Elaine Kontominas Alquist (born August 21, 1944, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former Democratic

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

from California's 13th Senate District. Prior to serving in the Senate, she 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. The A ...

for six years. The 13th Senate District (SD 13) is the heart of Silicon Valley in Santa Clara County and includes the cities of San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View and Gilroy. She was in office from December 2004 to November 2012. She succeeded

John Vasconcellos John Bernard Vasconcellos Jr. (May 11, 1932 – May 24, 2014) was an American politician from California and member of the Democratic Party. He represented Silicon Valley as a member of the California State Assembly for 30 years and a Californi ...

, who himself succeeded Alquist's husband, the late

Al Alquist Alfred E. Alquist (August 2, 1908 – March 27, 2006) was a California politician. Biography Born in 1908 in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of a Swedish immigrant who worked for the railroads, Alquist was barely a teenager when he started carrying ...

, who represented the district for 30 years.

Early life and education

Alquist graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from

MacMurray College MacMurray College was a private college in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2015 was 570. Founded in 1846, the college closed in May 2020. History Although founded in 1846 by a group of Methodist clergymen as the Illinois Confer ...

in 1966 and a Master of Arts degree from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in 1967. Her professional career began as an algebra and trigonometry teacher and a counselor in the public schools. In 1981, she served as PTA president and then beginning in 1983 served eight years as a member and then president of the board of education of the

Cupertino Union School District The Cupertino Union School District (abbreviated as CUSD) is a school district in Santa Clara County, California. CUSD's jurisdiction covers the communities of Cupertino, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Saratoga, and Los Altos. CUSD opera ...

State Assembly

Alquist was elected to the California State Assembly's 22nd District in November 1996, and was re-elected in 1998 and 2000. Under the provisions of California's 1990 term limits law, she termed out in 2002.

State Senate

Alquist was elected to the California State Senate's 13th District in November 2004, and was re-elected in 2008. She termed out in 2012.

References

External links

Official site

Join California Elaine Alquist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alquist, Elaine 1944 births Schoolteachers from California American women educators Democratic Party California state senators Living people MacMurray College alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Chicago Politicians from San Jose, California People from Santa Clara, California School board members in California Spouses of California politicians Washington University in St. Louis alumni Women state legislators in California 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians