Richard Lee Mountjoy (January 13, 1932 – May 18, 2015) was an American Republican politician from

Monrovia, California Monrovia is a city in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Monrovia is the fourth-oldest General-law municipality, general-law city in Los Angeles County and the L ...

. He served 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 ...

from 1978 to 1994, and 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 1994 to 2000. He was also the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2006.

Early and personal life

Mountjoy was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California and graduated from Monrovia-Arcadia-Duarte High School in 1950. He joined the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and served overseas during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. After his navy service, he worked briefly as an auto mechanic. He then started the Mountjoy Construction Company with his brother, Gordon. A life member of the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

, Mountjoy was married to Earline Winnett until her death in 2009. They had two sons, Michael and Dennis Lee, and one daughter, Judy. Dennis was a member of the

, having represented his father's old district from 2000 to 2006.

Political career

Mountjoy served as the mayor of

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

from 1968 to 1976. He served in the

for the 61st, 42nd, and 59th districts from 1978 to 1995. From 1982 to 1984 he served as the California Assembly Republican Caucus Chair. While there he introduced California Proposition 187, which denied government services to

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

. He served in the

from 1994 to 2000 in California's 29th State Senate district. His political platform fit with that of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

wing of the Republican Party: he was

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

, opposed

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

, and supported both the

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. , style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory * Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory * Esta ...

and possible military intervention in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. Mountjoy ran for lieutenant governor in 1998, finishing third in the Republican primary. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006, winning the Republican nomination by default, as no other major Republican candidate had filed. On September 22, 2006, the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' reported that a statement in his website's biography, that he served in the

aboard the USS ''Missouri'', was incorrect; ship records later confirmed that he actually served aboard the USS ''Bremerton''. Mountjoy said, "I think it was just something that somebody picked up, it didn’t come from me." However, the campaign of the Democratic incumbent,

Dianne Feinstein Dianne Emiel Feinstein (; June 22, 1933 – September 29, 2023) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from California from 1992 until her death in 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 38th ...

, opined that the error raised enough doubts about Mountjoy's credibility that he was "not qualified to serve the people of California." Feinstein defeated Mountjoy by a wide margin, 59% to 35%, in the November 7, 2006 general election. Mountjoy died on May 18, 2015, aged 83.

References

External links

Dick Mountjoy on Joincalifornia.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountjoy, Dick Mayors of places in California Republican Party California state senators Republican Party members of the California State Assembly 1932 births 2015 deaths People from Monrovia, California Politicians from Los Angeles Activists from California Candidates in the 1998 United States elections Candidates in the 2006 United States elections 20th-century members of the California State Legislature