Joseph Beek
Encyclopedia
Secretary of the California State Senate
The Secretary of the California Senate is a nonpartisan officer of the Senate and is elected at the beginning of each two-year session. The Secretary's primary role is the chief parliamentarian of the Senate . The Secretary also oversees the clerical workforce on the floor of the California State...
is a nonpartisan officer of the Senate who advises the presiding officer and Senators on parliamentary procedures and is the chief recordkeeper of the Senate. The Secretary is elected by majority vote of the Senators for each two-year session.
Joe Beek was born in Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and established residency in California in 1907. He attended school in Pasadena at Throop Polytechnic Institute (later renamed Caltech
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
). Beek first served as a Senate attache in 1913. In 1917 he was elected Minute Clerk. He was first elected as Secretary in 1919 and served continuously, with the exception of 1921-22, until his death in office on October 20, 1968.
Beek authored the book "The California Legislature" in 1942. Written in narrative form, the book was part history lesson, part memoir, and part guide to the legislative process. Subsequent editions were published for the next 40 years. Beek also co-founded the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries (ASLCS) in 1943. He served as the ASLCS president for the first 25 years. Beek's years of Capitol service closely mirrored that of his colleague, Arthur Ohnimus
Arthur Ohnimus
Arthur Allen Ohnimus was the longest serving Assembly Chief Clerk in California history . He was also the first Chief Administrative Officer of the Assembly Rules Committee . Ohnimus served under 8 Republican and 4 Democratic Speakers of the Assembly during his 37 cumulative years as Chief Clerk...
, who served as Chief Clerk
Chief Clerk
The Chief Clerk, between 1789 and 1853, was the second-ranking official within the United States Department of State, known as the Department of Foreign Affairs before September 5, 1789. Section 2 of the Act of Congress of July 27, 1789 The Chief Clerk, between 1789 and 1853, was the second-ranking...
of the lower house from 1915 to 1963.
Beek was perhaps best known for his role in developing Balboa Island. He established the Balboa Island Ferry
Balboa Island Ferry
The Balboa Island Car Ferry is a ferry service in Newport Beach, California.The ferry boats travel under 1,000 feet from Balboa Island to the Balboa Peninsula and vice versa, reaching a top speed of four miles per hour. The speed limit in the harbor is 5 miles per hour, and the ferry docks about...
, built roads and bridges, and was one of the island's chief promoters. Beek was also Chairman of the California Small Craft Harbor Commission, was a published musician and composer, a World War II veteran, and a promoter of reforestation of hills surrounding Orange County.
Sources
- The California Legislature, 1980 edition, by Joseph A. Beek (R.W. Lyons, editor), Office of State Printing, Sacramento.
- California Blue Book, State of California, 1938 and 1961 editions.
- California's Legislature (2006 edition), Appendix E, p. 269
- ASLCS web site