Robert Graham "Bob" Beverly (July 1, 1925 – October 14, 2009) was an American attorney and politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.[2]
Early life
Robert Graham Beverly was born July 1, 1925, in Belmont, Massachusetts, as an only child to William Beverly and the former Helen Graham. His father, who was in the insurance business, died when Beverly was a teenager.[3]
Beverly met his future wife in high school. He followed her to Los Angeles, and they were married in 1946. After serving in the Marine Corps, mainly on the East Coast,[3] Beverly attended UCLA, then earned a law degree at Loyola Marymount University in the early 1950s. He then moved to Manhattan Beach and started practicing law.[3]
Political career
In 1958, Beverly launched his political career, winning a seat on the Manhattan Beach City Council. He served for nine years, including three terms as mayor.[3]
In 1967, Beverly won a special election to the California State Assembly. The 46th district was vacant due to the death of veteran incumbent Charles Edward Chapel. He was reelected four more times with relative ease (1967-76), serving as minority leader from 1973 until 1976.[4]
He left the assembly in 1976 to challenge state senator James Wedworth (D-Hawthorne) in a district that had been redrawn due to reapportionment. Beverly won easily, defeating the incumbent by more than 23 points.[5] He then had little trouble holding the seat (numbered both the 27th and the 29th during his tenure) until 1992, when he won a surprisingly close race against an unknown, underfunded Democrat in a district that had been redrawn after the 1991 reapportionment.[4]
He retired from elective office in 1996, though he did serve briefly on the state Lottery Commission from 1997 to 1998.[4]
