Inventory of the Deirdre Alpert Papers

Processed by Colin Hoffman
California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2008
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the Deirdre Alpert Papers

Collection number: LP384

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California
Processed by:
Colin Hoffman
Date Completed:
May 2008
Encoded by:
Jessica Knox
© 2008 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Deirdre Alpert Papers
Dates: 1990-2004
Collection number: LP384
Creator: Deirdre Alpert, California Legislator
Collection Size: 22 cubic feet
Repository: California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: California legislator Deirdre Alpert served as a State Assembly Member from 1990-1996, and as a State Senator from 1996-2004. The Deirdre Alpert Papers consist of 22 cubic feet of records reflecting the interests and political activities of Alpert during her 14 years in the California State Legislature. The records contain two series: bill files and subject files from 1990 to 2004.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Access

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Deirdre Alpert Papers, LP384:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition and Custodial History

The California State Archives acquired the Deirdre Alpert Papers following her final term in the State Legislature.

Biography

California legislator Deirdre Alpert, also known as Dede, was born on October 6, 1945 in New York City. She moved with her family and established residence in California in 1962, studying government at Pomona College. Deirdre married Michael Alpert in Los Angeles and moved back to the San Diego region in 1975. The couple produced three daughters, Alison, Kristin, and Lehn. She was a member of the Solana Beach School District Board from 1983 until her election to the California Assembly in 1990, serving as Board president in 1987. During this period, the Solana Beach School District began before-and-after school childcare and preschool programs, created the county's first infant care center, and had two schools recognized by California as distinguished schools.
In 1990, Alpert challenged Sunny Mojonnier for her district seat in the California Assembly. She ran for office at a time when Assemblywoman Mojonnier was embroiled in controversies. Alpert utilized a grassroots campaign and the support of major San Diego newspapers to win the election with 45.7% of the vote. In 1992, she moved to Coronado to run for an open Assembly seat against Jeff Marston, which Alpert won with a 53.4% of the vote. Alpert solidified and extended her political presence in typically conservative regions, even though her political stance on issues often contrasted with segments of the general public. Thus, after terming out of the Assembly, Alpert used her reputation to anchor a successful jump to the Senate in 1996 and remained there until leaving due to term limits in 2004.
Throughout her legislative career, Deirdre Alpert involved herself with community issues, education, and the health and wellbeing of women and children. She maintained her participation with many community and nationwide organizations such as the Parent Teachers Association, the Girl Scouts, and was a volunteer court-appointed Special Advocate for Voices For Children aiding children in crisis. Alpert was active with United Cerebral Palsy, having membership in its Solana Beach and county guilds.
As a Democrat during her California legislative career, Alpert championed legislative efforts relating to children and women, the environment, education, the proper allocation of state funds to the San Diego region, and advocated legislation that would enhance the prospects of local business growth and further economic development in her district. During her time in the legislature, Alpert served on the following committees:

State Assembly, 1990-1996

  • Standing Committees
  • Agriculture, 1996
  • Education, 1991-1995
  • *Chair, 1995
  • Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, 1993-1995
  • Health, 1991-1992
  • Housing and Community Development, 1991-1992
  • Public Employees, Retirement, and Social Security, 1991-1995
  • Public Safety, 1996
  • Rules, 1993-1994
  • Transportation, 1991-1992
  • Televising the Assembly and Information Technology, 1996
  • *Vice Chair, 1996
  • Utilities and Commerce, 1993-1994
  • Ways and Means, 1993-1994
  • Subcommittees
  • Public Safety - Juvenile Justice, 1996
  • Tourism, 1993-1994
  • Utilities and Commerce, 1993-1994
  • Select Committees
  • California Children, 1996
  • California/Mexico Affairs, 1991-1994, 1996
  • Marine Resources, 1996
  • *Chair, 1996
  • Urban Education Quality, 1996
  • Youth and Drug Abuse Prevention, 1991-1993
  • Youths At Risk,1993-1994
  • *Chair, 1993-1994

State Senate, 1990-1996

  • Standing Committees
  • Appropriations, 1997-2004
  • *Chair, 2001-2004
  • Agriculture and Water Resources, 2001-2004
  • Education, 1997-2004
  • *Chair, 1999
  • Equalization, 1997-1999
  • Elections and Reapportionment, 2002
  • Environmental Quality, 1997-1998
  • Natural Resources and Wildlife, 1997-2004
  • Revenue and Taxataion, 1997-2004
  • *Chair, 1997-1998
  • Subcommittees
  • Appropriations - Fiscal Oversight and Bonded Indebtedness, 1997-2004
  • *Chair, 2003-2004
  • Educaiton - Higher Education, 2004
  • Select Committees
  • California Federal Water Program, 2001-2002
  • California Horse Racing Industry, 2002-2004
  • California's Wine Industry, 1998, 2001-2004
  • Citizen Participation in Government, 1998
  • Community Development, 1998
  • Critical Thinking and Problem Solving In Our Schools, 1998
  • College and University Admissions and Outreach, 1998, 2001-2004
  • Defense and Aerospace Industry, 2004
  • Economic Development, 1998, 2001-2004
  • Educational Standards and Teacher Training, 1997-1998
  • *Chair, 1997
  • Family, Child, and Youth Development, 2001-2004
  • *Chair, 2001-2004
  • Genetics, Genetic Technologies, and Public Policy, 1997-1998, 2001-2004
  • *Chair, 2001-2004
  • Higher Education Admissions and Outreach, 1998-1999
  • Governmental Oversight, 2001-2004
  • Prison Management, 1998
  • Urban Economic Development, 2001-2002
  • Joint Committees
  • Develop a Master Plan for Education, 2001-2004
  • *Chair, 2001-2004
  • Fisheries and Agriculture, 1998-1999, 2001-2004
  • *Vice-Chair, 1999-2004
  • Headwaters, Forest, and Ecosystem Management Planning, 1998-1999
  • Legislative Budget, 2001-2004
  • Preparing California for the 21st Century, 2001

