Calvin M. Dooley (born January 11, 1954),

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician, was a Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1991 to 2005, representing the 17th and 20th districts of

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 ...

Early life and education

Born in

Visalia, California 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 ...

, he grew up on his parents' farm several miles east of Hanford and graduated from Hanford Union High School in 1972. Dooley earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

in 1977 and a master's degree in Management from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

in 1987.

Career

Dooley worked as a rancher and then as an administrative assistant for California State Senator

Rose Ann Vuich Rose Ann Vuich (January 27, 1927 – August 30, 2001) was a second generation Serbian-American woman who served as a member of the California State Senate from 1976 until 1992. At age 50, she became the first female member of the California Stat ...

from 1987 to 1990.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1990, Dooley won the Democratic primary for what was then the 17th District and faced six-term

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 ...

Chip Pashayan Charles Sahag "Chip" Pashayan Jr. (born March 27, 1941) is an American lawyer and politician from California. He served as a Republican Congressman from the Fresno area in California's Central Valley from 1979 to 1991. Biography Born in Fresn ...

in November. Although Pashayan had been reelected with 71 percent of the vote in 1988, he was bogged down by the House banking scandal, and Dooley defeated him by just over 9 points. In 1992, his district was renumbered as the 20th District and drawn as a Latino-majority district. He was easily reelected that year and five more times after that. He faced only one truly serious contest, when Republican Rich Rodriguez managed to hold him to 53 percent of the vote. A " New Democrat," his voting record was considered moderate, as is typical for Democrats from the Central Valley. Dooley announced his retirement in 2004 and endorsed his chief of staff, Lisa Quigley, as his successor. However, most of the rest of the state Democratic establishment endorsed

Jim Costa James Manuel Costa (born April 13, 1952) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2023, previously representing the 20th congressional district from 2005 to 2013 and the 16th congressional district from 2013 to ...

, a former state legislator from the Fresno area. This touched off a contentious primary battle which was won by Costa, all but assuring him of victory in November. On October 10, 2002, Cal Dooley was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the

invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

. He has later said that he regrets this vote.

Later career

Having served as the president and CEO of the

Food Products Association The Food Products Association (formerly the National Food Processors Association or NFPA) was the principal U.S. scientific and technical trade association representing the food processing industry until 2007. FPA was headquartered in Washington, ...

(FPA), Dooley assumed the same roles at the

Grocery Manufacturers Association The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), is a United States-wide trade association for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods (CPG). The CBA represents companies that manufacture food, bever ...

(GMA), following a merger with the FPA. GMA is a Washington-based trade association representing food manufacturers. In September 2008, Dooley assumed the position of CEO of the

American Chemistry Council American Chemistry Council (ACC), formerly known as the Manufacturing Chemists' Association (at its founding in 1872) and then as the Chemical Manufacturers' Association (from 1978 until 2000), is an industry trade association for American chemic ...

, the trade association for American chemical companies. He announced his retirement in 2018.

Personal life

Dooley is married to the former Linda Phillips, who heads the Bryce Harlow Foundation in Washington DC. The couple have two daughters, one of whom is on the Charlottesville City School Board.

References

External links

American Chemistry Council Leadership Biography
* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dooley, Cal 1954 births 21st-century American politicians American chief executives American lobbyists Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Living people People from Visalia, California Stanford University alumni University of California, Davis alumni