Fred Keeley
Encyclopedia
Fred Keeley is a politician in California
, U.S.
Keeley was a member of the California State Assembly
, representing District 27 which included parts of Santa Cruz County
and Monterey County
from 1996 to 2002. He is currently the Treasurer of Santa Cruz County.
. He is the second son of Harry and Elizabeth Keeley. He was raised in San Jose
. He attended and graduated from Cupertino High School
in 1969. He attended DeAnza College in the early 1970s and took film classes from Professor Robert Scott. In 1974, Keeley graduated with honors from San Jose State University
, School of Social Sciences.
After working for Law Enforcement Training and Research Associates, he was selected by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Joe Cucchaira to be Cucchaira's policy director. Keeley served in that capacity until March 1984 when then-Assembly Member Sam Farr
(D-Carmel) hired Keeley to be his chief of staff. Keeley served in that capacity for nearly five years.
Keeley served for eight years as a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, prior to his election to the California Assembly.
's decision to run for California Senate District 15 made California Assembly District 27 an open seat. In March 1996, Keeley ran for the Democratic
nomination for the 27th Assembly District against Karin Kauffman. Keeley won over 55% of the party's Democratic voters, and 33% of all votes cast http://ca.rand.org/stats/politics/sov/1996prim/assem270396.html. In the November general election, Keeley won about 57% of all votes cast against Republican Jim Davis http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/Vote96/html/vote/assy/M27.961218083528.html.
Also in 1998, Keeley was selected by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa
to be Speaker pro Tempore http://www.calost.org/bios.asp. This is the highest ranking member of the Speaker's leadership team and, as such, Keeley was responsible for the development of the majority party's important policy initiatives. Keeley also investigated the actions of then-Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush
. As a result of the investigation, Quackenbush resigned his office.
During this time, Keeley also authored the two largest park and environmental protection bonds in the nation's history, Proposition 12 on the California ballot in March 2000, and Proposition 40 on the California ballot in March 2002 http://primary2000.ss.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/12.htm. Together, these voter-approved bonds provided $4.7 billion for environmental protection, park land and other valuable habitat land acquisition throughout the nation's most populated state http://www.pclfoundation.org/pclf_files/parkbonds_2005/03_chapter3.pdf.
manifested itself with rolling blackouts in many parts of the state. Speaker Robert Hertzberg
appointed Keeley, his Speaker pro Tempore, as "chief operating officer" for the Assembly on the energy crisis http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/701energy.htm. This position had three primary duties: to establish a triage system for dealing with day-to-day, minute-to-minute emergencies that were direct outgrowths of the lack of electricity; to form a policy group, both at the staff and legislator level, to sort out those ideas that were being advanced to solve the problem, and make recommendations to the Speaker and the Governor, on how to tackle the many fronts on which this crisis was expanding; and to be the author of the agreed-upon package of legislation that would try to tame the energy crisis monster.
During the energy crisis, a variety of options were under consideration. The State of California was trying to get the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
to cap the wholesale price of electricity, as that price was far exceeding the statutory limit that regulated utilities in California could charge their retail customers. The wholesale price was far in excess of the retail price because of deregulation. When the legislature deregulated the electricity sector in 1996, it did so by taking a number of statutory actions. One was to create a Power Exchange or PX. This was intended to be the trading floor for buyers and sellers of electricity. Keeley believed that the model was seriously flawed because it assumed that electricity could be treated as a commodity. Commodities markets have several features: Many buyers, many sellers, transparent transactions, substitute products, and the ability of the buyer to withhold buying if the price is not to his or her liking. According to Keeley, the PX had none of these features http://www.northcoastjournal.com/041901/news0419.html.
In order to stabilize prices, and to assure a reliable supply of electricity, Keeley became the author of the State of California's solution so California participate in the market by buying the so-called net short position each day, and to sell that electricity to utility customers. While there was much criticism of the strategy at the time, it is clear that it had the desired effect: to wit, it stabilized prices and assured supply. PG&E's solution included the transfer of watershed lands and the creation of a youth stewardship program http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/.
