Richard H. Lehman
| Richard H. Lehman | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 19th district |
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In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Robert J. Lagomarsino |
| Succeeded by | George Radanovich |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 18th district |
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In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Thomas |
| Succeeded by | Gary Condit |
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 31st district | |
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In office January 1, 1976 – December 31, 1982 |
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| Preceded by | Ernest N. Mobley |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Bronzan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Richard Henry Lehman July 20, 1948 Fresno, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Virginia Lehman |
| Religion | Lutheran |
Richard Henry "Rick" Lehman (born July 20, 1948) is a former member of the United States House of Representatives from California who served from 1983 to 1995; he was previously a member of the California State Assembly.
Lehman was born in Fresno, California. He grew up on his family's farm near Sanger and attended local public schools. He attended Fresno City College before transferring to the University of California at Santa Cruz from which he earned his degree. He was Student Body President at Fresno City College in 1968. In that year he served as Fresno County Co-Chairman of Robert F. Kennedy's California presidential campaign and he was an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In 1969 he joined the staff of California State Senator George Zenovich. In 1976, Lehman was elected to the State Assembly as a Democrat. He rose quickly through the ranks, becoming assistant majority leader by 1978. In 1983, he successfully ran for a seat in Congress, representing a newly created district in Fresno. He was reelected six times.
Lehman was known in Congress for his passionate commitments to important causes such as environmental protection, water policy, and consumer protection. He was able to strike delicate balances on many of these issues, a particularly important skill given the increasingly conservative nature of his Central Valley district. His notable successes include playing instrumental roles in passage of laws to protect the Kings and Tuolumne Rivers, the California Desert Protection Act, creation of the Mono Basin National Forest Scenic Area and expansions of wilderness areas in the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks.
He served on the Banking Finance and Urban Affairs Committee where he chaired the Consumer Affairs and Coinage sub-committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee where he chaired the Mining and Mineral Affairs subcommittee. He served 12 years on the water and Power subcommittee and received the distinguished service award from the National Water REsources Association in 1990. An avid outdoorsman, he frequented the Sierra back country and successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya in 1991.
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