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(Em) STATE SENATOR NICK C. PETRIS OF
DSA VICE-PRESIDENT
The Hon. Nick Petris obtained a B.A. degree in Journalism
at the
He was a classmate and friend of Mr. Warren Christopher
the former
Mr. Petris, a Democrat, served in the California
Legislature for 38 consecutive years and as a highly popular and productive
politician, never lost an election. During the first eight years he served in
the California Assembly and the subsequent thirty years in the California
Senate. His popularity among minority groups, especially the African Americans
in Oakland, and within the State of California at large, was legendary. Nick
Petris was privileged to serve in some of the important Committees in the
a) The Senate Finance Committee, which
includes the
b) The prestigious Rules Committee, which includes 5
Senators elected by the Senate membership.
c) The Elections Committee, which includes the
reapportionment of Electoral Districts.
Senator Petris was a strong and
tenacious advocate for adequate funding of the huge University of California (with
10 Campuses today and 195,000 students) during his years in the Senate.
Following his retirement, a special Health Care Research Center, bearing his
name, was established at UC, Berkeley in June 23, 1999. (See relevant article
in this Website). During a moving Dedication Ceremony of the Nicholas C. Petris
Research Center, at UC, Berkeley, Mr. Bill Lockyer the California Attorney
General, (who had brought with him a check for $2 million for the new Center),
described the remarkable legislative accomplishments of Senator Petris as
follows:
“Several hundreds of bills were introduced by Senator
Petris and it is impossible to adequately review his enormous work and
contributions on behalf of the citizens of
Senator Petris never forgot the
birthplace of his parents and is indeed very proud of his Hellenic origins and
proud of the
His popularity within the
An articulate and vibrant speaker he generated excitement
and enthusiasm to any audience he addressed. He has been a supporter for
special assistance to minority
Groups and to women for upward mobility. When he spoke at
the Children’s Hospital in Oakland about Children’s issues, and the magnificent
sound of the laugh of children, the audience responded with standing ovations.
When Senator Petris addressed a special Premedical Class at the
Nick Petris is well known in
the Republic Greece as well, with a lot of friends and admirers among the
political elite, and in cooperation with others at UC,
He strongly supports our Proposal for solving the
Demographic Problem of
CONCLUSION: (Em) Senator Nick C. Petris has had a
brilliant political career serving the people of
Finally, his generous contributions and guidance to our
Think-Tank have been invaluable. We are proud to have (Em) Senator Nick C.
Petris of Oakland California, with us.