After the energy crisis, the California faced a massive budget deficit. Keeley helped in the budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans to get the necessary 2/3 vote to pass the state budget compromise on the state budget.
asked Keeley to join his cabinet as Director of the California Department of Finance
. Keeley declined, and instead became Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League and the PCL Foundation http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=429. These two non-profit organizations specialize in environmental research and legislative advocacy. Keeley led these two organizations for two years.
established a perpetual environmental lecture series in his honor, known as the Fred Keeley Lectures on the Environment. The initial lecture was given by former Arizona Governor and Secretary of the Interior
Bruce Babbitt
. In 2005, the lecture was given by Dr. Paul Erlich
of Stanford University, and author of the best selling book The Population Bomb. Keeley also made a planned gift of $250,000 to UCSC to support the campus's STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/03-27/keeley.asp.
Since Fall 2006, Keeley has taught courses as a part-time faculty member in the Department of Political Science at San Jose State University
. He has taught State Politics and Legislative Politics, and is scheduled to teach Local Politics in Fall 2007. Keeley is a frequent lecturer on California state government, politics, and a variety of environmental topics at Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, Duke University, San Jose State University, California State University at Monterey Bay, the University of Southern California
, and the University of California, Berkeley
. Most recently, he has been teaching at Pacific Collegiate School as the Local and State Government and Politics instructor.
Treasurer. While this position is a countywide elected position, Keeley was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill an unexpired term. On June 6, 2006, Keeley was elected to a four-year term as Treasurer.
In addition to his work as Treasurer, Keeley is a Member of the Board of Directors of the California League of Conservation Voters
, the state's premiere environmental political action organization. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood
Advocates for California and Nevada.
Keeley is co-chair of the Voices of Reform Project of the Commonwealth Club of California
. This project is focused on five major areas of governmental reform: Redistricting, Term Limits, Campaign Finance, Budget, and Initiative Reform. The other co-chair is Dan Shnur, former Governor Pete Wilson
's communications director. The Voices of Reform Project includes some three hundred civic leaders from throughout the 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...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Keeley was a member of 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...
, representing District 27 which included parts of Santa Cruz County
Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
and Monterey County
Monterey County, California
Monterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
from 1996 to 2002. He is currently the Treasurer of Santa Cruz County.
Early life and career
Keeley was born in Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
. He is the second son of Harry and Elizabeth Keeley. He was raised in San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. He attended and graduated from Cupertino High School
Cupertino High School
Cupertino High School, colloquially referred to as "Tino", is a four-year comprehensive public high school located near the Rancho Rinconada and Fairgrove neighborhoods of Cupertino, California, USA. It is part of the Fremont Union High School District. The school serves mostly suburban...
in 1969. He attended DeAnza College in the early 1970s and took film classes from Professor Robert Scott. In 1974, Keeley graduated with honors from San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
, School of Social Sciences.
After working for Law Enforcement Training and Research Associates, he was selected by Santa Cruz County Supervisor Joe Cucchaira to be Cucchaira's policy director. Keeley served in that capacity until March 1984 when then-Assembly Member Sam Farr
Sam Farr
Samuel S. "Sam" Farr is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to Congress in a 1993 special election when longtime Democratic Rep...
(D-Carmel) hired Keeley to be his chief of staff. Keeley served in that capacity for nearly five years.
Keeley served for eight years as a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, prior to his election to the California Assembly.
1996 Assembly race
Moderate Republican Bruce McPhersonBruce McPherson
Bruce A. McPherson is a California politician who was the 30th California Secretary of State, sworn in March 30, 2005. He was nominated to replace former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who resigned on March 4. McPherson, a Republican from Santa Cruz County, served his term as Secretary until...
's decision to run for California Senate District 15 made California Assembly District 27 an open seat. In March 1996, Keeley ran for the Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
nomination for the 27th Assembly District against Karin Kauffman. Keeley won over 55% of the party's Democratic voters, and 33% of all votes cast http://ca.rand.org/stats/politics/sov/1996prim/assem270396.html. In the November general election, Keeley won about 57% of all votes cast against Republican Jim Davis http://vote96.sos.ca.gov/Vote96/html/vote/assy/M27.961218083528.html.
First term
During his first term in the Assembly, Keeley chaired the Budget Subcommittee on Resources, where he advanced legislation, known as the Marine Life Management Act of 1998 http://www.fgc.ca.gov/mlma/contents.html.Also in 1998, Keeley was selected by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Villaraigosa
Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa , born Antonio Ramón Villar, Jr., is the 41st and current Mayor of Los Angeles, California, the third Mexican American to have ever held office in the city of Los Angeles and the first in over 130 years. He is also the current president of the United States Conference of...
to be Speaker pro Tempore http://www.calost.org/bios.asp. This is the highest ranking member of the Speaker's leadership team and, as such, Keeley was responsible for the development of the majority party's important policy initiatives. Keeley also investigated the actions of then-Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush
Chuck Quackenbush
Charles "Chuck" Quackenbush is a Florida law enforcement officer and former California Republican politician. He served as Insurance Commissioner of California from 1995–2000 and as a California State Assemblyman representing the 22nd District, from 1986–1994.- Background and political career :As...
. As a result of the investigation, Quackenbush resigned his office.
During this time, Keeley also authored the two largest park and environmental protection bonds in the nation's history, Proposition 12 on the California ballot in March 2000, and Proposition 40 on the California ballot in March 2002 http://primary2000.ss.ca.gov/VoterGuide/Propositions/12.htm. Together, these voter-approved bonds provided $4.7 billion for environmental protection, park land and other valuable habitat land acquisition throughout the nation's most populated state http://www.pclfoundation.org/pclf_files/parkbonds_2005/03_chapter3.pdf.
California electricity crisis
In late 2000 and early 2001, the California electricity crisisCalifornia electricity crisis
The California electricity crisis, also known as the Western U.S. Energy Crisis of 2000 and 2001 was a situation in which California had a shortage of electricity caused by market manipulations and illegal shutdowns of pipelines by Texas energy consortiums...
manifested itself with rolling blackouts in many parts of the state. Speaker Robert Hertzberg
Robert Hertzberg
Robert Myles Hertzberg served as Speaker of the California State Assembly. He was twice elected unanimously Speaker of the State Assembly, and served two terms. In the State Assembly, he represented more than 400,000 constituents in the San Fernando Valley communities of Los Angeles...
appointed Keeley, his Speaker pro Tempore, as "chief operating officer" for the Assembly on the energy crisis http://www.ncsl.org/programs/pubs/701energy.htm. This position had three primary duties: to establish a triage system for dealing with day-to-day, minute-to-minute emergencies that were direct outgrowths of the lack of electricity; to form a policy group, both at the staff and legislator level, to sort out those ideas that were being advanced to solve the problem, and make recommendations to the Speaker and the Governor, on how to tackle the many fronts on which this crisis was expanding; and to be the author of the agreed-upon package of legislation that would try to tame the energy crisis monster.
During the energy crisis, a variety of options were under consideration. The State of California was trying to get the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
to cap the wholesale price of electricity, as that price was far exceeding the statutory limit that regulated utilities in California could charge their retail customers. The wholesale price was far in excess of the retail price because of deregulation. When the legislature deregulated the electricity sector in 1996, it did so by taking a number of statutory actions. One was to create a Power Exchange or PX. This was intended to be the trading floor for buyers and sellers of electricity. Keeley believed that the model was seriously flawed because it assumed that electricity could be treated as a commodity. Commodities markets have several features: Many buyers, many sellers, transparent transactions, substitute products, and the ability of the buyer to withhold buying if the price is not to his or her liking. According to Keeley, the PX had none of these features http://www.northcoastjournal.com/041901/news0419.html.
