Al Alquist
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Alfred E. Alquist (born August 2, 1908 in Memphis, Tennessee - died March 27, 2006 in Sacramento, California) was a California politician.
The son of a Swedish immigrant who worked for the railroads, he was barely a teenager when he started carrying water to railroad work crews. He became a timekeeper, switchman, brakeman and conductor, before serving with the Army Air Forces during World War II. He was a yardmaster for the Southern Pacific Railroad when he and his first wife moved to San Jose in 1947.
Alquist was elected to the State Assembly in 1962, and four years later, the State Senate, where he served for 30 years. A forceful and savvy state legislator, he chaired the powerful Senate Finance Committee for 15 years. He also routinely chaired the two-house conference committee that wrote the final version of the state budget before it went to the Assembly and Senate floors.
He was perhaps best known for his co-authorship of the landmark 1974 law, a national model, which created the California Energy Commission. In the legislature, Alquist also helped to establish the Santa Clara County transit system, the state's earthquake safety programs, and the state Energy Commission. A pragmatic New Deal Democrat, he earned a reputation for helping the poor and representing the interests of labor. When term limits forced him to retire in 1996, he was the Legislature's ranking member.
A state office building in downtown San Jose, California, which he had advocated to get built, is named for him. His wife, Elaine Alquist is currently a state senator who now represents much of the same district her husband did.
