Bernice Frederic Sisk (December 14, 1910 – October 25, 1995) was an American politician who served as a Congressman from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

from 1955 to 1979. He was 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 ...

Life and career

Sisk was born in 1910 in

Montague, Texas Montague ( ) is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Montague County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat of Montague County and had an estimated population of 400 in 2000, according to the Handbook of Texas. Its pop ...

, the son of Lavina (Thomas) and Arthur Lee Sisk. He was elected to the House in 1954, representing a district that included

Fresno 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, maki ...

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

and

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

. He defeated

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 ...

incumbent Allan Hunter in one of the major upsets of the 1954 midterm Congressional elections. The district had been in Republican hands for all but ten years since its creation in 1913, but Sisk went on to hold the seat for 12 terms. The district would remain in Democratic hands until the election of Republican John Duarte to Congress in 2022. He was a long-time member of the

House Rules Committee The Committee on Rules, or more commonly, the Rules Committee, is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the rules under which bills will be presented to the House of Representatives, unlike other commit ...

and the Agriculture Committee, and served as Chairman of the Cotton Subcommittee, where he helped heal the long-standing rift between southern and western cotton producers. A proponent of production inducements rather than direct farm subsidies, he backed legislation to aid the dairy, wine, sugar, fig and raisin industries. Sisk was also a major political force in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

for the creation of the

Central Valley Project The Central Valley Project (CVP) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation an ...

that eventually developed into a $37 billion water system that continues to serve California's 400-mile-long Central Valley. Sisk retired from Congress in 1978. He was succeeded by his former chief of staff,

Tony Coelho Anthony Lee Coelho (born June 15, 1942) is an American politician from California who served in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act and is ...

. B. F. Sisk was a member of the Palm Avenue Church of Christ in

Electoral history

, + California's 12th congressional district: Results 1954-1960 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , 1954 , , , , B. F. Sisk , , Democratic , , 63,911 , , 53.79 , , , , A. Oakley Hunter (inc.) , ,

, , 54,903 , , 46.21 , - ,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 69,300 , , 73.00 , , , , Robert B. Moore , ,

, , 40,663 , , 27.00 , - ,

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 112,702 , , 81.12 , , , , Daniel K. Halpin , ,

, , 26,228 , , 18.88 , - ,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 141,974 , , 99.91 , , , , Others (write-in) , , N/A , , 126 , , 0.09 , + California's 16th congressional district: Results 1962-1972 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 108,339 , , 71.87 , , , , Arthur L. Selland , ,

, , 42,401 , , 28.13 , - ,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 117,727 , , 66.77 , , , , David T. "Dave" Harris , ,

, , 58,604 , , 33.24 , - , 1966 , , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 118,063 , , 71.38 , , , , Cecil F. White , ,

, , 47,329 , , 28.62 , - ,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 97,476 , , 62.46 , , , , David T. "Dave" Harris , ,

, , 55,188 , , 35.36 , - ,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 95,118 , , 66.42 , , , , Phillip V. Sanchez , ,

, , 43,843 , , 30.62 , - ,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 134,132 , , 79.13 , , , , Carol Harner , ,

, , 35,385 , , 20.87 , + California's 15th congressional district: Results 1974-1976 ! Year ! ! Subject ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Opponent ! Party ! Votes ! % , - , 1974 , , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 80,897 , , 72.01 , , , , Carol Harner , ,

, , 31,439 , , 27.99 , - ,

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, , , , B. F. Sisk (inc.) , , Democratic , , 92,735 , , 72.20 , , , , Carol Harner , ,

, , 35,700 , , 27.80

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sisk, Bernice F. Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California 20th-century American politicians History of the San Joaquin Valley 1910 births 1995 deaths