John Seymour (California politician)

Born in Chicago, Seymour attended public schools in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1955 to 1959 and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1962. Seymour was the President of the California Association of Realtors from 1978 to 1982, and worked in the real estate business from 1962 to 1981.

Seymour served Anaheim as a member of its city council from 1974 to 1978, as the 39th Mayor of Anaheim from 1978 to 1982, and as a State Senator from 1982 to 1991. In the California Senate, he voted to ban assault weapons, to outlaw discrimination against people with AIDS, and to increase spending for social programs including education and mental health benefits.[4] As Mayor of Anaheim, Seymour was instrumental in recruiting the Los Angeles Rams to move to Anaheim Stadium.[5]

In 1991, Seymour was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Pete Wilson to serve in the seat Wilson had vacated to become governor. Seymour's appointment lasted until the 1992 special election to select a replacement who would serve until the normal expiration of Wilson's term in 1995. Former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein defeated Seymour in the special election.

After his Senate term, Seymour served as director of the California Housing Finance Agency for two years,[6] and later served as CEO of the nonprofit Southern California Housing Development Corporation and on the boards of directors of several housing-related companies including IndyMac Bank, Orange Coast Title Insurance, Los Angeles Federal Savings Bank, and Irvine Apartment Communities.[7] Seymour currently lives in San Marcos, California.

• List of United States Senators from California
• List of mayors of Anaheim, California

• United States Congress. "John Seymour (id: S000269)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-03-31

• Appearances on C-SPAN