Pete Wilson: Difference between revisions

| name = Pete Wilson

| image = Pete Wilson meeting with Les Aspin, Feb 3, 1993 - cropped to Wilson.JPEG

| caption = Wilson in 1993

| order = 36th

| office = Governor of California

| lieutenant = {{unbulleted list|[[Leo T. McCarthy]]|Gray Davis}}

| term_start = January 7, 1991

| term_end = January 4, 1999

| predecessor = [[George Deukmejian]]

| successor = [[Gray Davis]]

| jr/sr1 = United States Senator

| state1 = [[California]]

| term_start1 = January 3, 1983

| term_end1 = January 7, 1991

| predecessor1 = [[S. I. Hayakawa]]

| successor1 = [[John Seymour (California politician)|John Seymour]]

| order2 = 29th

| office2 = Mayor of San Diego

| term_start2 = December 6, 1971

| term_end2 = January 3, 1983

| predecessor2 = [[Francis Earl Curran]]

| successor2 = [[Roger Hedgecock]]

| state_assembly3 = California

| district3 = [[California's 76th State Assembly district|76th]]

| term_start3 = January 2, 1967

| term_end3 = December 5, 1971

| predecessor3 = [[Clair Burgener]]

| successor3 = Bob Wilson

| birth_name = Peter Barton Wilson

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1933|8|23}}

| birth_place = [[Lake Forest, Illinois|Lake Forest]], [[Illinois]], U.S.

| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]

| education = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[University of California, Berkeley]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])

| spouse = {{ublist|{{marriage|Betty Robertson|1968|1981|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Gayle Wilson|Gayle Edlund]]|May 29, 1983}}}}

| signature = Pete Wilson Signature.png

| branch = [[United States Marine Corps]]

| serviceyears = 1955–1958

| rank = [[First lieutenant (United States)|First lieutenant]]

| unit = [[1st Marine Division (United States)|1st Marine Division]]

'''Peter Barton Wilson''' (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as a [[United States senator]] from [[California]] from 1983 to 1991 and as the [[List of Governors of California|36th governor of California]] from 1991 to 1999. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he also served as the 29th [[Mayor of San Diego|29th mayor of San Diego]] from 1971 to 1983.

Born in [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], Wilson graduated from the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]] after serving in the [[United States Marine Corps]]. He established a legal practice in [[San Diego]] and campaigned for Republicans such as [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Barry Goldwater]]. Wilson won election to the [[California State Assembly]] in 1966 and became the Mayormayor of San Diego in 1971. He held that office until 1983, when he became a member of the United States Senate. In [[1982 United States Senate election in California|1982]], he defeated then-incumbent Governor [[Jerry Brown]] to become the [[United States Senator]]senator from California. In the Senate, Wilson supported the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] and the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]], while he opposed the [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990]].

Wilson retired from public office after serving two terms as governor. Since leaving office, he has worked for several businesses and has been affiliated with several other organizations. He is a distinguished visiting fellow at the [[American conservatism|conservative]] [[Hoover Institution]]. As of 2023to date, Wilson's [[1988 United States Senate election in California|1988]] re-election is the last time Republicans won a Senate election in California.

Peter Barton Wilson was born on August 23, 1933, in Lake Forest, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago, at the height of the [[ChicagoGreat Depression]]. His parents were James Boone Wilson and Margaret (Callaghan) Wilson.<ref>[{{Cite web|url=http://www.sdgenealogy.org/petewilson.html |title=San Diego Genealogy Project: Pete Wilson]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> His father sold college fraternity jewelry to work his way through University of Illinois, and later became a successful advertising executive. The Wilson family settled in [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]], when Pete was in elementary school. He then attended the private, non-sectarian [[University-preparatory school|preparatory middle school]] [[John Burroughs School|John Burroughs]] (grades 7–9) in [[Ladue, Missouri|Ladue]], and then [[St. Louis Country Day School]], an exclusive private high school, where he won an award in his senior year for combined scholarship, athletics, and citizenship. In the fall of 1951, Pete Wilson enrolled at [[Yale University]] in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], where he received a [[United States Navy]] Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship, majored in English, and earned his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree. In his junior year he elected to join the Marine Corps upon his graduation.

