Bernice Frederic Sisk (December 14, 1910 – October 25, 1995) was an American politician who served as a

Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1955 to 1979. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Life and career

Sisk was born in 1910 in

Montague, Texas Montague ( ) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Montague County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Montague County and had an estimated population of 400 in 2000, according to the ''Handbook of Texas''. I ...

, the son of Lavina (Thomas) and Arthur Lee Sisk.

Congress

He was elected to the House in 1954, representing a district that included

Fresno Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

Merced Merced (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up ...

and

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

. He defeated Republican incumbent Oakley Hunter in one of the major upsets of the 1954 midterm Congressional elections. The district had been in Republican hands for all but ten years since its creation in 1913, but Sisk went on to hold the seat for 12 terms. The district would remain in Democratic hands until the election of Republican John Duarte to Congress in 2022. Sisk was a long-time member of the

House Rules Committee The Committee on Rules (or more commonly the Rules Committee) is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other committ ...

and the Agriculture Committee, and served as Chairman of the Cotton Subcommittee, where he helped heal the long-standing rift between southern and western cotton producers. A proponent of production inducements rather than direct farm subsidies, he backed legislation to aid the dairy, wine, sugar, fig and raisin industries. He was also a major political force in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

for the creation of the

Central Valley Project The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and ...

that eventually developed into a $37 billion water system that continues to serve California's 400-mile-long Central Valley. Sisk retired from Congress in 1978. He was succeeded by his former chief of staff,

Tony Coelho Anthony Lee Coelho (born June 15, 1942) is an American politician from California who served in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is ...

Affiliations

B. F. Sisk was a member of the Palm Avenue Church of Christ in

Death

Sisk died in Fresno on October 25, 1995.

Electoral history

, + California's 12th congressional district: Results 1954-1960 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk , , Democratic , , 63,911 , , 53.79 , , , , A. Oakley Hunter (inc.) , , Republican , , 54,903 , , 46.21 , - ,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 69,300 , , 73.00 , , , , Robert B. Moore , , Republican , , 40,663 , , 27.00 , - ,

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 112,702 , , 81.12 , , , , Daniel K. Halpin , , Republican , , 26,228 , , 18.88 , - ,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 141,974 , , 99.91 , , , , Others (write-in) , , N/A , , 126 , , 0.09 , + California's 16th congressional district: Results 1962-1972 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 108,339 , , 71.87 , , , , Arthur L. Selland , , Republican , , 42,401 , , 28.13 , - ,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 117,727 , , 66.77 , , , , David T. "Dave" Harris , , Republican , , 58,604 , , 33.24 , - ,

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 118,063 , , 71.38 , , , , Cecil F. White , , Republican , , 47,329 , , 28.62 , - ,

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 97,476 , , 62.46 , , , , David T. "Dave" Harris , , Republican , , 55,188 , , 35.36 , - ,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 95,118 , , 66.42 , , , , Phillip V. Sanchez , , Republican , , 43,843 , , 30.62 , - ,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 134,132 , , 79.13 , , , , Carol Harner , , Republican , , 35,385 , , 20.87 , + California's 15th congressional district: Results 1974-1976 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 80,897 , , 72.01 , , , , Carol Harner , , Republican , , 31,439 , , 27.99 , - ,

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 92,735 , , 72.20 , , , , Carol Harner , , Republican , , 35,700 , , 27.80

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisk, Bernice F. Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California History of the San Joaquin Valley 1910 births 1995 deaths 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives