Robert Dale Dutton (October 13, 1950 – July 23, 2022) was an American politician of the Republican Party.Official biography
/ref> After serving two years as a State Assemblyman for the 63rd district, from 2002 to 2004, Dutton served as a State Senator representing the 31st district from 2004 to 2012, and was the state senate's minority leader from 2010 to 2012. He made an unsuccessful run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. In 2014, he was elected as Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk of

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

and re-elected in 2018, holding the position until his death.

Early life, education, and early career

Dutton was born in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

in 1950. In 1972, he received an A.A. in real estate from

Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) is a public community college in Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District. The college is adjacent to Grant High School in the neighborhood of Valley Glen. Often call ...

. In 1976, he became President of the local

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizati ...

. He served in the

Army Reserve A military reserve force is a military organization whose members have military and civilian occupations. They are not normally kept under arms, and their main role is to be available when their military requires additional manpower. Reserve ...

in 1969 and then went on to serve on the

California Air National Guard The California Air National Guard (CA ANG) is one of three components of the California National Guard, a reserve of the United States Air Force, and part of the National Guard of the United States. As militia units, the units in the California ...

. Dutton owned the real estate company Dutton & Associates, Inc. He was also involved with the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

and the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

. He began his public service as a

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

man for Rancho Cucamonga, California.

California legislature

Elections

After redistricting, incumbent Republican State Assemblyman Bill Leonard decided to retire in order to run for a seat on the California Board of Equalization. Dutton decided to run in the vacant

California's 63rd State Assembly district California's 63rd State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. Since 2022, it has been represented by Republican Bill Essayli. District profile The district encompasses part of the Gateway Cities region, southe ...

and won the Republican primary with 45% of the vote in a three candidate field. He won the general election by defeating Democratic nominee Donna Wallace 61%–39%. In 2004, he decided to retire from his seat in the 63rd Assembly district in order to run for California's 31st State Senate district, vacated by retiring Republican State Senator

Jim Brulte James L. Brulte (born April 13, 1956) is an American politician and former chairman of the California Republican Party, having served from March 3, 2013 to February 24, 2019. Brulte formerly served as a Republican in the California State Senat ...

. He defeated Democratic nominee Marjorie Mikels 60%–40%. In 2008, he won re-election to a second term with 59% of the vote.

Committee assignments

;2011–2012 *Emergency Management Committee *Labor and Industrial Relations Committee *Audit Committee *Rules Committee ;2009–2010 *Budget and Fiscal Review Committee (Vice Chair) *Transportation and Housing Committee *Rules Committee *Joint Legislative Budget Committee

2012 congressional election

In January 2012, Dutton decided to retire from the California Senate to run in the newly redrawn

California's 31st Congressional District California's 31st congressional district is a congressional district in San Bernardino County, in the U.S. state of California. The district is located in the Inland Empire region, including the city of San Bernardino and portions of Rancho ...

, based in

, and vacated by retiring U.S. Congressman Jerry Lewis. Dutton lost the general election to fellow Republican Gary Miller by a 55% to 45% margin.

Assessor-Recorder of San Bernardino County

In September 2013, Dutton announced his candidacy for the San Bernardino County Assessor-Recorder, vacated by retiring County Assessor-Recorder Dennis Draeger. Dutton won the June 3, 2014 California Primary Election to Dan Harp, receiving over 50% of the vote and avoiding a November run-off election. As a division of the Assessor-Recorder-County Clerk responsibilities, Dutton was the keeper of the historical archives. In 2018, Dutton was re-elected unopposed. At the time of his death, he was seeking another term in the 2022 election, and was again unopposed.

Committee assignments

;2014–2022 *California Assessor's Association – Legislative Committee *County Recorder's Association of California

Personal life

He married Andrea Guillen in 1981, and they had one daughter. Dutton died from cancer on July 23, 2022, at the age of 71.

References

External links

Join California Bob Dutton
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Robert 1950 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American politicians American chief executives American real estate businesspeople California National Guard personnel California city council members Republican Party California state senators Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Los Angeles Valley College people Republican Party members of the California State Assembly National Guard (United States) officers People from Rancho Cucamonga, California Place of death missing Politicians from Lincoln, Nebraska United States Army soldiers