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| Bob Huff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| California State Senate Republican Leader | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 5, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Dutton |
| California State Senate Republican Caucus Chair | |
| In office August 1, 2009 – January 5, 2012 | |
| Preceded by | George Runner |
| Succeeded by | Tom Harman |
| Member of the California State Senate from the 29th district | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Margett |
| California State Assembly Republican Caucus Chair | |
| In office December 8, 2006 – November 30, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Greg Aghazarian |
| Succeeded by | Cameron Smyth |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 60th district | |
| In office December 6, 2004 – November 30, 2008 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Pacheco |
| Succeeded by | Curt Hagman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1953-09-09) September 9, 1953 (age 71) Calexico, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Mei Mei Ho Huff |
| Residence(s) | Diamond Bar, California |
| Alma mater | Westmont College |
| Occupation | Agriculture Businessman |
| Website | Senator Bob Huff |
Robert S. Huff (born September 9, 1953) is a U.S. politician, who is the California State Senate Republican Leader, having assumed the post on January 5, 2012. Since December 1, 2008, he has represented the Senate's 29th District, which includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties.
Education, business background, and early political career
Huff comes from a family of farmers in California. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology from Westmont College, and his professional background is in grain handling and commodity wholesaling. He has lived in Diamond Bar since 1983. In Diamond Bar, he became involved in local transportation issues, serving on the Four Corners Transportation Policy Group, Foothill Transit, and the Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority. He served on the Diamond Bar City Council, and was mayor from 1997 to 2001.
State government
Huff won the 2004 Assembly election to succeed the term-limited Bob Pacheco and was reelected in 2006. He was a member of the California State Assembly from 2004 to 2008.
He won the 2008 election to succeed the term-limited Bob Margett for the 29th district in the California State Senate. In 2012, he was elected to succeed the term-limited Bob Dutton as Senate Republican Leader. He is now Republican party leader in the senate. His current term runs until 2016, when he will not be able to run for reelection due to term limits.
In state government, Huff has been active as an author of legislation affecting K-12 education. He is an advocate of charter schools, school choice, and standardized testing. He is a member of the Senate Education Committee, as well as several other committees not related to education. He opposed a state testing plan that would reduce testing; the plan led to threats by the Obama administration to impose financial penalties on the state.
In a state government that is extremely divided along partisan lines, Huff has a reputation as a moderate Republican. According to the LA Times, "Senate Republican leader Bob Huff of Diamond Bar was more pragmatic, given his party's weakened political position in Sacramento. Brown 'is the most conservative of the three leading Democrats in Sacramento,' Huff said." Huff has worked with Brown on issues such as California's prison crisis. His voting record, however, shows him voting repeatedly against Democratic initiatives in the Democratic-majority state government.
Positions and affiliations
On education, his trademark issue, Huff is considered a strong supporter of higher education, but receives low ratings from teachers' unions. On business and labor issues, he was rated 100% by the California Chamber of Commerce and 8% by the the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. He opposes abortion, and has received a 100% rating from Life Priority Network and a 0% rating from Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California He has voted against high-speed rail. He supports gun rights and opposes gun control, and has received a 92% rating from the NRA.
In 2008, his largest campaign donors were Eli Lilly, Farmers Insurance, California Association of Realtors, California Dental Association, Veolia Transportation, and PG&E. The top industries donating to his campaign were real estate ($91,000) and insurance ($45,000). Despite his low ratings from organized labor, he received $30,000 from public sector unions.
References
- Senate Bill 172
- http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-state-senate-approves-testing-20130910,0,6302993.story
- http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-brown-budget-20130615,0,7037615.story
- http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-jerry-brown-prison-plan-20130827,0,4459918.story
- http://votesmart.org/candidate/key-votes/16575/robert-huff
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/2065/rating/6272
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/1537/rating/6626
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/1019/rating/6078
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/1594/rating/6713
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/353/rating/6222
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/224/rating/6627
- https://votesmart.org/interest-group/1034/rating/6568
- http://www.followthemoney.org/database/StateGlance/candidate.phtml?c=97947
