Wiggins stripped of several senate posts

Sen. Pat Wiggins, whose health problems led her to drop a bid for re-election, was stripped of six Senate committee assignments and removed as chair of an influential group dealing with local government issues.

The Santa Rosa Democrat, whose political career spans two decades, lost more committee assignments than any of her colleagues.

In a written statement Monday, Wiggins said she asked Senate Pro Tem Darrel Steinberg to remove her as chairwoman of the influential Local Government Committee as she undergoes "treatment over the next few months for a medical condition."

"This will also allow another chair to provide the appropriate level of attention needed for the committee process," she said. "However, I will still be making decisions related to constituent casework, attending committee hearings and floor votes, introducing bills to address issues important to my constituents, and tending to all other business of the Senate."

Wiggins was absent at last Wednesday's meeting of the Local Government Committee at the Capitol when she still retained her position as chairwoman.

The committee reviews bills pertaining to cities, counties, special districts and redevelopment agencies, as well as those that shape land use planning and development.

The senator also missed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's final State of the State address that day to a joint session of lawmakers.

A staff member said Wiggins was at home ill.

Wiggins announced in August that she would not seek re-election in November following months of speculation about her unusual behavior that raised questions about the 69-year-old senator's mental competency.

That behavior included the senator's public outbursts, apparent inability at times to focus or remember topics or names, and having to rely on help from staff members for routine legislative business, such as interviews with the media.

But aside from a brief statement she read at what was supposed to be her campaign kick-off event in August, Wiggins has not publicly commented at length on her health issues or how she intends to perform her duties in her remaining months in office. Her term ends next January.

Her statement on Monday noted that she still serves on the Senate's Local Government Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee.

She also remains chairwoman of the Joint Legislative Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture and chairwoman of the Select Committee on California's Wine Industry.

Neither of those committees meet on a regular basis.