After passing the bar exam on his fourth attempt,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dolan |first1=Maura |title=A High Bar for Lawyers |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-feb-21-me-bar21-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=February 21, 2006 |access-date=2 August 2022}}</ref> Wilson began his practice as a criminal defense attorney in [[San Diego]], but he found such work to be low-paying and personally repugnant. He later commented to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', "I realized I couldn't be a criminal defense lawyer &nbsp;– because most of the people who do come to you are guilty." Wilson switched to a more conventional law practice and continued his activity in local politics, working for [[Barry Goldwater]]'s unsuccessful [[1964 United States presidential election|presidential campaign in 1964]]. Wilson's liking for politics and managing the day-to-day details of the political process was growing. He put in long hours for the Goldwater campaign, earning the friendship of local Republican boosters so necessary for a political career, and in 1966, at the age of thirty-three, he ran for, and won a seat in the California State Assembly, succeeding [[Clair Burgener]].

Wilson was re-elected to the Assembly in 1968 and 1970, and in 1971 was elected [[mayor of San Diego]].

Wilson served three terms as Mayor[[mayor of San Diego]], from 1971 to 1983, winning election by a 2:1 margin each time.<ref name = "Kaye">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-oe-kaye-rogues-gallery-of-san-diego-mayors-20130816,0,1326777.story|title=Bob Filner, just the latest rotten San Diego mayor|last=Kaye|first=Peter|date=August 16, 2013|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 16, 2013}}</ref> During his three terms he restructured the [[San Diego City Council]], reorganized the planning and civil service commissions, instituted campaign finance reform, and promoted the redevelopment of [[Downtowndowntown San Diego]].<ref name = "Kaye" /> He also helped to keep [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[San Diego Padres|Padres]] in Santhe Diegocity, helping to persuade local millionaire [[Ray Kroc]] to buy the team.

The [[1972 Republican National Convention]] had been scheduled to take place in San Diego in August 1972. However, in May 1972 the Republican National Committee voted to move the convention to [[Miami]] because of a scandal involving a donation to the event by [[ITT Corporation]], as well as concerns about the proposed venue (the [[San Diego Sports Arena]]) and the adequacy of hotel space. Wilson proclaimed the week of the convention to be America's Finest City Week, which became an annual event and gave rise to San Diego's unofficial nickname.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ancona|first=Vincent S.|date=Fall 1992|title=When the elephants marched out of San Diego: The 1972 Republican Convention Fiasco|journal=Journal of San Diego History|volume=38|issue=4|url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/92fall/elephants.htm}}</ref>

In 1972, Wilson recruited [[Clarence M. Pendleton Jr.]] to head the [[Model Cities Program]] in San Diego. In 1981, US President [[Ronald Reagan]] appointed Pendleton to chair the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]], a position that he held from 1981 until his death in San Diego in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aapra.org/Bios/Pendleton.htm|title=Clarence M. Pendleton, Jr.|publisher=aapra.org|access-date=March 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130819/http://www.aapra.org/Bios/Pendleton.htm|archive-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref>

== United States Senator from California (1983–1991) ==

In 1982, Wilson won the Republican [[primaryPartisan electionprimary|primary]] in California to replace the retiring U.S. Senator [[S.&nbsp;I. Hayakawa]]. Wilson's Democratic opponent was the outgoing two-term Governor [[Jerry Brown]]. Wilson was known as a fiscal conservative who supported the property-tax limiting [[Proposition 13]], although Wilson had opposed the measure while [[mayor of San Diego]]. However, Brown ran on his gubernatorial record of building the largest state budget surpluses in California history. Both Wilson and Brown were moderate-to-liberal on social issues, including support for abortion rights and environmentalism. The election was expected to be close, with Brown holding a slim lead in most of the polls leading up to Election Day. Wilson hammered away at Brown's appointment of California Chief Justice [[Rose Bird]], using this to portray himself as tougher on crime than Brown was. Brown's late entry into the 1980 Democratic presidential primary, after promising not to run, was also an issue. President Ronald Reagan made a number of visits to California late in the race to campaign for Wilson. Reagan quipped that the last thing he wanted to see was both of his home state's [[U.S. Senate]] seats falling into Democrats' hands, especially to be occupied by the man who succeeded him as governor. Despite exit polls indicating a narrow Brown victory, Wilson edged him out to win the election. A major contributing factor may also have been a late influx of the [[Armenians|Armenian]] vote in the California Governor's race between [[George Deukmejian]] and [[Tom Bradley (American politician)|Tom Bradley]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} Many of these votes came from heavily Republican areas. The Deukmejian voters likely also voted for Wilson for United States Senator.

On October 19, 1983, Wilson voted in favor of a bill establishing [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/20/us/senate-s-roll-call-vote-on-king-holiday.html|title=SENATE'S ROLL-CALL VOTE ON KING HOLIDAY|date=October 20, 1983|work=The New York Times}}</ref> The legislation was signed into law by President Reagan the following month.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1983/110283a.htm|title=Remarks on Signing the Bill Making the Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., a National Holiday|date=November 2, 1983|publisher=Reagan Library|first=Ronald|last=Reagan|author-link=Ronald Reagan|access-date=March 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301224921/https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/sites/default/files/archives/speeches/1983/110283a.htm|archive-date=March 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In January 1988, Wilson voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987]] (as well as to override [[Ronald Reagan|President Reagan]]'s veto in March).<ref>{{citeCite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s432|title=TO PASS S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS RESTORATION ACT, A BILL TO… RESTORE-- THESenate BROADVote COVERAGE#432 AND-- CLARIFYJan FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY PROVIDING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION IS FEDERALLY FUNDED28, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{citeCite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/100-1988/s487|title=TO ADOPT, OVER THE PRESIDENT'S VETO OF S 557, CIVIL RIGHTS… RESTORATION-- ACT,Senate AVote BILL#487 TO RESTORE BROAD COVERAGE OF FOUR CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS BY DECLARING THAT IF ONE PART OF AN INSTITUTION RECEIVES FEDERAL FUNDS, THEN THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION MUST NOT DISCRIMINATE. TWO-THIRDS- OF THEMar SENATE22, HAVING VOTED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, OVERRODE THE PRESIDENTIAL VETO1988|website=GovTrack.us}}</ref>

In June 1984, Wilson voted in favor of legislation restricting federal highway funds for states that did not raise the minimum age for drinking to 21.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1984/06/27/The-81-16-vote-by-which-the-Senate-approved-legislation/9253457156800/|title=The 81-1681–16 vote by which the Senate approved legislation ...|date=June 27, 1984|publisherwork=UPIUnited Press International}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/27/us/senate-votes-bill-aimed-at-forcing-drinking-age-of-21.html|title=SENATE VOTES BILL AIMED AT FORCING DRINKING AGE OF 21|first=Martin|last=Tolchin|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 27, 1984}}</ref>

In May 1985, Wilson underwent surgery for a ruptured appendix at Bethesda Naval Hospital, concurrently as fellow Republican Senator [[Bob Dole]] hoped to gather enough votes for the Reagan administration's 1986 budget. The surgery was expected to keep Wilson hospitalized for days, but Wilson returned to Capitol Hill via an ambulance to cast a vote in favor of the budget on May 10.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/10/us/senator-brings-a-vote-from-his-hospital-bed.html|title=SENATOR BRINGS A VOTE FROM HIS HOSPITAL BED|date=May 10, 1985|work=The New York Times}}</ref> After voting, Wilson stated he made the decision to forgo further bed rest as he believed the vote was possibly the most important of his career.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/05/10/Sen-Pete-Wilson-a-tough-former-Marine-said-he/6363484545600/|title=Sen. Pete Wilson, a tough former Marine, said he ...|publisherwork=UPIUnited Press International|date=May 10, 1985}}</ref>

Convinced by [[Japanese-American]] farmers in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]] to support redress, Wilson co-sponsored the [[Civil Liberties Act of 1988]]. The bill was signed into law by President Reagan.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.R. 442 (100th): Civil Liberties Act of 1987 |url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/100/hr442 |website=govtrack.us |publisher=Civic Impulse, LLC. |access-date=26 May 2022}}</ref>

In 1988, Wilson won the race for the United States Senate against his Democratic opponent, [[Leo T. McCarthy]]. In that election, he became the first person to get more than 5 million votes in a single Senate race, and his 5.1 &nbsp;million votes was a record for the most won by a Republican candidate for Senator that wasn't broken until 2020, when [[John Cornyn]] of Texas topped it.

On January 20, 1989, he presided over the [[inauguration of George H. W. Bush]] as [[President of the United States]]. He voted against [[Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990]], Bush's tax increase, thus remaining a fiscal conservative.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell">{{cite journal|last1=Mitchell|first1=Daniel J. B.|title="Duke, Is There Perhaps Something You Forgot to Tell Me?" Pete Wilson's First-Term Struggle with the California Budget|journal=Southern California Quarterly|date=Winter 2008|volume=90|issue=4|pages=379–418|doi=10.2307/41172444|jstor=41172444}}</ref>

In the weeks following incumbent [[Governorgovernor of California]] George Deukmejian announcing that he was not running for a third term, Wilson considered a gubernatorial bid; by late January 1989, Wilson admitted to the decision being agonizing for him amid his consulting with others on a possible run.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-20/news/-mn-949_1_pete949-wilsonstory.html|title=Wilson 'Agonizing' on Running for Governor, Will Make Decision Soon|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 20, 1989}}</ref> At the beginning of his second six-year term in the Senate, Wilson announced plans to run for Governor of California.

On October 2, 1990, Wilson, away from Washington to campaign for California governor, became the only sitting senator from either party to not vote on the nomination of [[David Souter]] for Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. He had previously endorsed Souter for confirmation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/03/us/senate-confirms-souter-90-to-9-as-supreme-court-s-105th-justice.html?pagewanted=all|title=Senate Confirms Souter, 90 to 9, As Supreme Court's 105th Justice|first=Richard L.|last=Berke|date=October 3, 1990|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1990/10/02/Senate-vote-on-Souter/9176654840000/|title=Senate vote on Souter|date=October 2, 1990|publisherwork=UPIUnited Press International}}</ref> Wilson voted in favor of the [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination]].

On January 7, 1991, he resigned from the Senate upon his inauguration as California's governor and appointed [[John Seymour (California politician)|John Seymour]] as his successor.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/03/us/new-senator-from-california-is-named.html|title=New Senator From California Is Named|first=Jane|last=Gross|date=January 3, 1991|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

Despite his belief in fiscal conservatism, Wilson raised the sales tax to reduce the state deficit, including imposing a new sales tax on newspapers and a sales tax on "snack" foods.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> He also raised car license fees and college tuition; by 1991, tuition fees at the [[University of California]] rose by 40%, while they rose by 24% at [[California State University]].<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> Additionally, he raised the income tax in the top bracket temporarily.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> However, by 1993, the snack tax was repealed by the Democratic state legislature and the sales tax increase expired.<ref name="dukeistheremitchell"/> On April 26, 1991, Wilson proposed an increase in sales tax by 1 1/4 cents and state taxes by $6.7&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|6700000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) as part of plan to reduce the state's budget deficit. The revenue gap had increased by $5&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|5000000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) in the four months of his governorship.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-26/news/-mn-761_1_cent761-sales-taxstory.html|title=Wilson Proposes Increasing State Sales Tax 1 1/4 Cents : Finances: His budget plan calls for a $6.7-billion hike in state levies. He also wants a $4.8-billion cut in spending, $700 million more than first sought.|date=April 26, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> In response to the April 1991 proposal, the ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote of Wilson,