Scope and Content

The Deirdre Alpert Papers consist of 22 cubic feet of records reflecting the interests and political activities of Alpert during her 14 years in the California State Legislature. The records contain two series: bill files and subject files from 1990 to 2004.
The bill files chronicle Alpert's legislation and often focus on California's educational system, maintaining and increasing environmental protections within California, and furthering the health and protection of women. Of note are bills that closed legal loopholes for peeping toms, aided stalking victims by protecting the public disclosure of addresses in public records, increased sexual assault penalties for employers, and elevated the stringencies of breast cancer examinations. Alpert also introduced legislation to improve education by requiring the integration of phonics, basic spelling, and computational skills into school curriculums, requiring the systematic testing of K-12 academic skills, improving school bus safety, and requiring children entering pre-school or kindergarten to have chicken pox vaccinations.
Deirdre Alpert also concerned herself with the environment. Her legislation targeted the payment of clean-up for environmental damages by allocating the responsibility to the dumper, fought the expansion of oil drilling off the shores of southern California, and advocated the development of artificial reefs using oil rig frameworks. Her efforts sought to improve the conditions environmentally and economically for the San Diego region. She authored a controversial bill to extend gambling privileges to cruise ships off-shore in order to preserve local business interests and advocated the tightening of tax requirements for those who purchased luxury items and temporarily kept them out of state to avoid paying taxes.
The subject files contain expanded information on Alpert's legislation, background material on political topics facing legislative members, press releases, awards bestowed upon Alpert, and information related to the development of the Capital Park Rose Garden and its international connections.

Related Material at the California State Archives

Assembly Education Committee Records
Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee Records
Senate Appropriations Committee Records
Senate Education Committee Records
Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee Records
Senate Genetics, Genetic Technologies, and Public Policy Select Committee Records
Joint Committee to Develop a Master Plan for Education Records

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Alpert, Deirdre
Education
Environmental protection


LP384:1-378, LP384:401-404

Series 1 Bill Files 1991-2004

Physical Description: 382 file folders, 1 audiocassette, 1 CD-ROM, 1 videotape

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Bill files are arranged chronologically by legislative session and then numerically by bill number.

Scope and Content Note

Most bill files include all or some of the following items: bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, roll calls, and records of votes. Of particular interest are those bills that argue for increased protections for women, the environment, and education as well as those that focus on regional economic development. AB74 (1993-1994) advocated removing restrictions on gambling cruise ships using California ports and SJR7 combined with SB43X (2001-2002) sought relief for California regions from the electrical crisis arising out of deregulation. AB 251 (1993-1994) discusses ways of improving mammogram quality while SB1169 (2001-2002) and SB490 (2003-2004) fought for greater access to emergency contraceptives through revised procedures for prescribing medications. SB489 (1997-1998) advocated the Address Confidentiality Program to protect victims of domestic violence and SB1318 (1999-2000) sought to broaden the program to increase the number of people assisted. SB148 (1999-2000) continued the drive to provide expanded coverage for families with children afflicted with Phenylketonuria. SB1385 (1997-1998) argued for HIV testing of patients to protect health workers from risk of infection.
1991-1992: AB55-AB369, ACR123, AJR64 (21ff) LP384:1-21
1993-1994: AB1-AB3678, ACA14, ACR40-ACR83,AJR86, AB55X-AB116X (55ff) LP384:22-77
1995-1996: AB33-AB2923, ACR89-ACR93, AJR15 (50ff) LP384:78-128
1997-1998: SB97-SB2224, SCR38-SCR90 (64ff) LP384:129-193
1999-2000: SB39-SB2196, SCA18, SCR29-SCR88, SJR2-SJR16,SR7, SB1X (36ff) LP384:194-258
2001-2002: SB1-SB2037, SCR2-SCR93, SJR7, SR10, SB32X-SB43X, SB73XX (64ff) LP384:259-323
2003-2004: SB6-SB1876, SCR52-SCR55, SJR11 (52ff) LP384:324-378
2003-2004: SB142 (4ff) LP384:401-404
LP384:379-400

Series 2 Subject Files 1991-2004

Physical Description: 22 file folders, 39 videotapes

Access Information

Access to audiovisual material requires the production of use copies.

Arrangement

Subject Files are arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Scope and Content Note

Subject Files expand upon topics found in the bill files and illustrate additional background information to topics considered important to Alpert, including additional coverage on domestic violence, mammogram quality, newborn screening, and expansion of education criteria and programs. Included within certain subject records are audio/visual files of public service announcements, press conferences, and videotaped programming related to topics and legislation. Of particular interest may be the public service announcements that she filmed and concerned such topics as mammogram quality, sober graduations, prostate awareness, and domestic violence. A complete list of subject headings can be found in Appendix A of the master finding aid at the California State Archives.