Diane Martinez

Diane Janet Martinez (born January 14, 1953[1] in Los Angeles, California[2]) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1992 until 1998.[3] She was "reviled as just about the worst legislator in Sacramento by the insider magazine California Journal."[4] Her outbursts and other strange behavior led many to believe she was literally crazy.[5] Her apparent mental instability was so well known that newspapers typically did not bother to detail her bizarre behavior. For example, the LA Weekly began an editorial endorsing her successor to the State Assembly: "After years of being poorly represented by the loopy Diane Martinez..."[6] And Capitol Weekly simply described her as "crazy."[7] A resident of Monterey Park,[1] she ran for state Insurance Commissioner in 1998.[3] In the Democratic primary, she was nominated over Hal Brown, Jr., a Marin County Supervisor and cousin of current California Governor Jerry Brown. Martinez lost the general election to the incumbent Republican, Chuck Quackenbush.

Martinez is the daughter of former Congressman Matthew G. Martinez.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Mike Ward. "ELECTIONS 49TH ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 3 Incumbents Clash in Roles as Endorsers". L.A. Times (May 17, 1992).
  2. ↑ Manuel Jimenez. "ELECTIONS '92 Latinos May Gain Impact in Assembly". L.A. Times (Oct 8, 1992).
  3. 1 2 "Latino Legislative History & Purpose". California Latino Legislative Caucus.
  4. ↑ Max Vanzi "The Mouth That Roars the Loudest: Capital: Even among the iconoclasts and ideologues in the Assembly, Diane Martinez stands out. San Gabriel Valley representative is scorned and praised for her combative approach". Los Angeles Times (Sept 3, 1995).
  5. ↑ Id., George Skelton. "On Electricity Issue, She Was Crazy Like a Fox". Los Angeles Times (Aug 24, 2000).
  6. ↑ "Our selections in Tuesday's general election". Los Angeles Weekly (Nov 5, 1998).
  7. ↑ "Experts Expound". Capitol Weekly July 16, 2009
  8. ↑ Anne Rackham. Anger spurs her career: assemblywoman Diane Martinez often makes key decisions based on ire or on the spur of the moment. Los Angeles Business Journal (January 17, 1994)
Political offices
Preceded by
Gwen Moore		 California State Assemblywoman, 49th District
1992 – 1998 		Succeeded by
Gloria Romero
Party political offices
Preceded by
Art Torres		 Democratic Nominee, Insurance Commissioner
1998 		Succeeded by
John Garamendi


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