{{blockquote|He has done what has been asked of him, but thought near-impossible for any Republican centrist: constructing a revenue and spending plan that will hurt almost everyone and help almost no one, but that will also&nbsp;– for the first time in a long time&nbsp;– put the state on a sounder fiscal footing.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-04-30/local/-me-823_1_state823-sales-taxstory.html|title=The Governor Accepts the Budget Leadership : Wilson looks for something that hurts least, hits soonest|date=April 30, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>}}

In July, the Senate voted 28 to 9 in favor of a bipartisan tax plan that would have increased taxes on the wealthiest Californians, boosted the corporate tax rate, and imposed a tax increase on telecommunication services by two percent2%. Wilson returned the budget bill to the legislature without his signature, revoking a prior commitment to vetoing the measure.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-04/news/-mn-2292_1_spending2292-planstory.html|title=Wilson Relents on Budget Veto : Finances: Governor returns the $56.4-billion spending plan to the Legislature without his signature. Action allows more time to work out a solution.|date=July 4, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>

On July 12, 1991, Wilson signed a bill mandating that parents neglecting paying for child support could warrant stiff fines and potential suspensions of business and professional licenses. The legislation was intended to address a rising cause of poverty among children and women in the state at a time when Californians collectively owed $2&nbsp;billion (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|2000000000|1991}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) per year in unpaid child support.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-07-13/news/-mn-1851_1_unpaid1851-child-supportstory.html|title=Wilson Signs Child-Support Bill : Divorce: The legislation provides new tools to enforce payment. Parents who fail to comply could have their business or professional licenses suspended.|first=Virginia|last=Ellis|date=July 13, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> On July 24, 1991, Wilson signed a bill requiring mass transit rail lines to be built underground in the event construction take place in the residential neighborhoods of North Hollywood and Van Nuys. The bill, requested by the residents of those neighborhoods, was aimed at easing "homeowners' fear of noise from ground-level trains running along a proposed rail route that parallels Chandler and Victory boulevards".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-25-me-1292-story.html|title=Governor Signs Bill Calling for Underground Rail Line : Transit: The law is aimed at easing the concerns of North Hollywood and Van Nuys homeowners.|date=June 25, 1991|work=Los Angeles Times|first=James|last=Quinn}}</ref>

{{blockquote| We will demand that all citizens meet the test of common decency, respecting the rights of others, and we will demand that those who can, pull their own weight and meet the test of personal responsibility. We will make clear that welfare is to be a safety net, not a hammock &nbsp;— and absolutely not a permanent way of life. We will correct our laws to make clear that bringing a child into the world is an awesome personal responsibility for both the mother and the father. The costs are simply too high for society to continue tolerating the promiscuity and irresponsibility that have produced generations of unwed teen mothers. It is monstrously unfair to the children; to their sad, ill-equipped teen mothers; and certainly to working taxpayers, who must support them at a cost to their own children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/36-Wilson02.html|title=Second Inaugural Address|date=January 2, 1995|publisher=governors.library.ca.gov}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-08/news/-mn-17703_1_illegal17703-immigrantsstory.html|title=Wilson Sworn In, Bluntly Warns of Welfare Shake-Up : Inaugural: Governor says illegal immigrants, criminals and uneducated youths are draining resources. He calls on Californians to be prepared for 'dramatic change.'|date=January 8, 1995|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref>}}

