Paul V. Horcher (born August 31, 1951) is an American former politician from

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 ...

and a former member of the Republican Party.

Early career

A graduate of

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona) is a Public university, public Institute of Technology (United States)#Polytechnic universities, polytechnic research university in Pomona, California, United States. It is the l ...

, Horcher practiced law before joining the Diamond Bar Municipal Advisory Council in 1982. In 1989 he co-founded the city of

Diamond Bar Diamond Bar is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 census listed a population of 55,072. It is one of a few cities in California with a majority Asian population (59.24% as of 2020). It is named after the ...

and was elected to its city council.

Legislative Races

In 1990 Horcher was elected to 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 the 52nd district, which covered eastern

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

including the cities of

West Covina West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

, Whittier and Horcher's hometown of

. He easily won reelection in the renumbered 60th district in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

. In late 1994 Horcher also ran, unsuccessfully this time, in a special election for 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. ...

. The 29th district had been vacated by the resignation of GOP incumbent

Frank Hill Frank Robert Hill (21 May 1906 – 28 August 1993) was a Scottish football player and manager. Playing career Forfar and Aberdeen Hill was born in Forfar and started his career at Forfar Athletic, joining the club in 1924. He moved to Aberdee ...

, who had been convicted of corruption. Horcher came in third behind GOP Assemblyman

Dick Mountjoy Richard Lee Mountjoy (January 13, 1932 – May 18, 2015) was an American Republican politician from Monrovia, California. He served in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1994, and the California State Senate from 1994 to 2000. He was al ...

and

city councilman Gary Miller, with the mud between Mountjoy and Miller being especially nasty. Horcher did, however, have an easy reelection to the assembly later that November.

Assembly career

Although a Republican, Horcher carved a relatively moderate voting record while in the legislature. His support on many key votes endeared him to Democratic Speaker Willie Brown but made him a pariah among his fellow Republicans. After the 1994 elections, Republicans won control of the

by a single seat. Horcher, still fuming from his own party's rough treatment of him, declared himself an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

on December 5, 1994 and voted to keep Democrat Brown in power. Furious Republicans qualified a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls ...

against Horcher, which voters supported May 16, 1995. He was replaced by, coincidentally,

City Councilman, Gary Miller, who turned out to be a more loyal Republican.

Post Legislature

After leaving the Assembly, Horcher held various position in the administration of Willie Brown, who by then had been elected mayor of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. He served under Brown from 1996 until 2004, when Brown's term ended. Following his service to San Francisco, he returned to a real estate and administrative law practice. His niche law practice in San Francisco includes representing massage parlors who have been accused of violating San Francisco Health Code.

Electoral history

References

External links

Join California Paul Horcher
Election History for the State of California {{DEFAULTSORT:Horcher, Paul 1951 births Living people Republican Party members of the California State Assembly California Polytechnic State University alumni People from Diamond Bar, California California independents 20th-century members of the California State Legislature