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Title: Sam Farr Papers
Dates: 1980-1994
Collection number: LP391
Creator:
Sam Farr, California Legislator
Collection Size:
19 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: Sam Farr served as a California State Assemblyman from 1980-1993, representing the 27th and 28th Assembly Districts. The Sam
Farr Papers consist of 19 cubic feet of records reflecting the interests and political activities of Farr during his 12 years
in the California State Legislature, with an emphasis on the issues of economic development, educational excellence, and environmental
protection.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research.
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.
[Identification of item], Sam Farr Papers, LP391:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State,
Sacramento, California.
Acquisition and Custodial History
The California State Archives acquired the Sam Farr Papers following his final term in the State Legislature.
California legislator Sam Farr was born July 4, 1941, in San Francisco. He received a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Biology
from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, in 1963, and later attended graduate school at the Monterey Institute of International
Studies in Monterey, California, and law school at the University of Santa Clara. He served for two years as a United States
Peace Corps volunteer in Columbia from 1964 to 1966. His first experience in California politics was serving as a budget analyst
to the Legislature from 1969 to 1971, then as chief consultant to the Assembly Constitutional Amendments Committee from 1971
to 1975.
Farr first served in elective office as a member of the Monterey County Board of Supervisors, from 1975 to 1980. On June 3,
1980, he won the four-way Democratic primary election for the 28th Assembly District (encompassing part of Monterey County
and all of Santa Cruz County) with 41.8 percent of the vote; he won the November 4 general election with 53.3 percent and
was sworn in as the 28th District Assembly Member on December 1. He did not face a serious primary or general election challenger
for the remainder of his Assembly career. His subsequent winning percentages were 71.1 percent (1982), 72.9 percent (1984),
72.1 percent (1986), 70.8 percent (1988), 71.5 percent (1990), and 60.7 percent (1992).
Following the 1991 reapportionment of California's state and federal legislative districts, Farr's district became the 27th
Assembly District, but continued to encompass Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. Comparison of graphs representing the two
districts in the 1991 and 1993-1994 editions of Who's Who in the California Legislature indicate that the district may have
shifted south somewhat. Voter registration changed somewhat: the 28th A.D. was 54.7 percent Democratic in October 1990, and
the 27th A.D. was 50.9 percent Democratic in October 1992. This may account for the ten-point decrease in Farr's election
percentage across those years (from 71.5 to 60.7 percent).
In 1993, U.S. Representative Leon Panetta (D-17) was appointed Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget
by President Clinton, and subsequently resigned his seat in Congress. A special election was held April 13 to fill the 17th
Congressional District seat; Farr came in first in the all-party primary, receiving 25.8 percent of the vote against more
than two dozen other candidates. A runoff election was held between the top vote-getters of each party on June 8; Farr won
with 52.3 percent and subsequently resigned his Assembly seat on June 15 to begin his service in the House of Representatives.
On June 10, to commemorate his departure, the State Assembly unanimously passed House Resolution 23, commending Farr "for
his outstanding record of dedicated service to his constituents and to all of the people of California, and convey to him
their best wishes for success in his work in Washington."
- Standing Committees
- Business and Professions, 1980-1982
- Constitutional Amendments, 1980-1982
- *Vice Chair, 1980-1982
- Economic Development and New Technologies, 1983-1990
- *Chair, 1983-1990
- Education, 1980-1993
- Energy and Natural Resources, 1980-1982
- Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials, 1985-1986
- Finance and Insurance, 1989-1990
- Governmental Efficiency and Consumer Protection, 1989-1990
- Higher Education, 1991-1993
- Intergovernmental Relations, 1985-1986
- International Trade and Intergovernmental Relations, 1987-1988
- Local Government, 1983-1984; 1991-1993
- *Chair, 1991-1993
- Natural Resources, 1983-1993
- Policy Research Management, 1983
- *Vice Chair, 1983
- Televising the Assembly, 1991-1993
- Utilities and Commerce, 1987-1990
- Joint Committees
- Arts Commission, 1984-1993
- *Vice Chair, 1984-1993
- Fisheries and Aquaculture, 1982-1993
- Science and Technologies, 1984-1986
- Select Committees
- National Endowment for the Arts Commission, 1989-1993
- Oil Spill Prevention and Response Preparedness, 1989-1990
The Sam Farr Papers consist of 19 cubic feet of records reflecting the interests and political activities of Farr during his
12 years in the California State Legislature. The records contain six series: bill files, subject files, press clippings,
press releases, correspondence, and campaign files.
The bill files, which are the most comprehensive and informative series in the collection, focus largely on the three issues
Farr prioritized in the legislature - his "three E's" of economic development, educational excellence, and environmental protection.
Farr was a strong opponent of President Reagan's proposal to open up certain sections of the California coastline to offshore
oil drilling, and he introduced several resolutions urging Congress to oppose it as well. (His efforts were successful; the
federal moratorium on offshore oil drilling has been in place since 1981.) Farr was a strong proponent of animal rights; in
1981-1982 he proposed banning certain types of steel-jawed animal traps, and one of his 1989-1990 bills would have increased
state regulations on the transportation of horses to slaughterhouses. Other landmark proposals covered issues ranging from
banning corporal punishment in public schools, requiring the labeling of all agricultural products sold in California by their
country of origin, and authorizing the installation of ignition interlock ("Breathalyzer") devices in automobiles operated
by drivers with DUI convictions. The series description contains more detailed information about most of these bills.
Subject files, press clippings, press releases and correspondence all deal with many of these same subjects, though not as
in depth or comprehensively as do the bill files.
Related Material at the California State Archives
Assembly Economic Development and New Technologies Committee Records
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Farr, Sam
Education
Environmental protection