www.perata4mayor.com/about/don |date=March 2, 2010 }}</ref>