William Jules Filante (October 22, 1929 in
Brooklyn, NY
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
– December 9, 1992 in Terra Linda,
San Rafael, CA) was an American physician and politician 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 ...
and member of the
Republican Party.
State Assembly
Filante first won election to the
Marin-
Sonoma based 9th district in the
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
in 1978 by defeating Democratic incumbent
Michael Wornum. Thanks to his moderate voting record, Filante became a pro at winning crossover votes, enough to hold his left-leaning seat with relative ease for 7 terms.
In 1992 he vacated his assembly seat when he ran for election to the
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
.
Congressional race
Filante made a run for the
Marin county-based 6th Congressional district being vacated by Democrat
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is a retired American politician, lobbyist, and former reporter who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United St ...
, who was running for the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
. Even though the 6th District was heavily Democratic, Filante had represented a large chunk of it in the state legislature for 14 years and tried to parlay his moderate reputation into a win. However, just before the start of the campaign, Filante underwent brain surgery and spent most of the race recuperating. Fellow GOP assemblywoman
Bev Hansen often served as his surrogate. In the end, Democrat
Lynn Woolsey won handily. Filante died of a brain tumor later that December.
[California Journal Vol. XXIII, No.7 (July 1992) "Complete Primary Results". StateNet Publications, July 1992.]
Electoral history
References
External links
JoinCalifornia Election History for the State of California
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filante, Bill
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
San Francisco Bay Area politicians
Deaths from brain cancer in California
1929 births
1992 deaths
20th-century members of the California State Legislature