California state Archives state Government Oral History Program Oral History Interview with ALVIN C. WEINGAND California state Senator, 1962 - 1966 August 8 and 9, 1989 Montecito, California By Carlos Vasquez Oral History Program University of California, Los Angeles RESTRICTIONS ON THIS INTERVIEW None. LITERARY RIGHTS AND QUOTATION This manuscript is hereby made available for research purposes only. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the California State Archivist or the Head, Department of Special Collections, University Research Library, UCLA. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to: California State Archives 1020 0 Street, Room 130 Sacramento, CA 95814 or Department of Special Collections University Research Library 405 S. Hilgard Avenue UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90024-1575 The request should include identification of the specific passages and identification of the user. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Alvin C. Weingand, Oral History Interview, Conducted 1989 by Carlos Vasquez, UCLA Oral History Program, for the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program. California State Archives Information (916) 445-4293 March Fong Eu Document Restoration (916) 445-4293 1020 0 Street, Room 130 Exhibit Hall (916) 445-0748 Secretary of State Sacramento, CA 95814 Legislative Bill Service (916) 445-2832 (prior years) PREFACE On September 25, 1985, Governor George Deukmejian signed into law A.B. 2104 (Chapter 965 of the Statutes of 1985). This legislation established, under the administration of the California State Archives, a State Government Oral History Program "to provide through the use of oral history a continuing documentation of state policy development as reflected in California's legislative and executive history. " The following interview is one of a series of oral histories undertaken for inclusion in the state program. These interviews offer insights into the actual workings of both the legislative and executive processes and policy mechanisms. They also offer an increased understanding of the men and women who create legislation and implement state policy. Further, they provide an overview of issue development in California state government and of how both the legislative and executive branches of government deal with issues and problems facing the state. Interviewees are chosen primarily on the basis of their contributions to and influence on the policy process of the state of California. They include members of the legislative and executive branches of the state government as well as legislative staff, advocates, members of the media, and other people who played significant roles in specific issue areas of major and continuing importance to California. By authorizing the California State Archives to work cooperatively with oral history units at California colleges and universities to conduct interviews, this program is structured to take advantage of the resources and expertise in oral history available through California's several institutionally based programs. Participating as cooperating institutions in the State Government Oral History Program are: Oral History Program History Department California State University, Fullerton Oral History Program Center for California Studies California State University, Sacramento Oral History Program Claremont Graduate School Regional Oral History Office The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley Oral History Program University of California, Los Angeles The establishment of the California State Archives State Government Oral History Program marks one of the most significant commitments made by any state toward the preservation and documentation of its governmental his tory. It supplements the often fragmentary historical written record by adding an organized primary source, enriching the historical information available on given topics and allowing for more thorough historical analysis. As such, the program, through the preservation and publi cation of interviews such as the one which follows, will be of lasting value to current and future generations of scholars, citizens and leaders. John F. Burns State Archivist July 27, 1988 This interview is printed on acid-free paper. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTERVIEW HISTORY•• i . . . . BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY ii SESSION 1, August 8, 1989 [Tape 1, Side A] • . 1 Moving to California from Nebraska and first impressions of Los Angeles--Working in Carmel as a hotel clerk--He becomes co-owner of the Harbor Restaurant on Stearn's Wharf--Service in the United States Navy--Discusses membership in various business associations and civic organizations--Democrats in Santa Barbara--Why he ran for John J. Hollister's seat and his role in the Santa Barbara County Democratic Central Committee--Why he is a liberal--An assessment of the Edmund G. Brown, Sr., administration--The quality of members in the California Senate--The differences between the assembly and the senate --The role of partisanship--Discusses the electoral opponents. SESSION 2, August 9, 1989 [Tape 2, Side A] • • 25 More on personal data--Discusses the committees on which he served in the senate--Why he made a good candidate--Discusses the President Pro Tem of the senate--Why Senator Hugh M. Burns had a conflict with Assembly Speaker Jesse M. Unruh- Weingand's wife runs for office--Why Weingand was defeated--Why amateur legislators were better for the state--Opposing oil drilling in the Santa Barbara channel--Why a liberal can be elected in Santa Barbara--Conflict of interest in California po1itics--What he learned in