Lynn Alice Schenk (born January 5, 1945) is an American politician and lawyer from
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. A
Democrat, she served one term in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
from 1993 to 1995.
Biography
Schenk was born in 1945, in
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, the daughter of a
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
survivor. She attended public schools in the Bronx and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...
, and graduated from
Hamilton High School. She received her
B.A.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...
from
U.C.L.A. in 1967 and her
J.D. from the
University of San Diego School of Law
The University of San Diego School of Law (USD Law) is the law school of the University of San Diego, a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1954, the law school has held ABA approval since 1961. It ...
in 1970. There were only three other women in her law class. Schenk did post-graduate study in international law at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 mill ...
.
In 1971, with two other female lawyers, Schenk broke the gender barrier at The Grant Grill in the downtown
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
U. S. Grant Hotel. Women were prohibited during lunch, so a male friend made a reservation and the three women went in to eat, unescorted. They ordered
mock turtle soup
Mock turtle soup is an English soup that was created in the mid-18th century as an imitation of green turtle soup. It often uses brains and organ meats such as calf's head to duplicate the texture and flavour of the original's turtle meat af ...
, a specialty not available in the hotel's other restaurants.
After trying to push them out the door, the staff seated them. The three continued to come back until a "No women before 3 p.m." sign was removed. The next year, she and other women formed the Lawyers Club of San Diego, which worked for passage of the
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution designed to guarantee equal legal rights for all American citizens regardless of sex. Proponents assert it would end legal distinctions between men an ...
and on other women's rights issues.
Politics
Schenk worked as a
White House Fellow
The White House Fellows program is a federal fellowship program established via Executive Order by President of the United States Lyndon B. Johnson in October 1964, based upon a suggestion from John W. Gardner, then the president of Carnegie Cor ...
, under
Vice Presidents
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
Nelson A. Rockefeller
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979), sometimes referred to by his nickname Rocky, was an American businessman and politician who served as the 41st vice president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. A member of t ...
and
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesot ...
, as a deputy attorney general in the office of the
California Attorney General
The attorney general of California is the state attorney general of the Government of California. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (Constitution of California, Article V, Sectio ...
, and as an attorney for
San Diego Gas and Electric.
California Governor
The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard.
Established in the Constitution of California, the g ...
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
appointed her deputy secretary, and later secretary, of the
California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
The California Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BTH) was a state cabinet-level agency in the government of California. It was superseded by the new California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) on July 1, 2013.
The Business, Transp ...
from 1977 until 1983. After Brown decided not to run for a third term, she returned to private practice.
In 1984, she ran against
Republican Susan Golding for
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...
Supervisor. Late in the race, Golding's campaign allegedly mailed out a piece of literature accusing Schenk of financial irregularities. Schenk lost 45% to 55%. She later sued Golding for slander and won $150,000.
In 1992, Schenk won the Democratic nomination to run for
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 ...
from
California's 49th congressional district, covering most of San Diego.
Redistricting after the
1990 U.S. Census had created an open seat in much of an area previously represented by six-term Republican incumbent
Bill Lowery. Schenk won, becoming the first Democrat to represent the area in 40 years. She was defeated for reelection in 1994 by
Brian Bilbray
Brian Phillip Bilbray (born January 28, 1951) is an American Republican politician who represented parts of San Diego County in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2001 and again from 2006 to 2013.
Bilbray was Chairman of the House ...
, the Republican mayor of
Imperial Beach.
After Congress
After serving in Congress, Schenk served in various positions in the California state government under California Governor
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and remov ...
, including Chief of Staff, from 1998 until Davis was
recalled in 2003. As Chief of Staff, she didn't "suffer fools" and was responsible for much of the "centrist" policy of the Davis Administration.
Currently, Schenk practices corporate law. She sits on the boards of various organizations including
The Scripps Research Institute
Scripps Research, previously known as The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is a nonprofit American medical research facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in San Diego, California, the institu ...
Board of Trustees, and the
California High-Speed Rail Authority
The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) is a California state agency established pursuant to the California High-Speed Rail Act to develop and implement high-speed intercity rail service, namely the California High-Speed Rail project. Mem ...
She remains active in California and national politics.
Personal life
Schenk was married to
University of San Diego
The University of San Diego (USD) is a private Roman Catholic research university in San Diego, California. Chartered in July 1949 as the independent San Diego College for Women and San Diego University (comprising the College for Men and Sc ...
law professor
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Un ...
C. Hugh Friedman, who died on January 29, 2013. Schenk lives in San Diego.
Schenk has served on the board of the California High Speed Rail Authority since 2003 when she was appointed by Gov. Gray Davis. She serves as Vice Chairperson in 2011.
Lynn Schenk was nominated and inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 for the title of Trailblazer, meaning, women who have paved the way for other women, or were the first in their field. The annual Women's Hall of Fame induction is co-hosted by Women's Museum of California (Located in San Diego), Commission on the Status of Women, UC San Diego Women's Center, and San Diego State Women's Studies.
Honor
Lynn Schenk was nominated and inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in 2012 by the
Women's Museum of California, Commission on the Status of Women,
University of California San Diego
The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...
Women's Center, and
San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) syste ...
Women's Studies.
See also
*
List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
This is a list of Jewish members of the United States Congress. , there are 10 Jewish senators and 27 Jewish members of the House of Representatives serving in the United States Congress.
Senate
Elected to the Senate, but not seated
House ...
*
Women in the United States House of Representatives
Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being the upper house, upper chamber, since the 1916 election of Republican Party ...
References
*"Lynn Schenk" in Women in Congress, 1917–2006. Prepared under the direction of the Committee on House Administration by the Office of History & Preservation, U. S. House of Representatives. Washington: Government Printing Office, 2006.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schenk, Lynn
1945 births
Living people
Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
Politicians from San Diego
Female members of the United States House of Representatives
Women in California politics
Jewish women politicians
Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives
University of San Diego School of Law alumni
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
American women lawyers
Scripps Research
White House Fellows
Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni