The new edition of “California Lawmaker” by JoinCalifornia.com editor Alex Vassar is now available. Updated for the new session, you’ll find both the latest information and everything you need to know about the history of the California state legislature.
The new edition includes new chapters on the history of the veto override (including one episode that led to one of the strangest incidents in California history) and a long-lost story about a con man who was elected to the State Assembly in the 1910s under a false identity.
The book also contains updated chapters on the recent history of the legislature of the past two sessions, facts about the youngest and oldest lawmakers, the candidates who received the most votes, and sections on each of the incoming classes of legislators since 1961.
Some advance praise:
- “To have Alex and his knowledge as a resource in California is a gift. He’s someone I take a face value, which is rare in this day and age.”
Ian C. Calderon, Assembly Majority Leader (2016-2020) - “Add Alex Vassar to Siri, Google, and Alexa on your lists of how to get better informed. Actually, he beats all of them on anything related to the history, politics, and government of California. If you have any interest in California, then you will want to read whatever Alex writes.”
Bill Leonard, State Senator (1988-1996) and Assemblyman (1978-1988, 1996-2002) - “There is just one person in the world who knows as much about the Legislature… much of the heavy mantle of California history rests on Mr. Vassar’s shoulders.”
Mike Gatto, Assemblyman (2010-2016) - “There is no one with a greater depth of historical background and knowledge than Alex Vassar! Maybe not officially, but generally speaking Alex is the unofficial California State Historian in most everybody’s eyes. As an author his books have become “the bible” for anyone and everyone involved in California politics. WICP is honored to officially have Alex as our historian.”
Sunny Mojonnier, Assemblywoman (1982-1990) & Founder of Women in California Politics
