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Leo T. McCarthy Politician

Leo Tarcissus McCarthy (August 15, 1930 – February 5, 2007) was a New Zealand-born American politician and businessman. He served as the 43rd lieutenant governor of California from 1983 to 1995.McCarthy was born in Auckland, but moved with his parents to San Francisco, California at the age of four. He went to elementary school at Mission Dolores. He then went to high school at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, and also attended college and law school within the city, receiving his B.A. in history from the University of San Francisco and a law degree from San Francisco Law School.McCarthy served in the United States Air Force, 1951–1952, during the Korean War, briefly taking part in a Strategic Air Command mission to Saudi Arabia to simulate the start of World War III.In 1958, the year that saw the Democrats capture statewide offices for the first time since World War II, McCarthy managed the successful campaign for State Senate of John Eugene McAteer, and, after the election, served as McAteer's administrative assistant.McCarthy first ran for office himself in 1963 when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He served there until 1967. In 1968, he was elected to the State Assembly, serving as speaker of the Assembly from 1974 to 1980. (Art Agnos, elected mayor of San Francisco in 1988, had his political start as McCarthy's first legislative assistant, and later as the speaker's chief of staff.) As speaker, McCarthy earned a reputation as a partisan, take-no-prisoners insider in Democratic Party politics.McCarthy unexpectedly lost the speakership to Willie Brown in 1980. McCarthy had been facing a stiff challenge from Howard Berman. Seeing his fellow Democrats so divided Brown worked with Republicans to gain the speakership. Both of the losers in this struggle soon left the legislature. Berman ran for Congress and McCarthy ran for statewide office.McCarthy was first elected to statewide office to the first of three consecutive four-year terms as lieutenant governor of California in 1982, at the same time that Republican George Deukmejian was elected governor. In 1986, the incumbent McCarthy ran against Republican Mike Curb, a former film producer and music promoter with a reputation for opposing drug use by artists. In a hotly contested race for lieutenant governor that centered largely around violent crime and drug policy, McCarthy sought to denigrate Curb's image with voters as an anti-drug campaigner by alleging that Curb made a fortune in making 'exploitation films' that glorified drugs, sex, and violence. Curb was so incensed at the charges that he filed a $7-million libel and slander suit against Leo T. McCarthy. McCarthy won the election.Despite his election to lieutenant governor, the controversy surrounding the McCarthy campaign's tactics in the 1986 race was never fully dispelled, and in 1988, McCarthy lost an election bid for the United States Senate against the Republican incumbent, Pete Wilson. McCarthy later won a third term as lieutenant governor in 1990, with Wilson winning the election for governor.In 1992, McCarthy entered the Democratic primary election for the U.S. Senate, but lost the nomination to Congresswoman (now Senator) Barbara Boxer. McCarthy retired from public office at the end of his third term as lieutenant governor on January 2, 1995, having been prohibited from seeking re-election to a fourth term in office due to term limits in state law and was succeeded by fellow Democratic then-State Controller and future Governor Gray Davis. McCarthy's twelve years are the longest any California lieutenant governor has served. Upon leaving politics, he created an investment company, The Daniel Group, named for his father and located in San Francisco.He helped found the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good at the University of San Francisco.McCarthy was married on December 17, 1955 to the former Jacqueline Lee Burke. They had four children: Sharon, Conna, Adam and Niall. They had eleven grandchildren: Courtney, Kevin, Kieran, Cormac, Kathlyn, Marisa, Thomas, Collin, Connor, Kate and, Jack. After a long illness, McCarthy died from a kidney ailment at his home in Los Angeles on February 5, 2007.