Gary K. Hart

Gary K. Hart (born August 13, 1943) is an American politician, educator, and pro-charter school activist who served as a member of both chambers of the California State Legislature.

Gary K. Hart
Member of the California Senate from the 18th district
In office 1982–1994
Preceded by	Omer L. Rains
Succeeded by	Jack O'Connell
Member of the California Assembly from the 35th district
In office 1974–1982
Preceded by	John Briggs
Succeeded by	Jack O'Connell
Personal details
Born	Gary Kersey Hart[1] 13 August 1943 San Diego, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Stanford University (BA) Harvard University (MA)

Early life and education

He was born on August 13, 1943, in San Diego, California, and graduated from Santa Barbara High School. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University on a football scholarship, and spent six months studying abroad in Florence. He then earned a Master of Arts from Harvard School of Education the next year.

Career

Politics

Running as a Democrat, he launched several unsuccessful campaigns for the United States House of Representatives (1970) and the California State Assembly (1972) but later won an Assembly seat (1974), succeeding incumbent Republican Don MacGillivray, who ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate. In 1982, he ran for the California State Senate and won, narrowly defeating Republican state Assemblyman Charles R. Imbrecht, whose wife would, coincidentally, go on to be a History teacher in Hart's PACE program. Hart served in both houses of the Legislature for a total of 20 years, having chaired the Senate Education Committee from 1983 until his retirement in 1994. In 1988, he had made another run for Congress but narrowly lost to Republican incumbent Bob Lagomarsino.

Retirement

After his retirement from the Legislature, he founded the California State University Institute for Education Reform at the California State University, Sacramento campus. The Institute promotes education reform efforts aimed at improving pupil academic achievement. Hart also served as the California Secretary of Education for Governor Gray Davis from January 1999 through March 2000. His principal responsibility as Secretary for Education was helping craft and pass the Governor's 1999 education reform program. Most recently, he has created and taught in the Program in America and California Explorations (PACE), an innovative core humanities initiative at Kennedy High School in Sacramento.

Honors

Hart's State Senate district included portions of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties. A former high school teacher, Hart has authored a wide range of legislation on education-related topics, including performance-based student testing, school restructuring, charter schools, and latch key child care programs. He was voted most ethical California legislator by his peers and as such appeared on the cover of California Journal.

External links

• Guide to the Gary K. Hart Collection, 1970-1994: Biography
• A California Legislative View
• Appearances on C-SPAN

1. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Sacramento, California: State of California Department of Health Services, Center for Health Statistics.