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One Voter Project

The Online Home of California's Political History

December 29, 2016 By Alex Vassar

Those we lost in 2016

We lost some good ones this year. There’s just not a lot more that I can say. Marian Bergeson was the 21st woman to serve in the California legislature and Sharon Runner was the 99th. George House and John Benoit both had long careers as Highway Patrol officers before joining the legislature. Greg Schmidt played a […]

Filed Under: Constitutional Officers, Current Research, Deaths, Editorial, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

December 27, 2016 By Alex Vassar

John J. Benoit (1951-2016)

Former State Senator John J. Benoit died Monday at his home in Riverside County. He had been diagnosed with cancer in November. Benoit, a longtime officer with the California Highway Patrol, had a great sense of humor and a lifetime of stories from his career in law enforcement. In his office at the Capitol, he kept […]

Filed Under: Current Research, Deaths, Editorial, JoinCalifornia, State Assembly, State Senate, Top Stories

August 25, 2016 By Alex Vassar

Greg Schmidt (1947-2016)

What a terrible loss. Greg Schmidt, the 18-year Secretary of the Senate, died this week in Sacramento. It’s hard to explain the impact he made through the advice he gave to legislators and the mentorship he gave to staff. I met Greg in 2007, while I was a Senate Fellow in the office of a member of the […]

Filed Under: Current Research, Deaths, Editorial, State Senate, Top Stories

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