In his 1997 State of the State address, Wilson criticized welfare recipients<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-05-09/news/-mn-57101_1_welfare57101-recipientsstory.html|title=Stigma of Welfare Hampers State Push Toward Jobs|date=May 9, 1997|work=Los Angeles Times|first=Carla|last=Rivera|quote="Taxpayers [will] no longer subsidize idleness and promiscuity," he declared in praising the arrival of welfare reform. "We're ending welfare's warehousing of people who don't want to work."}}</ref> and charged the program with creating conditions producing out-of-wedlock births, the lack of paternal involvement in the lives of children, and the lifelong ramifications to children caused by the father not being of presence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://governors.library.ca.gov/addresses/s_36-Wilson05.html|title=1997 State of the State Address|date=January 7, 1997|first=Pete|last=Wilson|publisher=governors.library.ca.gov}}</ref> Under Wilson's welfare overhaul package, mothers would have to go to work after two years and a year would pass before they could return to welfare, which would only have a five-year lifetime. Paternity for each child would also have to be established for the mother to begin receiving benefits.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Demos-rip-Wilson-s-plan-for-state-3143360.php|title=Demos rip Wilson's plan for state|date=January 8, 1997|publisherwork=sfgate.comSan Francisco Chronicle|first=Steven A.|last=Capps}}</ref>

As governor, Wilson was closely associated with [[California Proposition 187 (1994)|California Proposition 187]], a 1994 ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit [[illegal immigrant]]s from using health care, public education, and other social services in the U.S. State of California. Voters passed the proposed law as a referendum in November 1994; it was the first time that a state had passed legislation related to [[immigration]], customarily an issue for federal policies and programs.<ref>[http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/bupi7&div=11&id=&page= Allison Fee, "Forbidding States from Providing Essential Social Services to "undocumented Immigrants": The Constitutionality of Recent Federal Action"], Boston University ''Public Interest Law Journal'', Vol. 7, No. 93, 1998,. accessedRetrieved June 26, 2011</ref> The law was challenged in a legal suit and found unconstitutional by a federal court in 1998 and never went into effect.<ref>{{cite news|title=Davis Won't Appeal Prop. 187 Ruling, Ending Court Battles |first1=Patrick J.|last1=McDonnell|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 29, 1999|page=1}}</ref>

isbn=9780595256914 }}</ref> Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] is the only Republican to win a California gubernatorial, senatorial, or presidential election since 1994, in a [[2003 California gubernatorial recall election|unique 2003 recall election]]. Schwarzeneggerand wasthen alsoa [[2006 California gubernatorial election|re-electedelection in 2006]].

Since 1995 the following states have had similar ballot initiatives or laws passed: [[Arizona]], [[Colorado]], [[Florida]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Illinois]], [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], [[New York (state)|New York]], [[Oklahoma]] and [[Texas]].<ref name=Lacayo>{{cite magazine|author1=Richard Lacayo|author2=Ann Blackman|author3=Margot Hornblower|author4=Joseph R. Szczesny|title=Down on the Downtrodden|url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,982006,00.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204074750/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,982006,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 4, 2013|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|publisher=Time, Inc| date=December 19, 2004|access-date=December 17, 2008}}</ref>

Wilson led efforts to enact "tough on crime" measures and signed into law the "[[three strikes law|Three Strikes]]" (25 years to life for repeat offenders)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-10-30/opinion/-op-56438_1_pete56438-wilsonstory.html |title=Pete Wilson for Governor: On Balance the Best Choice|work=Los Angeles Times |date= October 30, 1994|access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> As a result of the Three Strikes Law, 4,431 offenders have been sentenced to 25 years to life for strings of crime.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://facts1.live.radicaldesigns.org/section.php?id=55 |title=FACTS About California's Three-Strikes Law |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610031647/http://facts1.live.radicaldesigns.org/section.php?id=55 |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The law required the construction of new prisons, leading some{{who|date=February 2012}} to question the role in his stance of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, a lobbying group of prison guards that gave $1.47&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|1470000|1996}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|US-GDP}}) to Wilson's gubernatorial campaigns.<ref name="buyingofthepresident.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |title=Center for Public Integrity, The Buying of the President 1996 &nbsp;– Pete Wilson |publisher=Buyingofthepresident.org |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219233954/http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On September 26, 1995, Wilson signed a bill authorizing the possible use of the death penalty toward any individual who committed a murder amid a carjacking or killed a juror. Wilson said the law was the result of 4 years' worth of attempts on his part to toughen the laws against carjacking: "This bill sends an unmistakable message to gang bangers: If you take someone's life while committing a cowardly carjacking, you can expect to pay for your crime with your own life."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/26/Wilson-makes-carjacking-a-capital-crime/4203812088000/|title=Wilson makes carjacking a capital crime|date=September 26, 1995|work=United Press International}}</ref> Wilson also supported resuming the death penalty in California, after a 25-year moratorium, and he signed the death warrant for the execution of child-murderer [[Robert Alton Harris]]. Harris was executed in 1992. A total of five people were executed during his administration (the first 2 in the [[gas chamber]], the latter 3 by [[lethal injection]]).

