Roy Arthur Ashburn (born March 21, 1954) is an
American politician
The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...
from
Kern County, California
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county s ...
. 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 ...
, he served as a
California State Senator from 2002 to 2010 representing the
18th district. He previously served three terms in the
California State Assembly, representing the
32nd district and 12 years on the
Kern County Board of Supervisors The Kern County Board of Supervisors is the legislative and executive body that governs Kern County, California
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat ...
. He served on the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board from 2011 until February 2015, after having been appointed by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Although he had maintained a firm voting record against gay rights legislation, Ashburn acknowledged that he is
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
in March 2010, and after
coming out he increasingly spoke out on gay rights.
Personal background
Born in
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, Ashburn received a bachelor's degree in
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...
from
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...
in 1983 and attended
College of the Sequoias in
Visalia
Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...
. His religion is Roman Catholic, listed in his biography printed by California State University, at Bakersfield (Cal State / CSU-Bakersfield). Ashburn is the divorced father of four daughters, Shelley, Shannon, Stacy and Suzana. He also has two grandchildren.
1972–2010: political career
Ashburn worked for Kern County Supervisor LeRoy Jackson from 1972 to 1977, for Congressman
Bill Thomas
William Marshall Thomas (born December 6, 1941) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district an ...
from 1979 to 1983, as a Kern County Supervisor from 1984 to 1996, as a
California State Assemblyman from 1996 to 2002, and as a California State Senator from 2002 to 2010. He attended the
College of the Sequoias and in 1983 received his
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 year ...
degree in
public administration
Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit est ...
from
California State University, Bakersfield
California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Bake ...
. The same year he graduated from college, Ashburn served as president of the Bakersfield Republican Assembly. In 1988, Ashburn chaired the Kern County chapter of the
George H. W. Bush presidential campaign
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
.
Two years into his first term in the State Senate, Ashburn was the Republican candidate in in 2004. His home was located in the Bakersfield portion of the district. He was the strongest Republican to run in the 20th in more than a decade. He was a decided underdog against the
Democratic nominee, former State Senator
Jim Costa. The 20th is a strongly Democratic, Latino-majority district, and the district's previous incumbent, Democrat
Cal Dooley
Calvin M. Dooley (born January 11, 1954), American politician, was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2005, representing the 17th and 20th districts of California.
Early life and education
Born in ...
, had held the seat without serious difficulty for 14 years. However, the Republicans poured more money into the race than was expected for such a heavily Democratic district. Ashburn claimed Costa would vote to raise taxes; in a play on Costa's name, he aired ads saying "Costa's gonna cost ya!" He also compared Costa to former Governor
Gray Davis, calling them the "two taxing twins." In the end, Costa won by 54% to 46%. Ashburn only kept the margin within single digits by winning heavily Republican
Kings County. He did, however, run ahead of the typical Republican showing in the district.
Political achievements/positions
Ashburn's work in the California Legislature has included:
:*Author of "
Valley Fever Vaccine Legislation," which provides funding towards vaccine research on the disease.
:*One of four named authors of "Welfare-to-Work Act of 1997," which reformed California's welfare system.
According to
Project Vote Smart
Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...
, Ashburn voted against every
gay rights measure in the State Senate since taking office,
all of which subsequently passed.
However, he marked a political shift after his DUI arrest by carrying an amendment of a section of the 1950 Welfare and Institutions Code which would eliminate a requirement of the Department of Mental Health to carry out research on "sexual deviants" (language which was expressly used against homosexuals when the WIC was passed in 1950); the carriage of the bill by Ashburn to unanimous passing by the Senate is the first pro-gay act vetted by Ashburn in his career.
Ashburn came out as gay during a radio interview in California and stated that he did not plan to run for any public office again.
Ashburn was vice chair of the Legislative Audit and Public Employment and Retirement Committees in the Senate and was a member of the committees of Arts, Budget and Fiscal Review, Legislative Audit, Revenue and Taxation, Rules, and Transportation and Housing, and the subcommittees on California Ports and Goods Movement and Health and Human Services.
In 2010, Ashburn backed Proposition 13, which sought to prevent seismic retrofitting from triggering property tax reassessments.
Arrest, conviction and consequences
On March 3, 2010, Ashburn was arrested on suspicion of
drunk driving while operating a State of California owned vehicle. The Senator was pulled over in
Sacramento
)
, image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg
, mapsize = 250x200px
, map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...
by the California Highway Patrol shortly before 2 a.m.,
with sources saying he was leaving a Sacramento
gay nightclub
A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term '' gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities.
Gay bars once serv ...
, Faces, in the Lavender Hill neighborhood, with an unidentified male passenger in a state-owned
Chevy Tahoe
The Chevrolet Tahoe, and its badge engineered GMC Yukon counterpart, are full-size SUVs from General Motors, offered since 1994 and 1991, respectively. Since 1982, Chevrolet and GMC sold two different-sized SUVs under their 'Blazer' and 'Jim ...
.
Ashburn's
blood alcohol content
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For example ...
was measured at 0.14%. The arrest "launched nationwide speculation that the veteran lawmaker is gay and therefore a hypocrite for voting against gay-rights bills." In response to those accusations, during an interview on
KERN
KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
radio,
[YouTube audio of the KERN interview (and surrounding radio show) in which Ashburn discussed the DUI charges and identified himself as gay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Km0ETAAh3dg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqgtwmcMxag] Ashburn stated that he is gay and that he believes "that my responsibility is to my constituents."
When asked during the interview whether he personally agreed with votes he made on gay rights issues, Ashburn didn't answer the question.
On April 14, 2010, Ashburn pleaded
no contest
' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense.
In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...
to the charge of
driving under the influence in
Sacramento County
Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854.
Sacramento County is the ...
Superior Court. He received a sentence of three years of informal
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration.
In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
and 48 hours in the county jail, though was given credit for one day for the night of his arrest, to serve the remaining day on a work project. Fines and other fees cost Ashburn $1,900 to $2,000.
2011–present: post-conviction life
Ashburn was appointed by Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger to a four-year term on the State of California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.
Ashburn ran for Kern County Supervisor in the June 2012 primary election and came in second place, allowing him to advance to the runoff. In the run-off election on November 6, 2012, Ashburn faced retired United States Navy Captain Mick Gleason, and lost by 20 points (40 to 60 percent). Congressional Majority Whip
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...
endorsed Gleason
while retired Representative
Bill Thomas
William Marshall Thomas (born December 6, 1941) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district an ...
endorsed Ashburn.
In a 2013 radio interview on ''First Look with Scott Cox'', Ashburn revealed that he had a gay brother, who died of
AIDS-related illness 20 years prior. In the interview Ashburn also stated that he re-registered to vote as "
no party preference
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicians have political views th ...
" because of the Republican Party's opposition to gay rights and immigration.
As of 2020, Ashburn lived in San Luis Obispo.
References
External links
Project Vote Smart profileJoin California Roy Ashburn*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashburn, Roy
1954 births
Living people
County supervisors in California
Republican Party California state senators
Gay politicians
LGBT Roman Catholics
LGBT state legislators in California
Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
Politicians from Bakersfield, California
People from Long Beach, California
Radio personalities from California
American LGBT broadcasters
California politicians convicted of crimes
21st-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians