Chuck DeVore: Difference between revisions
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== Military service == |
== Military service == |
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DeVore enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve]] in 1983 with the rank of [[private first class]]. He earned an [[ROTC]] scholarship and was commissioned an officer in 1985. DeVore retired with the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] from the California [[Army National Guard]] after more than 24 years of service in 2007. Most of his time in uniform was spent in the [[40th Infantry Division (United States)|40th Infantry Division (Mechanized)]]. DeVore's overseas military service included deployments to Panama and Korea. |
DeVore enlisted in the [[United States Army Reserve]] in 1983 with the rank of [[private first class]]. He earned an [[ROTC]] scholarship and was commissioned an officer in 1985. DeVore retired with the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]] from the California [[Army National Guard]] after more than 24 years of service in 2007. Most of his time in uniform was spent in the [[40th Infantry Division (United States)|40th Infantry Division (Mechanized)]]. He graduated from the U.S. Army's [[Military Intelligence]] Officer Basic Course and Advanced Course, the Combined Arms Services School, and the [[Command and General Staff College]]. DeVore's overseas military service included deployments to Panama and Korea. |
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Image:Schwarzenegger promoting Chuck DeVore.JPG|Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting Chuck DeVore to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2006 |
Image:Schwarzenegger promoting Chuck DeVore.JPG|Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting Chuck DeVore to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2006 |
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Revision as of 08:31, 25 March 2009
Charles S. DeVore (born May 20, 1962) is a U.S. politician, currently serving as a Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing the 70th District, which includes portions of Orange County. On November 12, 2008, DeVore announced his candidacy for the United States Senate in 2010. DeVore serves as Vice Chair of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee and is also a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee and Veterans Affairs Committee. He resigned his position as Chief Republican Whip on February 14, 2009 in protest of $12 billion per year tax increase agreed to by Republican leadership.
Early life and family
Born in Seattle, Washington, DeVore moved to California when he was 13 years old.
From 1980 to 1983, he attended California State University, Fullerton, paying for college by working industrial construction as union carpenter. DeVore earned a ROTC scholarship to attend Claremont McKenna College, where he earned his B.A. in Strategic Studies with honors in 1985. He studied abroad at the American University in Cairo.
Married in 1988, DeVore and his wife, Diane, have two daughters, Jennie, born in 1991, and Amy, born in 1997.
Business and public service career
From 1986 to 1988, DeVore served in the Reagan Administration as a Special Assistant for Foreign Affairs in the Department of Defense. In that capacity, he worked on Capitol Hill and traveled to Europe, Africa, Asia and Central America.
He left the Defense Department to serve as the Public Liaison Director for the Congressional campaign of Reagan's Senior Associate Counsel Chris Cox. After Cox won the election, DeVore served as senior assistant to Cox during his first term. Upon being deployed to Fort Irwin, California during the Gulf War, DeVore left Congressman Cox's office to serve in support of the war effort. He was also called to active duty during the 1992 Los Angeles riots to patrol South Los Angeles.
After returning to Orange County in 1991 after the war, DeVore joined SM&A, an aerospace engineering and management services firm in Newport Beach. Upon his election to the Assembly in 2004, DeVore was Vice President for Research for the firm. He also became an Irvine City Commissioner that year, serving until 1996. DeVore was Vice Chairman of the Irvine Community Services Commission from 1993 to 1994 and served as Chairman from 1994 to 1995. He also served as an elected member of the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee from 1993 to 2003 where he was Chairman of the Ethics Committee.
Military service
DeVore enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1983 with the rank of private first class. He earned an ROTC scholarship and was commissioned an officer in 1985. DeVore retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel from the California Army National Guard after more than 24 years of service in 2007. Most of his time in uniform was spent in the 40th Infantry Division (Mechanized). He graduated from the U.S. Army's Military Intelligence Officer Basic Course and Advanced Course, the Combined Arms Services School, and the Command and General Staff College. DeVore's overseas military service included deployments to Panama and Korea.
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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promoting Chuck DeVore to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 2006
California State Assemblyman
In 2004, DeVore won the Republican primary election for the 70th Assembly District in coastal Orange County by a 20% margin in a six-way race. He then won the general election with 61% of the vote. DeVore won reelection in 2006 and again in 2008. He is termed out and is ineligible to run for reelection.
In 2004, the Claremont Institute named DeVore a Lincoln Fellow. DeVore has been named legislator of the year by seven organizations: the California Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the California chapter of the American Legion, the State Commanders' Veterans Council, a membership organization of 20 veterans and military-related organizations, the Southern California Contractors Association, the California College Republicans, the Young Republican Federation of California and the Orange County Republican Party. In 2006, the Orange County United Way recognized DeVore for his efforts to improve home-based child care law.
