Walter John Karabian (born March 14, 1938) is an American politician in the state of

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 ...

. He served 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 ...

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from 1967 to 1974. He was married to

Carole Wells Carole Wells (born August 31, 1942) is an American actress, opera singer, producer and author. Early years The daughter of a doctor, Wells was born Carole Maureen Wells in Shreveport, Louisiana, the fourth of six children in her family. Her ...

, a former actress.

Early life

Karabian was born in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in June 1956. After high school, Karabian attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in Los Angeles. While studying at USC, Karabian was elected Student Body and Junior Class President. He was awarded his Bachelor of Arts in American History in 1960. In 1963 Karabian graduated from the USC Law School and also obtained a Master of Science degree in Public Administration. Karabian took an early interest in politics, working for President Lyndon B. Johnson's reelection campaign in 1964. After college, Karabian was a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Los Angeles and entered into private practice with John H. Karns, in Monterey Park.

Political career

Karabian was elected to the State Assembly in 1966 as a representative for the 45th Assembly District in the West

San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...

region of Los Angeles County. Karabian represented the 45th District for the next eight years, continually winning reelection to the State Assembly. He published various legal articles during his years in the Assembly and gained a reputation as a significant legal author as well as legislator. Karabian came to occupy a position of leadership among California Democrats and was eventually appointed the Assembly Majority Leader in 1971. A progressive Democrat, Karabian authored bills that dealt with crime and the law, prison reform, education, civil rights, free speech, and the preservation of endangered species in California. Karabian ran for Secretary of State in 1974 but was defeated in the primary by

March Fong Eu March Kong Fong Eu ( Kong; March 29, 1922 – December 21, 2017) was an American politician. She was a member of the California State Assembly and went on to serve as Secretary of State of California. Early life and education Eu was born March ...

After politics

Since 1974, Karabian has practiced law for his firm, Karns and Karabian, in Los Angeles. Karabian was selected as the co-chairman of a trade delegation that visited Cuba during Jimmy Carter's presidency and was named as the legal counsel for a legislative delegation to the Philippines in 1979. In 2009, he was arrested for allegedly running over a parking attendant before a USC football game at Los Angeles Coliseum. In November 2010, Karabian pleaded no contest to a charge of "disturbing the peace" and was required to serve 40 hours of community service and three years' probation.

References

1938 births Living people American people of Armenian descent 21st-century American legislators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly 21st-century California politicians {{California-CAAssembly-stub