Cecil Green (politician)

Cecil Green
Member of the California State Senate
from the 33rd district
In office
May 13, 1987 – November 30, 1992
Preceded byPaul B. Carpenter
Succeeded byJohn Lewis
Personal details
Born(1924-10-13)October 13, 1924
Riverside, California
DiedDecember 3, 1994(1994-12-03) (aged 70)
Lakeport, California
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Green
(m. 1961)
Children1
Military service
Branch/service United States Navy

Cecil Green (September 13, 1924 in Riverside, California - December 3, 1994 in Lakeport, California) was an American politician from California and a member of the Democratic Party.[1]

Green started his public service in 1971 when was appointed to the Norwalk planning commission.[2] In 1974 he was elected to Norwalk city council and was reelected in 1978, 1982 and 1986.

In 1987, Green ran in a special election for the California State Senate seat left open after incumbent Paul B. Carpenter (D-Cerritos) resigned to join the California State Board of Equalization. In an upset,[3] he defeated assemblyman Wayne Grisham (R-La Mirada) by more than 9 points, a wider than expected margin.[4] In fact, Grisham's loss was such that Democrats saw it as a sign of weakness and went on to oust him from his assembly seat the following year.[5]

In 1988 Green faced a tough reelection for a full term against Republican Cerritos city councilman Don Knabe (who had originally planned to run in the special election but deferred to Grisham).[6] After an expensive battle, Green defeated Knabe by just over 1%.[7]

Green did not seek reelection in 1992 and retired from elective office. He died December 3, 1994, at the age of 70.[1][2]

  1. ^ a b "JoinCalifornia - Cecil Green". joincalifornia.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary for Cecil Green D-Norwalk (Aged 70) - Newspapers.com™". The Sacramento Bee. 9 December 1994. p. 30. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  3. ^ "Elections '88 Southeast / Long Beach : Parties Pour Thousands Into High-Stakes 63rd Dist. Race : GOP Incumbent Fights for Seat That Party Wants to Keep in Redistricting". Los Angeles Times. 20 October 1988. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
  4. ^ "JoinCalifornia - 05-12-1987 Election". joincalifornia.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  5. ^ California Journal Vol. XIX, No.5 (May 1988) "Complete Election Returns". StateNet Publications, December 1988.
  6. ^ California Journal Vol. XIX, No.12 (December 1988) "Campaign '88". StateNet Publications, May 1988.
  7. ^ "JoinCalifornia - 11-08-1988 Election". joincalifornia.com. Retrieved 2024-04-02.