Bills and policy positions
Nuclear power
In the California State Assembly DeVore is known for his advocacy of modern nuclear power as the only practical way to produce large amounts of reliable, affordable electricity while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. DeVore has authored five bills on nuclear power: AB 719 [1], AB 1776 [2], AB 2788 [3], ABX2 5 [4], and AB 1035 [5]. None of the bills made it out of committee as they failed to secure votes from majority Democrats.
Accessing California's offshore oil
DeVore has also proposed using slant drilling from inland locations to extract the billion barrels of oil in California's territorial waters as a way to generate added state revenue and jobs while offsetting the importation of foreign oil. Slant drilling would require no new offshore rigs.
Stopping higher taxes, proposing tax cuts
Seeing a slowing economy in California, DeVore wrote AB 1443 [6] the "California Investment and Jobs Act" to reduce the income tax rate in California, America's highest. The bill failed to gain Democrat votes and died in committee.
In 2008, DeVore, as the lead Republican on tax policy in the Assembly, took a highly visible role in stopping billions of dollars of tax increases proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and majority Democrats in the legislature.
Government reform
After learning that California had struggled for years to standardize and rationalize the use of state-owned housing by government employees, DeVore researched the issue then wrote AB 1708 [7] in 2005. Now law, AB 1708 requires the Director of the Department of Personnel Administration to determine by rule the fair and reasonable value of maintenance, living quarters, housing, lodging, board, meals, food, household supplies, fuel, laundry, and other services furnished by the state as an employer of its employees. As AB 1708 was being considered, The California State Auditor released a report showing that state employees were improperly receiving $8 million per year in unreported free rent while underpaying $3 million per year in taxes on the unreported fringe benefit.
Prison reform
In 2007 DeVore wrote AB 716 [8] with Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally (D-Compton) to improve drug and alcohol rehabilitation in the California prison system. This key provision of prison reform was incorporated into AB 900 [9] which was signed into law.
Child care reform
In 2005, officials with United Way of Orange County approached Assemblyman DeVore with an issue regarding cities using the permitting process to discourage the creation of family run neighborhood day care centers. In response, DeVore wrote AB 266 in 2005. This bill was defeated in committee after strong lobbying by the California League of Cities. Following up the next year, DeVore introduced AB 2403 [10] which was signed into law. The Orange County United Way recognized DeVore for his efforts to improve home-based child care law in 2006.
Legislative scorecards
http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=28714
Project Vote Smart provides the following results from legislative scorecards.[1]
- Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California– 0% for 2007
- California National Organization for Women– 30% for 2007
- Equality California– 10% for 2007
- Lambda Letters Project– 29% for 2007
- California Farm Bureau Federation– 100% for 2006
- California Taxpayers' Association– 100% for 2007
- California Chamber of Commerce– 100% for 2007
- California Manufacturers and Technology Association– 89% for 2007
- National Federation of Independent Business– 100% for 2006
- Consumer Federation of California– 0% for 2007
- California Republican Assembly– 100% for 2007
- California League of Conservation Voters– 5% for 2007
- Children's Advocacy Institute– 63% for 2007
- Gun Owners of California– A for 2006
- National Rifle Association– A+ for 2006
- PawPAC (an animal rights group)– F for 2007
Book
In 1999, DeVore co-wrote a novel, China Attacks, about an invasion of Taiwan by the People's Republic of China. The book was published by Infinity Publishing in English in 2000 and translated into Chinese in 2001 in Taiwan.
- China Attacks. West Conshohocken, PA: Infinity Publishing, 2000 (with Steven W. Mosher) (ISBN 0-7414-0430-3).
2010 United States Senate bid
Due to the term limits to which members of the California State Assembly are subject, DeVore will be ineligible to seek re-election to his assembly seat in 2010. Instead, he has announced his intention to seek the Republican Party nomination in the 2010 race for the United States Senate seat currently held by three-term Democratic senator Barbara Boxer. [2]
References
- ^ ""Assembly Member Charles S. 'Chuck' DeVore (CA)"". vote-smart.org. Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
- ^ http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/016928.html
External links
- Official Assembly web site
- Official Campaign web site
- China Attacks novel web site
- Chuck DeVore's Amazon.com book reviews
- Chuck DeVore's Myspace profile
- Chuck DeVore's YouTube Channel
- Chuck DeVore's Facebook profile