Wilson supported deregulation of the energy industry in California during his administration due to heavy lobbying efforts by [[Enron]].<ref name=Time>{{cite magazine|last=Taylor |first=Chris |url=httphttps://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,237028,00.html|title=California Scheming |magazine=Time |date=May 20, 2002|volume=159|issue=20|access-date=July 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021203224556/http://www.time.com/time/business/printout/0,8816,237028,00.html|archive-date=December 3, 2002|url-status=deadlive}}</ref> Nevertheless, during the California energy crisis caused by companies such as Enron, Wilson authored an article titled "What California Must Do" that blamed Gray Davis for not building enough power plants. Wilson defended his record of power plant construction and claimed that between 1985 and 1998, 23 plants were certified and 18 were built in California.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wilson |first=Pete |url=http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3459551.html |title=Pete Wilson, What California Must Do. ''Hoover Digest'', No. 3, 2001 |publisher=Hoover.org |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091206160040/http://www.hoover.org/publications/digest/3459551.html |archive-date=December 6, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== 1996 presidential campaign ==

Despite a campaign promise to the people of California not to do so, Wilson also unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for [[President of the United States|President]] in the [[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996 election]], making formal announcements on both coasts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |title=Center for Public Integrity, The buying of the President 1996 &nbsp;– Pete Wilson |access-date=January 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219233954/http://www.buyingofthepresident.org/index.php/archives/1996/50/ |archive-date=February 19, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Wilson announced first on August 28, 1995, in New York City, at [[Battery Park]], with the [[Statue of Liberty]] as a backdrop.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1995/0829/29032.html|title=Wilson Makes Debut, Again|work=Christian Science Monitor |via=Christian Science Monitor}}</ref> He completed a cross-country tour. In April of 1995, he had surgery to remove a benign nodule on his vocal cords. When Wilson did not lighten his speaking schedule, it resulted in the occasional cracking of his voice. It ended up keeping him from announcing&nbsp;– or even talking&nbsp;– for months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-07-06-mn-21635-story.html|title=Wilson Has Minor Outpatient Surgery on His Vocal Cords|first=Max|last=Vanzi|date=July 6, 1996|website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> His campaign ended on September 30, 1995

A September 6, 1995, [[UC Irvine]] poll showed equal support for Wilson and incumbent President [[Bill Clinton]] among [[Orange County, California|Orange County]] voters. The same poll indicated Wilson as trailing his former Senate colleague [[Bob Dole]] by a 20-point margin.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-07-me-43076-story.html|title=Clinton Even With Wilson, UCI Poll Shows : Politics: County respondents favor Dole for President by wide margin. They also support state initiative against affirmative action.|first=Len|last=Hall|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 7, 1995}}</ref> Dole would become the Republican nominee in the general election. Later that month, a ''Los Angeles Times'' poll found 23% of Californians believed Wilson should seek the presidency, including 30% of state voters identifying as Republican.<ref name="LATimes1995">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-09-12-mn-44994-story.html|title=THE TIMES POLL : Wilson's Popularity Plummets With Voters : Election matchups place him far behind Clinton and Dole. The governor is seen as lacking deep convictions|first=Cathleen|last=Decker|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 12, 1995}}</ref> On September 29, 1995, Wilson told supporters in Sacramento that he was dropping out of the Republican primary, citing he lacked the "necessary campaign funds to take this message to the people who need to hear it". He became the first candidate to exit the Republican primary.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1995/09/29/Wilson-drops-out-of-presidential-race/7281812347200/|title=Wilson drops out of presidential race|date=September 29, 1995|publisherwork=UPIUnited Press International}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/30/us/wilson-trailing-in-voters-polls-drops-1996-quest.html|title=WILSON, TRAILING IN VOTERS' POLLS, DROPS 1996 QUEST|first=B. Drummond Jr.|last=Ayres|date=September 30, 1995|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

