Nicholas Christos Petris (February 25, 1923 – March 20, 2013) was a California State Senator from 1966 until 1996. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he represented the 11th district from 1966 to 1976 and the 9th district from 1976 until he was termed out in 1996. He was previously 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 ...

, representing the 15th district from 1958 until 1966.

Personal life and education

Petris was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from

Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (SLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, Stanford Law had an acceptance rate of 6.28% i ...

. He was classmates and friends with

Warren Christopher Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American attorney, diplomat and statesman who served as the 63rd United States secretary of state from 1993 to 1997. Born in Scranton, North Dakota, Christopher clerked for Supre ...

, Secretary of State under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Greece was governed by a dictatorship, he took a stand against it as an honorary Chairman of the California Committee for Democracy in Greece.

Legislative career

Petris dedicated substantial energy and resources toward expanding the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

system. He was also the co-author of the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, which brought changes to the

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

system in

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 ...

. Petris also led many conservation initiatives. He was a supporter and advocate of

Save The Bay Save The Bay is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving San Francisco Bay and related estuarine habitat areas. It was founded by Catherine Kerr, Sylvia McLaughlin, and Esther Gulick in 1961. The organization aims to protect the ...

, a nonprofit organization that was successful in restricting and managing land development around the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

. He was a co-sponsor of the McAteer-Petris Act which established and governs operations of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). He also introduced an unsuccessful bill to ban

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

. During his terms in the State Assembly, Petris became concerned with constituent reports about

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

. After his election to the State Senate, Petris introduced a bill to the Senate transportation committee in March 1967 which would have limited families to owning a single gasoline-powered car starting in 1975. Although it received little support, he modified the language of the bill to instead ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars from 1975 onward. In March 1969, Petris re-introduced the bill in the Senate's health committee, where it received a unanimous endorsement and grassroots support. The bill passed in the State Senate but failed by a single vote in the State Assembly. Petris later supported emissions regulations by the

California Air Resources Board The California Air Resources Board (CARB or ARB) is an agency of the government of California that aims to reduce air pollution. Established in 1967 when then-governor Ronald Reagan signed the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air S ...

which forced auto manufacturers to adopt the

catalytic converter A catalytic converter part is an vehicle emissions control, exhaust emission control device which converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas from an internal combustion engine into less-toxic pollutants by catalysis, catalyzing a redox ...

Legacy

Locations named after Petris include: * The Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets & Consumer Welfare at UC Berkeley * The Nicholas C. Petris Lecture (started in 2001) at San Francisco State University * The California Department of Transportation Building at 111 Grand Ave., Oakland, CA.

References

External links

Join California Nicholas C. Petris
1923 births 2013 deaths Lawyers from Oakland, California Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Oakland, California Stanford Law School alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American lawyers People of the Office of Strategic Services American people of Greek descent 20th-century members of the California State Legislature {{California-CASenate-stub