Bill Filante

William Jules Filante (October 22, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY – December 9, 1992 in Terra Linda, San Rafael, CA) was an American physician and politician from California and member of the Republican Party.

State Assembly

Filante first won election to the Marin-Sonoma based 9th district in the California State Assembly in 1978 by defeating Democratic incumbent Michael Wornum. Thanks to his moderate voting record, Filante became a pro at winning crossover votes, enough to hold his left-leaning seat with relative ease for 7 terms.[1] In 1992 he ran for election to the Congress.

Congressional race

Filante made a run for the Marin county-based 6th Congressional district being vacated by Democrat Barbara Boxer, who was running for the United States Senate. Even though the 6th District was heavily Democratic, Filante had represented a large chunk of it in the state legislature for 14 years and tried to parlay his moderate reputation into a win. However, just before the start of the campaign, Filante underwent brain surgery and spent most of the race recuperating. Fellow GOP assemblywoman Bev Hansen often served as his surrogate. In the end, Democrat Lynn Woolsey won handily. Filante died of a brain tumor later that December.[2]

Electoral history
Member, California State Assembly: 1979-1993
Year Office Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1978 California State Assembly
District 9		 Michael Wornum 46,485 43.4% Bill Filante 55,304 51.7%
1980 California State Assembly
District 9		 Anne Charles 59,786 45.2% Bill Filante 67,603 51.1%
1982 California State Assembly
District 9		 Paul Chignell 55,035 44.9% Bill Filante 67,619 55.1%
1984 California State Assembly
District 9		 Paul Chignell 63,867 43.4% Bill Filante 83,402 56.6%
1986 California State Assembly
District 9		 Joanna Willman 53,553 45.1% Bill Filante 65,154 54.9%
1988 California State Assembly
District 9		 Francis Parnell 65,065 43.5% Bill Filante 84,661 56.5%
1990 California State Assembly
District 9		 Vivien Bronshvag 52,659 42.5% Bill Filante 63,672 51.4%
1992 U.S House of Representatives
District 6		 Lynn Woolsey 190,322 66% Bill Filante 98,171 34%

References
  1. Vassar, Alex; Shane Meyers (2007). "William J. Filante, Republican". JoinCalifornia.com. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
  2. California Journal Vol. XXIII, No.7 (July 1992) "Complete Primary Results". StateNet Publications, July 1992.
Political offices
Preceded by
Michael Wornum		 California State Assembly, 9th District
1978–1992		 Succeeded by
Vivien Bronshvag
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.