Charles Michael Calderon (born March 12, 1950) is an American attorney and politician who served in both chambers of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of California, consisting of the California State Assembly (lower house with 80 members) and the California State Senate (upper house with 40 members). ...

Early life and education

Calderon was born on March 12, 1950, in

Montebello, California Montebello (Italian language, Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles, California, East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an indepen ...

. He graduated from

California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...

and earned a J.D. degree from the

UC Davis School of Law The University of California, Davis School of Law is the professional graduate law school of the University of California, Davis. The school received ABA approval in 1968. It joined the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) in 1968. UC Da ...

Career

Prior to his 1982 election to the assembly, Calderon was a prosecutor and also served on the Montebello School Board. Calderon was first elected to the assembly in 1982. In 1988–89, he became leader of a power struggle for control of the assembly. The "Gang of Five", included Calderon,

Gary Condit Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American former politician who represented California's California's 18th congressional district, 18th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives f ...

Steve Peace James Stephen Peace (born March 30, 1953) is an American writer, actor, and producer, best known for the '' Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!'' film series. A politician belonging to the Democratic Party, Peace served in the California State Assem ...

of Chula Vista, Gerald Eaves of Rialto, and

Rusty Areias Rusty Areias (born September 12, 1949) is a former Democratic member of the California State Assembly for the 25th and 28th district. Areias served in the California State Assembly from 1982 to 1994. He lost bids for the California State Senate ...

of Los Banos. Self-identified conservative Democrats, the group attempted to wrest power from Willie Brown, then Speaker of the assembly. Calderon was nominated for the office of Speaker, but Brown prevailed by a vote of 40–34. Brown stripped all five members of committee leadership positions and staff. In 1990, Calderon left the assembly, and he was elected to the

California State Senate 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. ...

. From September 1996 until the end of his term, Calderon served as the first Hispanic Senate Majority leader in California history. He ran unsuccessfully for

Attorney General of California The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the government of California. The officer must ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" ( Constitution of California, Article V, Section 13). ...

in 1998, losing the primary to

Bill Lockyer William Westwood Lockyer (born May 8, 1941) is an American politician and lawyer from the state of California. A Democrat, he served in both houses of the state legislature, having been a member of the California State Assembly from 1973 to 19 ...

. Prior to his 2006 election to the assembly, he served as California Health Care Commissioner and was a partner with the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

of Nossaman. During his second term in the Assembly he served as Majority Leader between 2010 and 2012.

Personal life

His brothers Ronald S. Calderon and Thomas M. Calderon have both served in the state assembly. Ronald held Charles's former Senate seat until 2014; Thomas has been out of the legislature since an unsuccessful run for insurance commissioner in 2002. Calderon and his wife,

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

, have three children. Calderon's son,

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, which is derived from the Hebrew given name ( Yohanan, ') and corresponds to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. This name is a po ...

, served in the state assembly from 2012 to 2020, representing the 57th district. Lisa won Ian's assembly seat in 2020.

References

External links

Join California Charles Calderon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calderon, Charles 1950 births

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

Living people American prosecutors California lawyers Democratic Party California state senators California State University, Los Angeles alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Montebello, California UC Davis School of Law alumni American politicians of Mexican descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature Candidates in the 1998 United States elections