Oral Histories

Interview of Anthony C. Beilenson (1982)

59th District California State Assembly member from 1963 to 1967. California senator from 1967 to 1976. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1997.
Subtitle:
Securing Liberal Legislation during the Reagan Administration
Series:
Z: Orphan Interviews pre 1999
Topic:
Politics and Government
Biographical Note:
59th District California State Assembly member from 1963 to 1967. California senator from 1967 to 1976. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1977 to 1997.
Interviewer:
Edgington, Steven
Interviewee:
Beilenson, Anthony C.
Supporting Documents:
Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.
Length:
2.5 hrs.
Language:
English
Copyright:
Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.
Abstract:
Move to Los Angeles from Mount Vernon, New York, 1957; elected to California State Assembly, Fifty-ninth District, 1962, and State Senate, Los Angeles County, 1966; inspired to political involvement by Helen Gahagan Douglas's visit to Harvard, 1951; president, Beverly Hills Democratic Club, 1961; history of California Democratic Council (CDC) movement; Jesse M. Unruh; CDC endorsing convention, 1962; Ronald W. Reagan's gubernatorial campaign, 1966; television as political tool; Reagan's relationship with legislators; Hugh Burns and old guard Democratic control of senate; Governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr.; Vernon L. Sturgeon and George Steffes; Therapeutic Abortion Act of 1967; opposition from Hugh Burns and George Miller; primary contest with Alan Cranston for U. S. Senate nomination, 1968; lobbyists and state government; Burns replaced in senate leadership by Howard Way; Jack Schrade and James R. Mills; Welfare Reform Act, 1971; Clair W. Burgener, William T. Bagley, and Robert Moretti; legislative negotiations with Reagan's office; Edwin Meese III, Earl Brian, and Robert Carleson; child care, job training, and family planning provisions of legislation; John Burton; economic conditions and welfare statistics; consumer protection legislation; Auto Repair Fraud and Funeral Reform Acts, 1971; Reagan support for environmental issues; James G. Watt; evaluation of personal conservatism versus Reagan's.