Presley, Robert B.

Biography

Robert Presley, Democrat, was a California State Senator from 1975-1994. In 1974, Presley was elected to represent California's 34th Senate District, which included cities within Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Following redistricting in 1982, he represented California's 36th Senate District that encompassed Riverside County only. Robert Presley served Riverside County exclusively until another redistricting in 1992 shifted the 36th district to include a portion of San Diego County.

Robert Presley was born on December 4, 1924 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He was the first-born son of Doyle and Ann Presley who had lived in the Tahlequah area their entire lives. His father supported his family through farming and later in his life he acquired a job with the Oklahoma State Parks Department. His mother spent her days with her children as a homemaker. For most of his childhood, Presley attended local public schools. However, for ninth and tenth grade he attended boarding school at Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, then returned to Tahlequah to complete high school at the Central High School in Tahlequah. His parents stressed the importance of education, especially given the disruptions of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Senator Presley remembered his mother describing education as "something they can't take away from you" (Presley Oral History, 4). He credited his parents with giving him both determination and a strong work ethic.

When Presley graduated from Central High School the world was in the midst of World War II. After graduation, he quickly signed up for the Army at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma and served in the Medical Corps. Presley was honored for his service when he received a Bronze Star for heroism in Italy. The military also exposed Presley to California for the first time when he was stationed at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, California. When he was discharged in January 1946, Presley went to Riverside County for the first time to visit relatives for a few months. (Presley Oral History, 6-7)

Also at this time Presley married his wife Ahni with whom he had three children: Marilyn, Donna, and Robert Jr. (Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

It was during this time that Presley became involved with the Sheriff's office and remained in Riverside County for the next 36 years. While Presley worked for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, he attended Riverside City College where he earned an Associate of Arts degree and took courses in police science. Presley attended the FBI National Academy in Washington, D.C., the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Riverside; however, he never completed the requirements for his Bachelor's degree. Presley holds a lifetime Designated Subjects Teaching Credential.

Presley worked for 24 years with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and served as Undersheriff for 12 of those years. Presley began his law enforcement career in a patrol car, and quickly worked his way up through the ranks. He specialized in homicide cases. In the detective division, he was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. Presley's promotion to criminal division chief positioned him for appointment to undersheriff when the current sheriff died in office and the current undersheriff took his place. Presley's experiences as a detective remained with him forever and greatly influenced his legislative policies. In particular, he focused on domestic violence and the flaws he observed in treating victims of that crime. As a Senator, Presley worked diligently to reform this portion of the penal code and established domestic violence shelters (Presley Oral History, 8-15; Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

With no significant political experience, Presley ran for the California State Senate in 1972 in a special election. The special election was held because Governor Reagan had appointed Riverside County's Republican Senator, Gordon Cologne, as a justice for the California Appellate Court. The Democratic Central Committee convinced Presley to run for the open seat and the Democrats fought hard to beat the incumbent Republicans. However, in his first attempt at the State Senate Presley lost to Assembly Member Craig Biddle by 2,586 votes. Nevertheless, the close race finally convinced Presley that he was a serious contender and the following election year, 1974, he sought out the Democratic nomination for Senate. On his second attempt, Presley fully committed himself to the campaign and beat Biddle by 253 votes (Presley Oral History, 15-19; California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), 1973, 76).

Although Presley's transition into politics was abrupt, he succeeded in his new profession. Throughout nearly 20 years of service, Presley remained active in his representation of his district as well as in his commitment to improve and reform California's government. This commitment coupled with his moderate political attitude allowed Presley to pass the majority of the bills he introduced. His reputation and work ethic also made him a favorite candidate to serve as Chair on numerous legislative committees such as the Joint Prison Committee and the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chaired from 1987-1994 (Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

In addition to his political activities, Robert Presley was also a member of the Lions Club, Riverside Family Services Association, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Elks Club. By 1982, Presley had been named as one of Ten Outstanding State Legislators in the United States by the National Assembly of Governmental Employees, and twice named "Legislator of the Year" by the California Peace Officers Association. During his twenty years in office, he received numerous awards including a special award from the California State Sheriffs Association, the Sierra Club's Distinguished Legislative Achievement Award and the League of California Cities' Special Services Award (California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), 1982, 35; 1983, 35).

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

Senator Robert Presley did not run for re-election in 1994. This decision was based on the new term limits that would only allow him to stay in the Senate for one more term. Presley personally disliked the amount of effort and fundraising necessary to win an election campaign. Since the boundaries of Senate District 36 were again moved to include more Republican communities, another reelection campaign would have required considerable effort. Therefore, Presley retired from his Senate seat in 1994. He had served as a California Senator for 19 years (Presley Oral History, 134).

Following the conclusion of Presley's legislative service, he continued to participate and influence California politics. Initially, Presley returned to Riverside County to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the Crime Control Technology Research Center at the University of California, Riverside. However, his desire for the quick pace of politics lead him back to Sacramento in 1995 when Governor Pete Wilson appointed him Chairman of the California Youthful Offender Parole Board. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis appointed Presley as Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. He served until 2003 when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Roderick Q. Hickman in his place. In January 2004, Presley filed lobbying papers with the Secretary of State and established his own lobbying firm in Sacramento to provide legislative representation for his clients, which included the County of Riverside (Presley Oral History, ii, 136-137; http://cal-access.ss.ca.gov/Lobbying).

The California Legislature and Riverside County have shown their gratitude for Robert Presley's civil service. In September 1989, the county renamed the Riverside County Jail located in Riverside, California the Robert Presley Detention Center. Then in 1994, Presley's aspiration to provide more advanced training to criminal investigators was realized when AB1329 (Stats. 1994, ch. 43) added Penal Code section 13519.9 and formalized the Robert Presley Institute for Criminal Investigation under the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) (http://www.post.ca.gov/training/ici/default.asp; http://www.riversidesheriff.org/corrections/rpdc/).

California State Senate, 1974-1994

From the guide to the Robert Presley papers, 1973-1994, (California State Archives)