Cathie M. Wright is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and a member of the Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 party.

Early career

A onetime Simi Valley

Simi Valley, California

-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Simi Valley had a population of 124,237. The population density was 2,940.8 people per square mile...

 councilwoman, Wright was serving as mayor in 1980 when she won election to the California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 seat vacated by Republican Bob Cline, who had made an unsuccessful run for state senate. She represented the Ventura

Ventura County, California

Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. It is located on California's Pacific coast. It is often referred to as the Gold Coast, and has a reputation of being one of the safest populated places and one of the most affluent places in the country...

 county based 37th district until 1992, when she opted not to seek reelection.

State Senate

After 12 years in the Assembly, Wright instead ran for the open 19th state senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

 district held since 1980 by Republican stalwart Ed Davis

Edward M. Davis

Edward Michael Davis was the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department from , and later a California State Senator from and an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the United States Senate in 1986...

, a former Los Angeles police chief. Davis didn't much like Wright (whom he dubbed "The Peroxide Princess of Simi Valley") and recruited former Assemblywoman Marion W. La Follette

Marion W. La Follette

Marion W. La Follette is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican party.-Early career:La Follette began her political career in the '60s as an aide to then Los Angeles Mayor Sam Yorty. In 1969 she won a seat on the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees...

 to run for the seat. After a bitter campaign, Wright prevailed, but just barely. She won reelection easily in 1996, but California state Term Limits prevented her from seeking reelection in 2000.

Lieutenant Governor Race

In 1994 she became the Republican nominee for Lt. Governor by defeating moderate Assemblyman Stan Statham

Stan Statham

Stan Statham was an American politician from California. He was elected as a Republican to the California State Assembly in 1976 and served until 1994, when he decided to run for Lieutenant Governor...

 in the party's primary. Statham was best known for a proposal to split California into three states. Wright beat him handily but was soundly defeated by then Democratic state Controller Gray Davis

Gray Davis

Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...

 in the general election.

Controversy

One issue that has constantly dogged Wright was her seeking the help of then Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown

Willie Brown (politician)

Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...

 in an effort to have a judge go easy on her daughter, who had racked up numerous traffic violations.

Electoral history

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%"
|+ Member, California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

: 1981-1993

Member, California State Senate

California State Senate

The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...

: 1993-2001

!|Year
!|Office
!
!|Democrat
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
!|Republican
!|Votes
!|Pct
!
|-
|1980
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |Arline Mathews
| align="right" |39,838
| |34.1%
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |66,937
| |57.3%
|
|-
|1982
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |C.W. "Dick" Stine
| align="right" |38,574
| |38.7%
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |55,849
| |56%
|
|-
|1984
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |none
| align="right" |
| |
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |105,919
| |100%
|
|-
|1986
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |William Hesse
| align="right" |25,736
| |23.9%
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |80,477
| |74.6%
|
|-
|1988
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |Jeffrey Marcus
| align="right" |37,617
| |24.9%
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |110,111
| |72.8%
|
|-
|1990
|California State Assembly
District 37
|
| |Dennis A. Petrie
| align="right" |44,773
| |38.9%
|
| |Hunt Braly 41%
Cathie Wright 59%
| align="right" |62,881
| |54.7%
|
|-
|1992
|California State Senate
District 19
|
| |Hank Starr
| align="right" |108,052
| |38.8%
|
| |Roger Campbell 29%
Marion La Follete 33%
Cathie Wright 38%
| align="right" |148,116
| |53.2%
|
|-
|1994
|California Lieutenant Governor
|
| |Gray Davis
| align="right" |4,441,429
| |52.4%
|
| |Stan Statham 37%
Cathie Wright 63%
| align="right" |3,412,777
| |40.3%
|
|-
|1996
|California State Senate
District 19
|
| |John Birke
| align="right" |97,133
| |37.8%
|
| |Cathie Wright
| align="right" |160,130
| |62.2%
|