William Emmerson (born October 28, 1945) is a former Republican

California State Senator The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. ...

who represented the 23rd district in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

. He previously represented the 37th Senate District, having been elected in a June 8, 2010, special election and sworn into office the next day. Preceding his tenure in the State Senate, Emmerson served as California State Assemblyman from the District 63 representing the counties of Riverside and San Bernardino, having been first elected in November 2004.

Early life and education

Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

, his family moved to

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

when his father opened a dental practice in Corona Del Mar, then moved again to

, where he attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. Emmerson received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

degree in history and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

from

La Sierra University La Sierra University (La Sierra or LSU) is a private, Seventh-day Adventist university in Riverside, California. Founded in 1922 as La Sierra Academy, it later became La Sierra College, a liberal arts college, and then was merged into Loma Li ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire and ...

. He then studied

public administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, Administration (government), administration of Government, government establishment (Governance#P ...

at American University in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, while working as an aide for Congressman Jerry Pettis. Emmerson moved back to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and joined the staff of the Assembly Majority Leader W. Craig Biddle, where he worked from 1969 to 1974 while also continuing his post graduate studies at

California State University, Sacramento California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus Californi ...

Career

He then enrolled in The School of Dentistry of

Loma Linda University Loma Linda University (LLU) is a private Seventh-day Adventist health sciences university in Loma Linda, California. , the university comprises eight schools and a Faculty of Graduate Studies. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist educat ...

. Upon graduating with his D.D.S. (1980) and M.S. (1982) degrees, Emmerson embarked upon a 26-year orthodontic practice in

Hemet Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 89,833 at the 2020 census. The foundi ...

. He served as president of Tri-County Dental Society, chair of the California Dental Association's Council on Legislation, and chair of the Association's Political Action Committee.

Volunteer work

Emmerson helped to establish the

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried out ...

program at

Riverside Community College Riverside City College (RCC) is a public community college in Riverside, California. The college is part of the Riverside Community College District, as well as the larger California Community Colleges System. History RCC first opened in 1916 at ...

and to rehabilitate Redlands Fire Station 1, and served on the alumni association of Loma Linda University. He is active in the

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizatio ...

Club of Hemet, and he serves as a board member on the Ramona Bowl Advisory Board and as a volunteer with the Kiwanis Club of Redlands and Redlands Bicycle Classic.

Personal life

Bill and his wife, Nan, have two daughters, Kate and Caroline.

References

* Pratte, Bob. "A capitol friend," ''

The Press-Enterprise ''The Press-Enterprise'' is a paid daily newspaper published by Digital First Media that serves the Inland Empire in Southern California. Headquartered in downtown Riverside, California, it is the primary newspaper for Riverside County, with ...

'', November 4, 2004

External links

Join California Bill Emmerson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmerson, Bill 1945 births American dentists American Seventh-day Adventists American University School of Public Affairs alumni Republican Party California state senators California State University, Sacramento alumni Legislative staff Living people La Sierra University alumni Loma Linda University alumni Republican Party members of the California State Assembly People from Redlands, California Politicians from Oakland, California People from San Bernardino County, California 21st-century American politicians