After leaving office, Wilson spent two2 years as a managing director of Pacific Capital Group, a [[merchant bank]] based in [[Los Angeles]]. He has served as a director of the [[Irvine Company]], [[TelePacific Communications]], Inc., National Information Consortium Inc., an advisor to Crossflo Systems, and [[IDT Entertainment]]. He has been a member of the Board of Advisors of Thomas Weisel Partners, a [[San Francisco]] merchant bank. He also served as chairman of the [[Japan]] Task Force of the Pacific Council on International Policy, which produced an analysis of Japanese economic and national security prospects over the next decade entitled "Can Japan Come Back?"<ref>{{cite web

Wilson is currently a distinguished visiting fellow at the [[Hoover Institution]], a conservative [[think tank]] located on the campus of [[Stanford University]], the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, the [[Richard Nixon Foundation]], the Donald Bren Foundation, is the founding director of the California Mentor Foundation and is the chairman of the board of trustees of the National World War II Museum. Wilson sits on two prestigious [[Federal Advisory Committee Act|Federal advisory committees]], the [[President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board]] and the [[Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee]]. He previously worked as a consultant at the Los Angeles office of [[Bingham McCutchen]] [[LLP#United States|LLP]], a large, national law firm.<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://articleswww.sfgate.com/2004-02-25/business/17412450_1_pacificarticle/Former-rimgovernor-investmentto-bankjoin-wilsonbusiness-sconsulting-workfirm-2818136.php |title=George Raine, Former governor to join business consulting firm. ''San Francisco Chronicle'', February 25, 2004 |date= February 25, 2004|access-date=January 21, 2011 |work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> He is currently Of Counsel with Ellis George Cipollone O'Brien Annaguey LLP d/b/a Ellis George Cipollone, a bicoastal trial boutique law firm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://egcfirm.com/attorneys/pete-wilson/ |title=Pete Wilson bio |date=September 10, 2016 |access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> He is also a Principal at Wilson Walsh Consulting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wilsonwalsh.com/ |title=Wilson Walsh |access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref>

In 1999, Wilson was awarded the prestigious Patriot Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society National Convention in Riverside, California.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorees List {{!}} Awards and Recognitions {{!}} CMOHS |url=https://www.cmohs.org/about-the-society/awards |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=Congressional Medal of Honor Society |language=en}}</ref> In 2003, Wilson was co-chair of the campaign of [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] to replace Gray Davis as governor of California.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://petewilsonalumni.org/bio.html |title=Governor Pete Wilson Alumni Association |access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref>

|access-date=January 21, 2011}}</ref> In 2009, Wilson chaired the unsuccessful campaign of [[Meg Whitman]] for governor.<ref>{{cite web

| publisherwork=csmonitor.comThe Christian Science Monitor |date=August 30, 2010|access-date=January 22, 2011

* Wilson was honored by the [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]] with the [[Office of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service]] in November 2018, including his service on the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.

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[[Category:CaliforniaAmerican lawyerscampaign managers]]

[[Category:RepublicanCalifornia Party governors of CaliforniaRepublicans]]

[[Category:Republican Party membersMembers of theCongress Californiawho Statebecame Assemblylobbyists]]

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[[Category:CandidatesProtestants infrom the 1996 United States presidential electionCalifornia]]