Donald Lee Totten (February 19, 1933 – April 2, 2019) was an American mechanical engineer and politician who served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and in the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1983.
Early life and career
Totten was born in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He lived with his family in
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 24,958,Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood and
Perkiomen School
, motto_translation = It is solved by living
, address = 200 Seminary St
, location =
, region =
, city = Pennsburg
, county = Montgomery
, state ...
in
Pennsburg, Pennsylvania
Pennsburg is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Its population was 3,889 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Upper Perkiomen School District. It is also part of the strip of small towns that run together along Route 29: Red Hill, P ...
. In 1955, Totten received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
. In 1955 he moved to Illinois and worked as an industrial plant engineer.
Schaumburg Township
Schaumburg Township is one of 29 Civil township, townships in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States, USA. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, its population was 131,288. It is in the north west corner of Cook C ...
Republican Party Committee. Totten served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and in the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1983. In 1982, Totten ran for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor, finishing third behind
Susan Catania
Susan Catania (; December 10, 1941 – November 27, 2023) was an American politician who served as a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1983. She was involved in Women's rig ...
and Republican nominee
George Ryan
George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003.
Elected in 1998, Ryan received national attention for his 1999 mora ...