George House (California politician)

George Rolland House II (November 20, 1929 – July 14, 2016) was a Republican Assemblymember from California's 25th State Assembly district from 1994 until he was term limited in 2000. ^[1]

Pre Assembly Career

Prior to serving in the Assembly, House was an almond farmer from Hughson, CA. He served two years with the Modesto, CA police department before becoming a CHP officer and commander for thirty years. He was also a Stanislaus County Juvenile Traffic Court hearing officer. He also served on the Hughson school board and was an active Rotarian.

1992 election

House ran for the newly created 25th Assembly district in 1992; however, he lost the primary to Barbara Keating-Edh who ended up losing to Margaret Snyder. He came in 4th place with just eleven percent of the vote.

1994 election

House ran for Assembly again in 1994. Although initially considered a weak candidate, he defeated Democratic incumbent Margaret Snyder in a heavily Republican year that saw the GOP take control of the California State Assembly for the first time since 1970.

The 25th District

When House represented the seat from 1994 until 2000, it included half of Stanislaus County, all of Mariposa County and Tuolumne County. It also included most of Madera County and a small part of Fresno County.

Proposition 34

House was a major opponent of Proposition 34 in 2000 which stated that 34% of the total annual state lottery revenues shall be allocated to benefit public education. However, it passed with 53% of the vote.^[2]

2002 Congressional Election

House put a bid in for California's 18th Congressional District in 2002 in order to face troubled incumbent Gary Condit; however, he withdrew from the race prior to the election and still received 12.8% of the vote in the primary against then State Senator Dick Monteith who now serves as a Stanislaus County supervisor.^[2]

Electoral history

Member, California State Assembly: 1995-2001

Year	Office		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1992	California State Assembly District 25		Mike Kirros 16% Patrick O'Rourke 13% Margaret Snyder 59%	78,251	51.5%		George House 11% Barbara Keating-Edh 43% Bill Mattos 23% Norman Tergeson 16%	73,805	48.5%
1994	California State Assembly District 25		Margaret Snyder	52,962	43%		George House	66,910	54.3%
1996	California State Assembly District 37		Ed Elliott	54,033	38.3%		George House	82,558	58.5%
1998	California State Assembly District 37		Wesley Firch	42,935	35.1%		George House	75,775	61.9%
2002	U.S. House of Representatives District 18		Dennis Cardoza 53.1% Gary Condit* 38.7%	53,621	51%		George House 12.8% Dick Monteith 48.9%	45,960	43.7%

References

1. http://www.cerescourier.com/section/11/article/7407/
2. Vassar, Alex; Shane Meyers (2007). "George House, Republican". JoinCalifornia.com. Retrieved 2007-01-25.

2. Lavender-Smith, Sarah. "House Calls 'Em as He Sees 'Em", Modesto Bee, 12 December 1994, Page A-1