Robert G. Beverly


Robert Graham "Bob" Beverly was an American attorney and politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.

Early life

Robert Graham Beverly was born July 1, 1925, in Belmont, Massachusetts, as an only child to William Beverly and the former Helen Graham. His father, who was in the insurance business, died when Beverly was a teenager.
Beverly met his future wife in high school. He followed her to Los Angeles, and they were married in 1946. After serving in the Marine Corps, mainly on the East Coast, Beverly attended UCLA, then earned a law degree at Loyola Marymount University in the early 1950s. He then moved to Manhattan Beach and started practicing law.

Political career

In 1958, Beverly launched his political career, winning a seat on the Manhattan Beach City Council. He served for nine years, including three terms as mayor.
In 1967, Beverly won a special election to the California State Assembly. The 46th district was vacant due to the death of veteran incumbent Charles Edward Chapel. He was reelected four more times with relative ease, serving as minority leader from 1973 until 1976.
He left the assembly in 1976 to challenge state senator James Wedworth in a district that had been redrawn due to reapportionment. Beverly won easily, defeating the incumbent by more than 23 points. He then had little trouble holding the seat until 1992, when he won a surprisingly close race against an unknown, underfunded Democrat in a district that had been redrawn after the 1991 reapportionment.
He retired from elective office in 1996, though he did serve briefly on the state Lottery Commission from 1997 to 1998.

Death

On October 14, 2009, Beverly died of complications from Parkinson's disease in Manhattan Beach, California.

Electoral history

YearOfficeDemocratVotesPctRepublicanVotesPct
1967California State Assembly
District 46		J. O. "Lee" Solomon7,54524.4%Robert Beverly23,33475.6%
1968California State Assembly
District 46		James Roberts26,72923.9%Robert Beverly82,38273.8%
1970California State Assembly
District 46		Steve Nordeck29,84229.1%Robert Beverly70,40468.7%
1972California State Assembly
District 46		Jack Halloway34,54925.8%Robert Beverly93,24669.7%
1974California State Assembly
District 51		Betty Brennan28,14234.6%Robert Beverly53,18564.5%
1976California State Senate
District 27		James Wedworth70,45738.7%Robert Beverly111,58861.3%
1980California State Senate
District 27		Dave Buckland38,87921.1%Robert Beverly132,25371.7%
1984California State Senate
District 29		Suzanne Distaso67,72926.6%Robert Beverly177,27269.7%
1988California State Senate
District 29		Jack Hachmeister75,34529.3%Robert Beverly178,13167.4%
1992California State Senate
District 27		Brian Finander123,95645.4%Robert Beverly129,01047.3%