Bill Filante

William Jules "Bill" Filante (October 22, 1929 in Brooklyn, NY – December 9, 1992 in Terra Linda, San Rafael, CA) was an American physician and politician from California and member of the Republican Party.

State Assembly

Filante first won election to the Marin-Sonoma based 9th district in the California State Assembly in 1978 by defeating Democratic incumbent Mike Wornum. Thanks to his moderate voting record, Filante became a pro at winning crossover votes, enough to hold his left-leaning seat with relative ease for 7 terms.^[1] He left the Assembly in 1992 to run for Congress

Congressional race

Filante made a run for the Marin county-based 6th Congressional district being vacated by Democrat Barbara Boxer, who was running for the United States Senate. Even though the 6th District was heavily Democratic, Filante had represented a large chunk of it in the state legislature for 14 years and tried to parlay his moderate reputation into a win. However, just before the start of the campaign, Filante underwent brain surgery and spent most of the race recuperating. Fellow GOP assemblywoman Bev Hansen often served as his surrogate. In the end, Democrat Lynn Woolsey won handily. Filante died of a brain tumor later that December.^[2]

Electoral history

Member, California State Assembly: 1979-1993

Year	Office		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1978	California State Assembly District 9		Michael Wornum	46,485	43.4%		Bill Filante	55,304	51.7%
1980	California State Assembly District 9		Anne Charles	59,786	45.2%		Bill Filante	67,603	51.1%
1982	California State Assembly District 9		Paul Chignell	55,035	44.9%		Bill Filante	67,619	55.1%
1984	California State Assembly District 9		Paul Chignell	63,867	43.4%		Bill Filante	83,402	56.6%
1986	California State Assembly District 9		Joanna Willman	53,553	45.1%		Bill Filante	65,154	54.9%
1988	California State Assembly District 9		Francis Parnell	65,065	43.5%		Bill Filante	84,661	56.5%
1990	California State Assembly District 9		Vivien Bronshvag	52,659	42.5%		Bill Filante	63,672	51.4%
1992	U.S House of Representatives District 6		Lynn Woolsey	190,322	66%		Bill Filante	98,171	34%

References

1. Vassar, Alex; Shane Meyers (2007). "William J. Filante, Republican". JoinCalifornia.com. Retrieved 2007-01-25.
2. California Journal Vol. XXIII, No.7 (July 1992) "Complete Primary Results". StateNet Publications, July 1992.

External links

• JoinCalifornia, Election History for the State of California