Sheila Kuehl 493896 224194605 2008-07-07T19:21:19Z Cydebot 1215485 Robot - Moving category Female American state legislators to American women state legislators per [[WP:CFD|CFD]] at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion/Log/2008 June 23]]. {{Infobox State Senator |image=Replace this image female.svg <!-- only free-content images are allowed for depicting living people - see [[WP:NONFREE]] --> | | name = Sheila Kuehl | imagesize = 170 | state_senate = California | district = [[California's 23rd Senate district|23<sup>rd</sup>]] | term_start = 2000 | Term_end = | preceded = Tom Hayden | state_assembly2 = California | district2 = [[California's 41st Assembly district|41<sup>st</sup>]] | term_start2 = 1994 | term_end2 = 2000 | preceded2 = Terry Friedman | succeeded2 = [[Fran Pavley]] | birth_date = [[February 9]], [[1941]] | birth_place = [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]] | nationality = {{USA}} | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] | residence = [[Los Angeles, California]] | alma_mater = [[Harvard Law School]] | profession = [[Attorney]] | website = [http://dist23.casen.govoffice.com Sen. Sheila Kuehl] }} {{Infobox actor | name = Sheila Kuehl | birthname = Sheila James Kuehl | othername = Sheila James; Sheila Ann Kuehl | yearsactive = 1950s – 1980s }} '''Sheila James Kuehl''' (born [[February 9]], [[1941]] in [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]) is an [[United States|American]] [[politician]], and a former child [[actor|actress]]. She is currently a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] member of the [[California]] [[California State Senate|State Senate]], representing the highly urbanized [[California's 23rd Senate district|23rd district]] in [[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles County]] and parts of southern [[Ventura County, California|Ventura County]]. A former member of the [[California State Assembly]], she was elected to the Senate in 2000. [[Term limit]]s will prevent her seeking a third Senate term in 2008. ==Biography== As a young actress with the stage name Sheila James, she played Jackie, [[Stuart Erwin]]'s tomboy daughter, in the television show ''[[Trouble With Father]]'', which was later retitled ''The Stu Erwin Show''. She is better known for her portrayal of the "irrepressible" Zelda Gilroy in the long-running 1950s TV show ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]''. The running gag was Zelda's roaring crush on Dobie, and his resistance to her advances. The program spawned two sequels, the pilot Whatever Happened to Dobie Gillis (1978) and TV movie Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis (1988). In these, Dobie had married Zelda and had a son named Georgie, who was like Dobie had been at his age. Kuehl reprised her Zelda role in both updates. James co-starred in the short-lived television series ''[[Broadside (television series)|Broadside]]'', a female version of the hit show [[McHale's Navy]] during the 1964-65 season. After the show's cancellation, she changed her focus to academics and, as Sheila Kuehl, was accepted into [[Harvard Law School]]. She graduated in 1978. In 1975, during her first year at the law school, she chaired the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the first group of women to be admitted to Harvard Law School, in 1950. ==Politics== Kuehl was first elected to the [[California State Assembly]] in 1994, becoming [[List of the first LGBT holders of political offices|the first openly gay person]] elected to the [[California State Legislature|California legislature]]. She was later a founder member of the [[California Legislative LGBT Caucus]]. She served as [[Speaker pro tempore]] during the 1997–98 legislative session, becoming the first woman in California history to hold the position. After three terms in the Assembly, she was elected to the [[California State Senate]] in 2000, beating Assemblyman [[Wally Knox]] in the Democratic primary. Re-elected in 2004 with 65.7% of the vote, she has repeatedly been voted the "smartest" member of the California Legislature.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://out.com/exclusives.asp?id=23607 |title= Out's Power 50: Sheila Kuehl |accessdate=2008-06-02}}</ref> In 2006, she sponsored a bill that would prohibit the adoption by any school district in California of any instructional material that discriminates against persons based on their gender or sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/state/20060407-0734-rights-gays-textbooks.html | title=California braced for battle over gays in textbooks | date=[[April 7]], [[2006]] | first=Jim | last=Christie | publisher=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] | accessdate=2007-07-29 }}</ref> Throughout her career as a legislator, Kuehl has taken a leadership role on [[health care]] policy. Her foremost objective has been securing passage of legislation to establish a [[single-payer health care]] system in California.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dist23.casen.govoffice.com/SB840 | title=SB 840 The California Universal Healthcare Act | date=[[June 12]], [[2007]] | accessdate=2007-07-29 }}</ref> SB 840 passed both houses of the legislature in 2006, but was vetoed by Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]; it was reintroduced in 2007 and again passed the state Senate, with a vote pending in the Assembly.<ref>{{ cite web | url=http://www.dist23.casen.govoffice.com/index.asp?Type=B_PR&SEC={FB09811F-A6ED-4042-9D4A-DFC306B532A9}&DE={30426154-2E35-454C-B5A5-BE31361ED2D3} | title=SB 840 Passes Senate Floor, Heads to Assembly Health | date=[[June 7]], [[2007]] | accessdate=2007-07-29 }}</ref> Kuehl has been criticized by some for regressing reform of California [[paternity (law)|paternity]] law.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.reason.com/news/show/29035.html | title=Injustice by Default - How the effort to catch "deadbeat dads" ruins innocent men's lives | date=February 2004 | first=Matt | last=Welch | work=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] | accessdate=2007-07-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.canadiancrc.com/articles/ABC_Duped_Dads_02OCT02.htm | title=Duped Dads - Men Fight Centuries-Old Paternity Laws | date=[[October 2]], [[2002]] | first=Geraldine | last=Sealey | publisher=ABC News, U.S.A at Canadian Children's Rights Council | accessdate=2007-07-29 }}</ref> ===Announced intention to kill healthcare plan=== On [[January 28]], [[2008]], ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that Kuehl planned to vote against a health care plan sponsored by Governor Schwarzenegger and supported by a majority of Democrats in the Assembly, while opposed by a majority of Republicans. Her opposition along with the opposition of Senator [[Leland Yee]] led the ''Times'' to predict that California's widely touted healthcare bill &ndash; widely but inaccurately called "universal" coverage &ndash; would be effectively killed.<ref name=" California Governor’s Plan for Health Care in Trouble">{{cite web |url= http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/28healthcare.html |title= California Governor’s Plan for Health Care in Trouble |accessdate=2008-01-28|last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= 2008-01-28 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= }}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://dist23.casen.govoffice.com/ Kuehl's official Senate website] *{{imdb name|473861}} {{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=[[Terry Friedman]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[California's 41st Assembly District|California State Assemblymember, <br>41st District]]|years=1994-2000}} {{s-aft|after=[[Fran Pavley]]}} {{s-bef|before=[[Tom Hayden]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[California's 23rd Senate District|California State Senator, <br>23rd District]]|years=2000-''present''}} {{s-aft|after=''Incumbent''}} {{s-end}} {{Members of the California State Senate}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuehl, Sheila}} [[Category:1941 births]] [[Category:California State Senators]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Members of the California State Assembly]] [[Category:Lesbian politicians]] [[Category:LGBT state legislators of the United States]] [[Category:Los Angeles politicians]] [[Category:American actor-politicians]] [[Category:American child actors]] [[Category:American television actors]] [[Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni]] [[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]] [[Category:People from Tulsa, Oklahoma]] [[Category:Lesbian actors from the United States]] [[Category:American women state legislators]]