Chief Clerk of the California State Assembly

The Chief Clerk of the California Assembly is a nonpartisan elected officer of the California State Assembly. The Chief Clerk serves as the chief parliamentarian of the 80-member house. The clerk is also charged with maintaining the records and votes of the Assembly, engrossing and enrolling bills, providing members with analyses of bills on third reading, amending legislation, and publishing the bills, journals, files, and histories of the lower house.

Historically, persons who have served as Chief Clerk have possessed an advanced degree when they were elected (e.g., M.A. or J.D.). 1

In California, three officers are elected every two years when the Assembly organizes: Chief Clerk, Chief Sergeant-at-Arms, and Chaplain. These officers are not members of the house and serve the legislature in a nonpartisan capacity.

The current Chief Clerk is Sue Parker, first woman to hold the position, who was first elected in 2020.

This is a list of Chief Clerks of the California Assembly.

To keep the numbering system correct, there are instances where a clerk has had a hiatus between terms of service (e.g. J.M. Anderson is the sixth person to serve as Chief Clerk: he served 1855–56, had a four-year hiatus, and then returned from 1860–61). Therefore, the numbering of Chief Clerks in column one fluctuates based upon the fact that some clerks served previously. Their original "clerk number" is retained on the left with an asterisk to indicate why it is out of numeric sequence.

Chief Clerk Term of Service
1. E.H. Tharp 1849–1850
(resigned)2
2. John Nugent 1850
3. George O. McMullin 1851
4. Blantin McAlpin 1852–1853
(resigned)3
5. J.G. Stebbins 1853
4.* Blanton McAlpin 1854
*(previously served 1852–53)
6. J.M. Anderson 1855–1856
7. William Campbell 1857
8. Joseph W. Scoby 1858
9. Caleb Gilman 1859
6.* J.M. Anderson 1860–1861
*(previously served 1855–56)
10. John Sedgwick 1862
11. H.G. Worthington 1863
12. Osgood C. Wheeler 1864
13. Marcus D. Boruck 1866
14. John A. Eagon 1868
15. Robert Ferral 1870
13.* Marcus D. Boruck 1872
*(previously served 1866)
16. D.L. Loafborrow 1874
15.* Robert Ferral 1876
*(previously served 1870)
17. Robert C. Page 1878
18. C.E. Gunn 1880
19. George E. McStay 1881
20. M.C. Haley 1883
21. Frank D. Ryan 1885–1888
22. Edward E. Leake 1889
23. H.A. Mason 1891
24. George W. Peckham 1893
25. S.J. Duckworth 1895–1898
26. C.W. Kyle 1899
27. Clio Lloyd 1901–1909
28. L.B. Mallory 1911–1916
29. B.O. Boothby 1917–1920
30. Jerome B. Kavanaugh 1921
31. Arthur Ohnimus 1923–1937
32. James G. Smyth 1937–1939
33. Jack Carl Greenburg 1939–1941
31.* Arthur Ohnimus 1941–1963 4
(previously served 1923–1937) Note: Longest serving clerk in history: 37 years
34. James D. Driscoll 1963–1986
35. R. Brian Kidney 1987–1991
36. Lawrence A. Murman 1991 (acting clerk)
37. E. Dotson Wilson 1992–2019
38. Sue Parker 2020–Present
  • ^1 For example: Arthur Ohnimus (J.D., St. Ignatius), James Driscoll (M.A., Claremont College) and R. Brian Kidney (M.A., University of San Francisco). Several years after he was elected Clerk, Driscoll earned a J.D. from McGeorge School of Law.
  • ^2 Resigned February 1, 1850.
  • ^3 Resigned February 15, 1853.
  • ^4 Retired October 4, 1963.

References

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  • California's Legislature, Appendix E, California State Legislature, Office of the Chief Clerk of the Assembly, published 2006.
  • Rules of the Assembly (House Resolution 1, 2007-08 Regular Session)
  • Chief Clerk's web site
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