Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Congresswoman Lynn Schenk papers
LSC.2209
LSC.2209
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Congresswoman Lynn Schenk papers
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.2209
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
21.0 linear feet
(21 record cartons)
Date (bulk): Bulk, 1992-2004
Date (inclusive): 1959-2005
Abstract: Lynn Schenk is a lawyer and politician who served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives as a congresswoman from San
Diego. She also served as Chief of Staff to Gray Davis during his entire tenure as Governor of California. The collection
consists mostly of material from these offices, including subject files, correspondence, and administrative records. There
is also material relating to several political campaigns, including Schenk's own, the 2003 gubernatorial recall, and the 2004
presidential race.
Physical Location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
Schenk, Lynn, 1945-
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Conditions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
[Identification of item], Congresswoman Lynn Schenk Papers (Collection 2209). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E.
Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
8034329
Lynn Schenk was born on January 5, 1945 in the Bronx, New York. The daughter of immigrants from Eastern Europe, she and her
family moved westward, finally settling in Los Angeles. Schenk received a BA from UCLA, and then earned her law degree at
the University of San Diego. Politically and socially active, in 1972 she co-founded the Lawyers Club of San Diego as an organization
to support female lawyers and to advocate for women's rights in general. In 1975, she was appointed a White House Fellow and
worked for three years in the Office of the Vice President. In 1992, she ran for the U.S. Congress in a newly created district
that encompassed most of San Diego. When she won, she became the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives
from the city, and the first Democrat in forty years. Though she lost her reelection bid in 1994, she remained active in Democratic
and California politics. In 1998, governor-elect Gray Davis asked her to serve as his Chief of Staff, and she remained in
that role until Davis was recalled in 2003.
The collection consists of material relating to the political career of Lynn Schenk, especially her term as a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives and her position as Chief of Staff to California governor Gray Davis. There are subject files
with information about issues important to voters, as well as administrative files regarding the operations of various offices.
There is correspondence from constituents, lobbyists, and other political figures. The collection also contains a great deal
of material on campaigns, including the successful effort to recall Davis from office, and the 2004 presidential race, during
which Schenk was an important fundraiser for John Kerry. Also represented are Schenk's unsuccessful bids for the San Diego
County Board of Supervisors and California attorney general. There is also a small amount of personal material.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Chief of Staff files
- Series 2. U.S. Congress files
- Series 3. White House Fellows files
- Series 4. California Attorney General files
- Series 5. San Diego County Board of Supervisors files
- Series 6. Kerry/Edwards campaign files
- Series 7. Personal files
Political Cartoons and Caricatures from the Collection of Michael Alexander Kahn (New York: The Grolier Club, 2007).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Schenk, Lynn, 1945- -- Archives
California--Politics and government.
Lawyers--California--San Diego--Archives.
United States. Congress. House