Badham, Robert E.

Robert E. Badham is a politician who represented Orange County constituents from the 71st District in the California Assembly and, later, from the 40th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A fifth-generation Californian, he was born in Los Angeles and was educated there and at Stanford University. He was first elected to the California Assembly as a Republican in 1962 and was re-elected six times. In 1976 he was elected, also as a Republican, to the U.S. House of Representatives, from which he retired in 1988 to return to the private sector.

Biography

Robert E. Badham, a fifth generation Californian, was born June 9, 1929. His forefathers had settled in the Los Angeles area in 1881.

Badham attended public schools there and in Beverly Hills, graduated from Beverly Hills High School. He then attended Occidental College for his freshman year and graduated in 1951 from Stanford University.

During his high school days he met Ann Hatteroth; they were married just before he began his service in the U.S. Navy as an ensign. They had three children, Sharon Ann, (1953); Robert E., Jr., (1955); and William Arthur, (1957).

While in the Navy, Badham served as an Operations Officer in the Korean War Zone and as a CIC Instructor at the Fleet Training Center, Pearl Harbor. His decorations include the China Service and National Defense Ribbons, Korean Service Ribbon with 2 stars, the U.N. Medal, and the Korean Presidential Unit Citation.

Badham was released from the Navy in 1954 as a Lt.(jg). He entered the family business in Los Angeles --Hoffman Hardware Company (1955-1969) --where he later became vice president and a director.

Mr. Badham was divorced in May 1969. He married the former Anne Carroll Jahns in November 1970 and thus added her two children, Phyllis Anne and Jennifer Leigh, to his family.

Robert Badham was first elected to the 71st California Assembly District in 1962 as a Republican and was re-elected six times by large margins. (Due to district reapportionment, he later represented the 74th district). During that time he served on the Ways and Means, Revenue and Taxation, Water, Governmental Organization, Public Utilities Corporation, Legislative Representation, Judiciary, Commerce and Public Utilities, Government Efficiency & Economy, and Public Employment and Retirement committees. He also served as chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Development and Space and as a Legislative Advisory Member to the State Public Works Board.

In 1976 he was elected to the United States Congress, representing the 40th District where he served until he chose not to run in 1988. When he left he was the ranking Republican on the Procurement Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee and third ranking Republican on the overall committee. He was also a member of the House Administration Committee and the Republican Study Committee. When he retired at age 59 in 1988, he returned to the private sector.