politics. INTERVIEW HISTORY Interviewer/Editor: Carlos Vasquez Director, UCLA State Government Interview Series, UCLA Oral History Program B.A., UCLA [Political Science] M.A., Stanford University [Political Science] Ph.D. candidate, UCLA [History] Interview Time and Place: August 8, 1989 Weingand's office in Montecito, California Session of one-half hour August 9, 1989 Weingand's office in Montecito, California Session of one-half hour Editing Vasquez checked the verbatim manuscript of the interview against the original tape recordings, edited for punctuation, paragraphing, and spellings, and verified proper names. Insertions by the editor are bracketed. The interviewer also prepared the introductory materials. Weingand reviewed the edited transcript and returned it with only minor corrections. Papers There exist no private papers which the interviewer was able to consult for this interview. Tapes and Interview Records The original tape recordings of the interview are in the university archives at UCLA along with the records relating to the interview. Master tapes are preserved at the California State Archives. i BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY Alvin C. Weingand was born in North Platte, Nebraska, in 1904. His parents brought him to California in 1920. Weingand attended Los Angeles Polytechnic High School and earned a B.A. in economics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1927. After finishing college, Weingand went to work in the hotel and resort business in which he remained active for most of his adult life. He was the co-owner of the San Ysidro Hotel in Montecito and also was engaged in other business ventures in the Santa Barbara area. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy as a legal officer and was stationed in New Zealand and New Caledonia. His first wife was Beverly Hollister, and his second was Louise Ladsburgh. His third wife, now deceased, Elizabeth Weingand ran for the California Senate in 1974, but was defeated. She held a long time interest in politics. Weingand had one son, Christopher, and adopted another, Richard Hyland. Weingand, a Democrat, was elected to the California Senate from the Thirty-first District in a special election in February 1962 upon the death of incumbent John J. Hollister, Jr., of Santa Barbara. He served until 1966 when he was defeated by Robert J. Lagomarsino. During his tenure in office, he served on the Committees on Business and Commerce and on Labor and Welfare. He sponsored legislation dealing with family planning, banking, lobbying reforms, and a code of ethics for legislators. Weingand was a twenty year member of the Santa Barbara County Democratic Party Central Committee and was active in numerous civic and business organizations. He is currently an associate with Santana Properties in Montecito, California. ii 1 [Session 1, August 8, 1989] [Begin Tape 1, Side A] VASQUEZ: Mr. Weingand, to begin this oral history tell me something about your personal background. Where you were born, when you came to California, that sort of thing. WEINGAND: I was born in North Platte, Nebraska. VASQUEZ: What year? WEINGAND: In 1904. We moved to California in 1920. VASQUEZ: What occasioned your family to come to California? WEINGAND: My father [Claude Openlender] Weingand and mother [Augusta Tanyer Weingand] used to come out every winter for vacation. They fell in love with Southern California and decided one day that this is where they would like to live. Pop had a hotel in North Platte. He sold his hotel there and we moved to Los Angeles where he bought a hotel. VASQUEZ: What hotel was that, sir? 2 WEINGAND: It was called the De Soto [Hotel]. It was a little hotel downtown in those days. VASQUEZ: Where did you go to school? WEINGAND: Well I went to North Platte High School and then to [Los Angeles] Polytechnic High School and then to the University of California for my undergraduate years. VASQUEZ: At UCLA? WEINGAND: No, Berkeley. VASQUEZ: What did you study there? WEINGAND: Economics. VASQUEZ: When you were growing up, who in your family or around you had the most influence on you? That is, in terms of your social or political ideas. WEINGAND: Well, we were a German Lutheran family, and a pretty strict one. Not too strict but medium strict. My father, being a hotel man, was a little lax on his morals. The guest is always right! That reminds me of a little story. He had a hotel in North Platte called the McCabe [Hotel] which he and Dr. McCabe, a neighbor, had built. One day Pop called me and told me to room a man and I did. I came down furious and Pop said, "What's the matter, 3 Alvin?" I said, "That man I just roomed wanted me to get him a woman!" And Pop said, "Well, did you?" Being a hotel man that was number one, "Give the guest what he wants!" And we moved to Los Angeles in 1920. VASQUEZ: What do you remember about Los Angeles in 1920? You were still a pretty young man. WEINGAND: I was born in 1904 [and was] fifteen or sixteen, yes. VASQUEZ: What do you remember about Los Angeles then? WEINGAND: Well, to me it was a big city, being a country hick from North Platte. What do you mean? VASQUEZ: What was most impressive to you about Los Angeles other than the size? Was it the freedom? Was it the mixtures of people, the tempo of the city? WEINGAND: Well, I went to Polytechnic High School there. That was a downtown high school but apparently a very good one. VASQUEZ: What was the ethnic and racial composition of it at the time? Do you remember? WEINGAND: No. No, there were few if any blacks. We were a German Lutheran family, and my father was the president of the Californian Lutheran Hospital Society. They built that California Lutheran