Jess: The Political Career of Jesse Marvin Unruh

Jesse Marvin Unruh acquired a national political reputation despite the fact that he never gained office above the California governmental level. He spent sixteen years (1955-1970) in the state legislature, seven of them as assembly speaker. While there he secured passage of moderate-liberal legislation and upgraded the quality of the state legislature to the number one position in the nation. Unruh curbed the power of special interest lobbies and induced them to support his legislative program. He also kept the state Democratic Party in a moderate political position as the Republicans moved ever further to the right. Although Governors Pat Brown and Ronald Reagan frustrated his desire to attain the Governorship, Unruh was elected State Treasurer in 1974. He transformed the office into one of great power to such an extent that by the time of his death in 1987 he was being referred to as ‘the best governor California never had.’ In the meantime, his close connections with the Kennedy family, especially John and Robert, his reputation as a political pundit, and his powerful influence on Wall Street, earned Unruh great respect far beyond his California base.