Eastside Assemblyman John Pérez last week won the unanimous vote of his party colleagues to become the Assembly’s next speaker, which will make him the first openly gay lawmaker to hold the powerful post.

The 40-year-old former labor union official, a cousin of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, was picked by fellow Assembly Democrats Dec. 10.

He is scheduled to be confirmed as the next speaker in a floor vote in early January.

The choice ended several contentious weeks of infighting among the Assembly’s Democrats — who hold a 50 to 29 edge over the GOP — and came only after his chief rival, Assemblyman Kevin de Leon, D-Lincoln Heights, agreed to a truce.

Pérez emerged from a closed-door meeting of the Democratic Caucus linking arms with De Leon and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-South Los Angeles.

“The Assembly Democratic caucus has made me proud many times in the past 18 months and [this] is one of those times,” Bass said. “First the high caliber of the speaker candidates we had ... and second, by the strength our caucus has shown in coming together and uniting behind one of those candidates, the next speaker of the Assembly, John Pérez.”

“Under his leadership and the continued leadership of Assembly member de Leon and his supporters, I look forward to another year of being made proud by my colleagues as we work to improve the quality of life for the people of California,” Bass added.

Villaraigosa, a former speaker himself, agreed the Assembly made the right choice in choosing Pérez. “Known for his integrity, intelligence and consensus building skills, John Pérez is simply the right person to lead California out of this recession and help start putting families back to work,” the mayor said.

“John’s election marks an important milestone in the history of California and our nation as the first openly gay man to serve in one of the most powerful positions in state government,” Villaraigosa added. “This is a proud day for all Californians.”

Under terms of an agreement hatched with Bass, whose tenure is set to end next year and who helped recruit Pérez as successor, the transition would take place over several months, and Pérez might not assume full control until sometime in the spring, the Los Angeles Times reported.

“It says more about California than it does about me,” Pérez told the newspaper. “It means that California is a place where everybody has a seat at the table.

In a statement, Pérez said: “I want to thank the members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus for the faith they have placed in me. It is a humbling privilege. I will work every day to justify that faith and to earn the enormous honor of having been drafted to serve as speaker.

“The other candidates for speaker, especially Assembly member Kevin de León, have all shown great leadership for the Assembly and for this state and they have my great respect. As speaker, I will look forward to working with a united Democratic caucus as we continue tackling our number one priority — helping the state recover from the recession and helping the California families who have been hit so hard by it.”

De Leon also issued a statement, taking a conciliatory tone after weeks of political infighting.

“Today, I was proud to stand and nominate my friend and colleague John Pérez to serve as speaker of the California Assembly,” the statement said. “I did so deeply thankful for the strong support and encouragement I have received from members of our caucus, and also mindful of the example of one of the great inspirations of my life and many others — Rosa Parks. Mrs. Parks showed us you didn’t have to have a particular office or title to effect great change. I am proud to be a member of the California State Assembly and I will continue working hard, with my colleagues and with Speaker Pérez, to bring about real change for the people of my district and all the people of California.”

Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, who heads the Assembly Latino Caucus and had backed de Leon, also praised Pérez.

“Assembly member Pérez is well respected by members on both sides of the aisle,” Mendoza said. “The Assembly is eager to begin work on California’s issues under his leadership and looks forward to taking on the important matters that the state will face in 2010.”

Pérez represents the 46th Assembly District, which covers East Los Angeles, Maywood and Huntington Park. It is the same district that former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez, who preceded Bass, represented.