Brian Setencich (born March 29, 1962) served in the

California 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. Neithe ...

for one term from 1994 to 1996 and as

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of that body from September 14, 1995, to January 4, 1996. Setencich, a Republican, was the first freshman legislator to serve as Speaker of the Assembly in more than a century. He was previously a city councilman in

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 ...

and played professional basketball in Europe.

Early years

Setencich was born in Fresno, California where he attended local public schools and played basketball for his high school team. After playing collegiately at Cal State-Bakersfield, Setencich went on to play professional basketball in Europe prior to starting his political career. For much of his adult life he has made a home in California residing primarily in Sacramento and San Francisco.

Education

Setencich is an alumnus of

Fresno High School Fresno High School is a four-year secondary school located in Fresno, California. It is part of the Fresno Unified School District. Fresno High is the oldest high school in the Fresno metropolitan area and one of the few International Baccalaurea ...

in Fresno, California and California State University Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California. He played collegiate basketball for the University of San Diego, where he earned the WCC Scholar-Athlete Award for 1982–83, and went on to play for Cal State Bakersfield's Roadrunners men's basketball team, where he placed on that university's All-Time Roster for 1984 and 1985.

Political career

Fresno City Council

Setencich began his political career as a Fresno City Councilmember from 1991 to 1994 representing District 1 (west-central Fresno). Though a political unknown at the time, he managed to raise over $200,000 to upset incumbent and win the election. He was the first Fresno City Councilmember to successfully run for higher office.

1994 California Assembly

Setencich was elected to the California State Assembly in 1994 as a Republican representing the 30th Assembly District, encompassing the extreme southern

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

, inland

Monterey Bay Area Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via CA 1 and U ...

, and parts of the northern Central Coast. The district is defined by major agricultural areas such as the

Pajaro Valley The Pajaro River (''pájaro'' is ''bird'' in Spanish) is a U.S. river in the Central Coast region of California, forming part of the border between San Benito and Santa Clara Counties, the entire border between San Benito and Santa Cruz Cou ...

and the

Salinas Valley The Salinas Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Salinas'') is one of the major valleys and most productive Agriculture, agricultural regions in California. It is located west of the San Joaquin Valley and south of San Francisco Bay and ...

. He served as a member of the California Assembly's Higher Education Committee, as well as the Water, Parks & Wildlife and Banking and Finance Committees.

Speaker of the California Assembly

In 1995, he was the ajoritySpeaker Pro Tem for the California State Assembly. Setencich was the first freshman legislator to serve as Speaker of the Assembly since Thomas J. White and held the office from 1995 to 1996. He was elected Speaker after Doris Allen was recalled.

1996 Re-election Campaign Run

Setencich ran for re-election as an incumbent, but lost. In the primary election of 1996, Setencich was defeated for renomination by Republican Robert Prenter who defeated Setencich again in November when Setencich ran as a

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

Post political career

After his political career in the state capital, Setencich relocated to San Francisco. He was Special Assistant to the Mayor for Emergency Communications (a.k.a. 911 Emergency Response Project and later to be known as the Department of Emergency Response), for the

City and County of San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of 2024, San Francisco is the fourth-most populous city in the ...

between 1997 and 2004. This department began with the successful campaign for federal and state funding of this $170 million project. The D.E.M. was created in 2006 by legislation that combined the former Emergency Communications Department and the former Office of Emergency Services into one agency (Admin Code Sec. 2A.200). He retired in 2012.

References

External links

Brian Setencich official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Setencich, Brian 1962 births Living people 20th-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Fresno, California Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball players California city council members Politicians from Fresno, California San Diego Toreros men's basketball players Speakers of the California State Assembly Republican Party members of the California State Assembly 20th-century members of the California State Legislature