In order to stabilize prices, and to assure a reliable supply of electricity, Keeley became the author of the State of California's solution so California participate in the market by buying the so-called net short position each day, and to sell that electricity to utility customers. While there was much criticism of the strategy at the time, it is clear that it had the desired effect: to wit, it stabilized prices and assured supply. PG&E's solution included the transfer of watershed lands and the creation of a youth stewardship program http://www.stewardshipcouncil.org/.
After the energy crisis, the California faced a massive budget deficit. Keeley helped in the budget negotiations between Democrats and Republicans to get the necessary 2/3 vote to pass the state budget compromise on the state budget.
2003-2004
Due to term limits, Keeley left the Assembly in December 2002. Then-Governor Gray DavisGray 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...
asked Keeley to join his cabinet as Director of the California Department of Finance
California Department of Finance
The California Department of Finance is a state cabinet-level agency within the government of California. The Department of Finance is responsible for preparing, explaining, and administering the state’s annual financial plan, which the Governor of California is required under the California...
. Keeley declined, and instead became Executive Director of the Planning and Conservation League and the PCL Foundation http://www.capitolweekly.net/news/article.html?article_id=429. These two non-profit organizations specialize in environmental research and legislative advocacy. Keeley led these two organizations for two years.
Role in higher education
When Keeley was termed out of the legislature, the University of California, Santa CruzUniversity of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz, also known as UC Santa Cruz or UCSC, is a public, collegiate university; one of ten campuses in the University of California...
established a perpetual environmental lecture series in his honor, known as the Fred Keeley Lectures on the Environment. The initial lecture was given by former Arizona Governor and Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Babbitt
Bruce Edward Babbitt , a Democrat, served as United States Secretary of the Interior and as the 16th governor of Arizona, from 1978 to 1987.-Biography:...
. In 2005, the lecture was given by Dr. Paul Erlich
Paul Erlich
Paul Erlich is a guitarist and music theorist living near Boston, Massachusetts. He is known for his seminal role in developing the theory of regular temperaments, including being the first to discover pajara temperament and its decatonic scales in 22-ET. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in...
of Stanford University, and author of the best selling book The Population Bomb. Keeley also made a planned gift of $250,000 to UCSC to support the campus's STEPS Institute for Innovation in Environmental Research http://currents.ucsc.edu/05-06/03-27/keeley.asp.
Since Fall 2006, Keeley has taught courses as a part-time faculty member in the Department of Political Science at San Jose State University
San José State University
San Jose State University is a public university located in San Jose, California, United States...
. He has taught State Politics and Legislative Politics, and is scheduled to teach Local Politics in Fall 2007. Keeley is a frequent lecturer on California state government, politics, and a variety of environmental topics at Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, Duke University, San Jose State University, California State University at Monterey Bay, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, and the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
. Most recently, he has been teaching at Pacific Collegiate School as the Local and State Government and Politics instructor.
Return to local politics
In January 2005, Keeley returned to Santa Cruz and became Santa Cruz CountySanta Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, on the California Central Coast. The county forms the northern coast of the Monterey Bay. . As of the 2010 U.S. Census, its population was 262,382. The county seat is Santa Cruz...
Treasurer. While this position is a countywide elected position, Keeley was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to fill an unexpired term. On June 6, 2006, Keeley was elected to a four-year term as Treasurer.
In addition to his work as Treasurer, Keeley is a Member of the Board of Directors of the California League of Conservation Voters
California League of Conservation Voters
The California League of Conservation Voters is a nonpartisan lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California....
, the state's premiere environmental political action organization. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
Advocates for California and Nevada.
Keeley is co-chair of the Voices of Reform Project of the Commonwealth Club of California
Commonwealth Club of California
The Commonwealth Club of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States...
. This project is focused on five major areas of governmental reform: Redistricting, Term Limits, Campaign Finance, Budget, and Initiative Reform. The other co-chair is Dan Shnur, former Governor Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
's communications director. The Voices of Reform Project includes some three hundred civic leaders from throughout the California.
Awards
- Legislator of the Year for the 2001-2002 Session of the California Legislature, by the California Journal.