Seymour, John

Epithet: of Add MS 38728

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000001305.0x0000d9

Epithet: Lieutenant RANVR

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000412.0x000226

Epithet: Lord Lieutenant of county Wiltshire

Title: 4th Duke of Somerset

British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000800.0x000298

Biography

Senator John Seymour, Republican, was a State Senator from 1982 to 1990. He represented the 35th district that included most of Orange County.

Seymour was born in Chicago, Ill. on December 3, 1937. He attended the public schools in Mt. Lebanon, Penn., and later served in the United States Marine Corps, 1955-1959. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1962 with a degree in real estate and finance. After graduating, he worked in the real estate brokerage, property management, and escrow business, eventually creating his own company with his father. He served as president of California Association of Realtors, 1980. He and his wife Judy raised six children.

He served as the president of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, the chairman of the Board for Californians for Housing Coalition, and co-chairman of the Orange County Citizens for Water, and a director for the Anaheim YMCA.

He entered electoral politics with his successful campaign to join the Anaheim city council in 1974. He continued that service until 1978 when the people of Anaheim elected him mayor. He served two terms from 1978-1982. He was elected a member of the California Senate in 1982 in special election on May 13, 1982, held because of Senator John Briggs's resignation. Seymour served in the California Senate from 1983 to 1990.

Seymour's general effectiveness in the Senate was praised by the Los Angeles Times . In a scathing 1988 editorial, they described Sacramento as a "Fantasy Island of special interests and of elected officials who for the most part pursue the good life by night, campaign funds by day and public problems scarcely ever." In contrast, Seymour was noted for "working issues on a bipartisan basis, focusing on solving problems rather than how the solutions will look to Democrats or Republicans."

He played a leadership role in the Senate. In 1983, he, and several other conservative members of the Republican Party, took control of the Caucus in the Senate. Although a freshman in the Senate, he became chair of Senate Republican Caucus, replacing Senator Ken Maddy. He served until 1987 when he resigned that position.

According to the California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), he served on the following committees:

Seymour had ambitions to serve in a statewide office. In 1987, he put his name forward to Governor Deukmejian as a possible replacement for Treasurer Jesse Unruh after his death. In 1990, he ran unsuccessfully for the Republican Party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor. Senator Seymour resigned from the California State Senate to serve in the United States Senate beginning January 7, 1991. He was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Pete Wilson upon Wilson beginning his term as California Governor. Seymour served until November 10, 1992 when he lost to the Democratic candidate, Dianne Feinstein, in a special election.

He then returned to California where he served as the director of the California Housing Finance Agency from 1992 until January 1995. Subsequently, he moved back to Orange County and his roots in real estate. In 1996, he began serving as chief executive officer and a member of the board for the Southern California Housing Development Corporation, a non-profit affordable housing developer. He also is a consultant for Orange Coast Title. As of 2003, he continues to serve in both roles.

Committee Service

From the guide to the John Seymour Papers, 1973-1991, (California State Archives)