Dede Alpert

Deirdre "Dede" W. Alpert (born October 6, 1945) is a former state senator, assembly person and school board member in San Diego, California.

Dede Alpert
Solano Beach School Board
In office
1983–1990
State Assemblywoman
In office
1990–1996
State Senator representing the 39th district in San Diego County
In office
1996–2004
Personal details
Born(1945-10-06)October 6, 1945
New York, New York
Political partyDemocratic
OccupationPolitician

Early life and education

Alpert was born in New York City. Prior to entering politics, Alpert was a member of the Solana Beach school board from 1983 to 1990, a court-appointed special advocate for Voices for Children, and volunteered at her children's schools, with United Cerebral Palsy, and with the Girl Scouts.[1][2][3][4]

Political career

She was first elected to the California State Assembly in an upset, unseating Republican Assemblywoman Joyce Mojonnier.[5] She served there from 1990 to 1996 and was a member for the California State Senate from 1996 to 2004, representing the 39th district in San Diego County. She retired from the Senate in 2004 due to term limits.[6][3] She chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Joint Committee on Public Education, and the House and Senate Education Committees.[4] In 1995, while a House member, she was unsuccessfully targeted for recall as part of a battle over the Speakership.[7]

Alpert was reportedly known as "a moderate who could work across party lines".[3] Alpert has been credited with the passage of legislation requiring standardised testing in public education, as well as funding schools on the basis of standardised test results. She received the Association of California School Administrators' "Friend of Education Award" in 1998.[6][8] She also passed a number of bills reforming domestic violence laws to better support victims.[6] She was named "Senator of the Year" by the California Journal in 2004.[4] San Diego State University renamed their City Heights Center the "Dede Alpert Centre for Community Engagement" in the same year.[9]

Following her retirement, she served on the board of the Sharp Healthcare Hospital System, as a Senior College Commissioner for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, and on the board of a charter school in south-east San Diego. She has also continued to be involved in advocacy regarding education policy.[3][10] She was inducted into the San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame in March 2018 for her past Senate leadership.[11]

References
  1. "Inventory of the Deirdre Alpert Papers". Online Archive of California. California State Archives. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  2. "Deirdre Alpert's Biography". VoteSmart. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
  3. "Accomplished career comes full circle for Rancho Santa Fe resident Dede Alpert who continues to focus on education". Rancho Santa Fe Review. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  4. "Institute for Elected Women: California". National Conference of State Legislatures. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  5. =http://www.joincalifornia.com/election/1990-11-06
  6. "Highlights of Laws Authored by California's Women Senators" (PDF). California State Senate. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  7. "Effort to recall Assemblywoman Dede Alpert fails". Coronado Eagle. 11 January 1995. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  8. "Friend of Education Award Recipients" (PDF). Association of California School Administrators. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  9. "SDSU to name center after Alpert". San Diego Source. 13 December 2004. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  10. "A Termed Out Dede Alpert Shares Insights from 20 Years in Legislature". Planning Report. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  11. "Six women inducted into San Diego County Women's Hall of Fame". KUSI News. 19 March 2018. Retrieved 6 September 2018.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.