Randy Greg Voepel (born September 21, 1950) is an American politician. He served in the city government of

Santee, California Santee is a suburban city in San Diego County, California, with a population of 60,075 at the 2020 census. Although it is a part of the East County region, Santee is located just from the Pacific Ocean. The city is connected to the coastline ...

and 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 ...

from the 71st district. He was the vice-chair of the Veterans Affairs, Aging & Long-Term Care, and Public Employment & Retirement committees and a member of the Insurance, Local Government, and Joint Legislative Audit committees. Voepel lost his reelection bid in the

2022 California State Assembly election The 2022 California State Assembly election will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, with the primary election being held on June 7, 2022. All of the seats of the California State Assembly will be elected as part of the 2022 California elect ...

, with his term ending on December 6, 2022.

Early life

On September 21, 1950, Voepel was born in

Saint Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

. In August 1969, Voepel enlisted in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, Voepel served on the USS ''Buchanan'', a guided-missile destroyer. Voepel received the Combat Action Ribbon and military awards.

Career

In 1996, Voepel became a member of the

Santee Santee may refer to: People * Santee Dakota, a subgroup of the Dakota people, of the U.S. Great Plains * Santee (South Carolina), a Native American people of South Carolina Places * Lake Santee, Indiana, a reservoir and census-designated place * ...

City Council. In 2000, Voepel became the Mayor of

until 2016. On November 8, 2016, Voepel won the election and became a Republican member of

for District 71, encompassing most of inland

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

and part of

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

. In 2022, redistricting would have placed him into a new district with another member of the state Assembly,

Marie Waldron Marie Waldron (born March 28, 1960) is an American politician from California. Waldron is currently a member of the California State Assembly, and served as the Assembly minority leader from 2018 until 2022. Waldron is a Republican member of the ...

, but Voepel lost by a wide margin.

Political views

Voepel has aligned himself with the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defic ...

, saying that the Republican Party was too liberal. Following the

January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...

, Voepel said, "This is

Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

. First shots fired against tyranny. Tyranny will follow in the aftermath of the Biden swear-in on January 20th."

Electoral history

2020 California State Assembly

2018 California State Assembly

2016 California State Assembly

Awards

* Combat Action Ribbon. * Vietnam Cross Gallantry.

Personal life

Voepel was formerly married to Pamela Palmer. He is now married to Susan. He has two adult children. His grandson is identified as the suspect charged in the 2022

Colorado Springs nightclub shooting On November 19–20, 2022, a mass shooting occurred at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. Five people were killed, and 25 others were injured, 19 of them by gunfire. The accused, 22-year-old Anderson Lee ...

. His former son-in-law is

Aaron Brink Aaron Franklin Brink (born November 12, 1974), also known by his stage name Dick Delaware, is an American professional mixed martial artist and pornographic film actor who competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He has competed for King of ...

, a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

fighter and former

pornographic film actor A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dist ...

. Voepel and his wife live in

References

External links

*
Campaign website

Randy Voepel at ballotpedia.org

Join California Randy Voepel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voepel, Randy 1950 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American military personnel of the Vietnam War California city council members California Republicans Mayors of places in California Republican Party members of the California State Assembly Missouri politicians Missouri Republicans People from Santee, California People from St. Charles, Missouri