Marian C. Bergeson (August 31, 1925 – July 6, 2016) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. A

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, she became the first woman to serve in both 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 ...

and

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, Cal ...

, she was a member of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

from 1978 to 1995, a member of the

Orange County Board of Supervisors The Orange County Board of Supervisors is the five-member governing body of Orange County, California along with being the executive of the county. Membership The Board consists of five Supervisors elected by districts to four-year terms by the ...

from 1995 to 1996, and California State

Secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

from 1996 to 1999. In 1986, Marian Bergeson Elementary School in Laguna Niguel was named after her.

Early life and family

Born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, Bergeson earned a

Bachelor of Arts 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 years ...

Elementary Education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or firs ...

from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

. A resident of

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

, Bergeson and her husband, Garth, had four children (Nancy, Garth Jr., Julie, and James) and eleven grandchildren. Her daughter Nancy was an attorney in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, before her murder in 2009. Bergeson was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

Political career

Elected to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in 1964, she was reelected to the board in 1968, 1972, and 1976. In 1978, Bergeson won 74% of the vote to be elected as

woman for the 74th Assembly District. In 1980, she won 74% of the vote in a three-way race to be re-elected to her seat. In 1982, she again won 74% of the vote for re-election after her district was renumbered as the 70th Assembly District after the 1980s

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. Bergeson made history in 1984 by becoming the first woman to have won election as both a California State Assemblymember and State Senator after she won 74% of the vote to be elected as

California State Senator 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. ...

for the 37th Senate District. Bergeson was reelected in 1988 with 71% of the vote in a three-way race. In 1990, Bergeson ran for

Lieutenant Governor of California The lieutenant governor of California is the second highest executive officer of the government of the U.S. state of California. The lieutenant governor is elected to serve a four-year term and can serve a maximum of two terms. In addition to l ...

. The winner of the 1990 election for Lieutenant Governor was poised to make history, as Bergeson would have been the first woman to be Lieutenant Governor while

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

Leo T. McCarthy Leo Tarcissus McCarthy (August 15, 1930 – February 5, 2007) was an American politician and businessman. He served as the 43rd lieutenant governor of California from 1983 to 1995. Early life and education McCarthy, whose parents were both nat ...

would have been the first Lieutenant Governor to win a third term. Bergeson was unable to unseat the incumbent McCarthy, losing by a margin of 51%-42%. Bergeson was elected to her third term as a State Senator in 1992, winning 62.2% of the vote in a three-way race in her district after it was partially redrawn and renumbered the 35th District in the 1990s

. In 1994, Bergeson won more than 98% of the vote to win election as an Orange County Supervisor, representing the 5th District. Bergeson resigned from her supervisorial seat in 1996 when she was appointed by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...

as California

. In 1999, outgoing Republican Governor Wilson and incoming Democratic 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 ...

agreed to appoint Bergeson to the

California State Board of Education The California State Board of Education is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The State Board of Education sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and ...

. Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...

appointed Bergeson to a four-year term on the

California Transportation Commission The California Transportation Commission (CTC) is an independent government transportation commission established in 1978. The CTC replaced and assumed the responsibilities of four prior independent agencies, the California Highway Commission, ...

in 2004 and reappointed her for a second term in 2008. Bergeson died at the age of 90 due to complications from surgery for

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...

Hoag Hospital Hoag is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Arthur Hoag (1921–1999), American astronomer * Bob Hoag, American record producer and songwriter *Charles Hoag (1808–1888), American scholar and teacher; first school master of Minn ...

Controversy

The Marian Bergeson Series, named after Marian Bergeson has been a source of controversy for its lack of diversity, inclusion and for its promotion of leaders who have expressed anti-Semitic, anti-black sentiments, including Gracie Van Der Mark. Gracie Van Der Mark was twice removed from a Huntington Beach School Board for making racist references. Marian Bergeson Series has graduated other questionable alumni, including Deb Pauly, a former Villa Park Councilwoman, accused of making Islamophobic comments at a rally in 2011.

References

External links

Marian Bergeson political history
- UCI
History of the Bergeson Excellence in Public Service SeriesJoin California Marian Bergeson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergeson, Marion 1925 births 2016 deaths Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Latter Day Saints from Utah Republican Party California state senators People from Newport Beach, California Politicians from Salt Lake City Brigham Young University alumni Women state legislators in California Orange County Supervisors School board members in California Latter Day Saints from California 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians