Richard Rainey (December 5, 1938 – July 4, 2021) was an American politician from Walnut Creek, California, a suburb in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. He served in the California State Assembly from 1992 until 1996 and then served in the State Senate from 1996 until 2000 when he was defeated for reelection by Tom Torlakson, a Democratic Assemblyman from

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. In 1995, Mr. Rainey was named Legislator of the Year by the California Probation & Parole Correctional Association.Wildermuth, John (21 April 2008)
GOP down to its last Bay Area lawmaker
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', Retrieved December 14, 2010(8 March 2000)
STAGE IS SET FOR A BATTLE OF THE HEAVYWEIGHTS - REPUBLICAN SEN. RICHARD RAINEY WINS BY A LANDSLIDE AND WILL FACE DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLYMAN TOM TORLAKSON IN THE FALL
'' Contra Costa Times'', Retrieved December 14, 2010 (noting that Rainey had beaten primary opponent Daryl Chilimidos and would face Torlakson in general election)(8 October 2000)
7TH DISTRICT CONTEST A DUEL BETWEEN WINNERS, RAINEY AND TORLAKSON SHOW STARTLING CONTRAST OF STYLES AND POLITICAL BELIEFS
'' Contra Costa Times'', Retrieved December 14, 2010(28 November 1996)
FINAL COUNT CONFIRMS RAINEY WON
'' Contra Costa Times'', Retrieved December 14, 2010 Also, during the 1995–96 legislative session, Mr. Rainey served as Chairman of the Assembly Local Government Committee when the Republicans briefly had a majority in the State Assembly.

Background

Rainey was born in

Medford, Oregon Medford is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Oregon, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census on April 1, 2020, the city had a total population of 85,824 and a metropolitan area population of 223,259, making the Me ...

. He became a police officer in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

in 1962. He was hired by the

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

Sheriff's department in 1964 and he was promoted through the ranks as a deputy sheriff, sergeant, lieutenant, and captain before he was elected County Sheriff in 1978. Mr. Rainey was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian during the 1980s to the State Board of Corrections and the Board of Trustees of the Robert Presley Institute of Corrections. He served until 1992 when he was elected to the Assembly to replace Bill Baker who was elected to Congress. Rainey has a bachelor's degree in administration of justice from

Sacramento State University California State University, Sacramento (CSUS, Sacramento State, or informally Sac State) is a public university in Sacramento, California. Founded in 1947 as Sacramento State College, it is the eleventh oldest school in the 23-campus California ...

(1973) and a master's degree in public administration from

Golden Gate University Golden Gate University (GGU or Golden Gate) is a private university in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1901, GGU specializes in educating professionals through its schools of law, business, taxation, and accounting. The university offers s ...

(1976). Rainey was married to Sue Rainey (née McNulty) and they resided in Walnut Creek. They have 7 adult children between them. Brett, Michael and Gina from Richard's 1st marriage to Micki DiLoreto (Micki died from cancer 4/86) and Rob, Steve, Kathy and Kevin from Sue's 1st marriage. He died of melanoma on July 4, 2021, in Walnut Creek, California, at age 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Richard 1938 births 2021 deaths Republican Party California state senators Republican Party members of the California State Assembly California sheriffs Politicians from Medford, Oregon People from Compton, California California State University, Sacramento alumni People from Walnut Creek, California Golden Gate University alumni