Calvin M. Dooley (born January 11, 1954), American politician, was a Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 1991 to 2005, representing the 17th and 20th districts of

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, he grew up on his parents' farm several miles east of

Hanford Hanford may refer to: Places *Hanford (constituency), a constituency in Tuen Mun, People's Republic of China *Hanford, Dorset, a village and parish in England *Hanford, Staffordshire, England *Hanford, California, United States *Hanford, Iowa, ...

and graduated from Hanford Union High School in 1972. Dooley earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

in 1977 and a master's degree in Management from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1987.

Career

Dooley worked as a rancher and then as an administrative assistant for California State Senator Rose Ann Vuich from 1987 to 1990.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1990, Dooley won the Democratic primary for what was then the 17th District and faced six-term Republican Chip Pashayan in November. Although Pashayan had been reelected with 71 percent of the vote in 1988, he was bogged down by the House banking scandal, and Dooley defeated him by just over 9 points. In 1992, his district was renumbered as the 20th District and drawn as a Latino-majority district. He was easily reelected that year and five more times after that. He faced only one truly serious contest, when Republican Rich Rodriguez managed to hold him to 53 percent of the vote. A "

New Democrat New Democrats may refer to: * New Democratic Party, a social democratic party in Canada * New Democrats (United States), the ideological centrist faction of the Democratic Party ** New Democrat Coalition, the related caucus in the United States H ...

," his voting record was considered moderate, as is typical for Democrats from the Central Valley. Dooley announced his retirement in 2004 and endorsed his chief of staff, Lisa Quigley, as his successor. However, most of the rest of the state Democratic establishment endorsed

Jim Costa James Manuel Costa (born April 13, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023. He previously represented the 20th congressional district from 2005 to 2013 and the 16th congressional district from 2013 ...

, a former state legislator from the Fresno area. This touched off a contentious primary battle which was won by Costa, all but assuring him of victory in November. On October 10, 2002, Cal Dooley was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the

invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...

. He has later said that he regrets this vote.

Later career

Having served as the president and CEO of the

Food Products Association The Food Products Association (formerly the National Food Processors Association or NFPA) was the principal U.S. scientific and technical trade association representing the food processing industry until 2007. FPA was headquartered in Washington, ...

(FPA), Dooley assumed the same roles at the

Grocery Manufacturers Association The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), is a United States-wide trade association for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods (CPG). The CBA represents companies that manufacture food, beve ...

(GMA), following a merger with the FPA. GMA is a Washington-based trade association representing food manufacturers. In September 2008, Dooley assumed the position of CEO of the

American Chemistry Council American Chemistry Council (ACC), known as the Manufacturing Chemists' Association at its founding in 1872 then as the Chemical Manufacturers' Association (from 1978 until 2000), is an industry trade association for American chemical companies, b ...

, the trade association for American chemical companies. He announced his retirement in 2018.

Personal life

Dooley is married to the former Linda Phillips, who heads the Bryce Harlow Foundation in Washington DC. The couple have two daughters, one of whom is on the Charlottesville City School Board.

References

External links

American Chemistry Council Leadership Biography
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Cal 1954 births American chief executives American lobbyists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Living people Members of Congress who became lobbyists People from Visalia, California Stanford University alumni University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives