Mayes was one of eight Republicans who voted to extend Jerry Brown's cap-and-trade gas tax. He defended his decision as a necessary step in fighting climate change, but what he really did was hurt middle-class and low-income Californians.
Harmeet Dhillon, one of two of the state’s representatives to the Republican National Committee, said that Mayes failed to protect "the integrity of the party’s position on taxation and overregulation in California.”
Mayes says he's not stepping down:
“I am not going to capitulate. I’m going to continue to keep pushing forward.”
Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) announced her candidacy last Thursday to replace Mayes. She resigned as Assistant Leader after Mayes' vote for cap-and-trade. Mayes punished her for doing that by stripping her of some of her titles and moved her into an office that's basically a broom closet.