K.H. Achadjian
K.H. "Katcho" Achadjian was aRepublican member of theCalifornia State Assembly, representingDistrict 35 from 2010 to 2016. Achadjian passed away on March 5, 2020.[1]
Achadjian did not seek re-election to theCalifornia State Assembly in2016. Instead, Achadjian sought election to theU.S. House to representthe 24th Congressional District ofCalifornia in 2016. He was defeated in the primary election.[2]
Biography
Achadjian earned his degrees from Cuesta Community College and from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.His professional experience includes working as a business owner since 1978, supervisor for San Luis Obispo County from 1998 to 2010 and chair of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors in 2001 and 2006.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Achadjian served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| •Banking and Finance |
| •Governmental Organization |
| •Transportation, Vice chair |
| •Utilities and Commerce |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Achadjian served on the following committees:
| California committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| •Accountability and Administrative Review, Vice chair |
| •Banking and Finance |
| •Local Government, Chair |
| •Transportation |
| •Arts |
| •Fairs, Allocation, and Classification |
| •Legislative Audit |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Achadjian served on these committees:
| California committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| •Arts |
| •Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media |
| •Banking and Finance, Vice chair |
| •Higher Education |
| •Transportation |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpediarated this race as arace to watch. IncumbentLois Capps (D) did not seek re-election in 2016.Salud Carbajal (D) defeatedJustin Fareed (R) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Carbajal and Fareed defeatedBenjamin Lucas (D),William Ostrander (D),Helene Schneider (D),Katcho Achadjian (R),Matt Kokkonen (R),Steve Isakson (independent), andJohn Uebersax (independent) in thetop-two primary on June 7, 2016.[3][4][5]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Salud Carbajal | 53.4% | 166,034 | |
| Republican | Justin Fareed | 46.6% | 144,780 | |
| Total Votes | 310,814 | |||
| Source:California Secretary of State | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Salud Carbajal | 31.9% | 66,402 | |
| Republican | Justin Fareed | 20.5% | 42,521 | |
| Republican | Katcho Achadjian | 18.1% | 37,716 | |
| Democratic | Helene Schneider | 14.9% | 31,046 | |
| Democratic | William Ostrander | 6.1% | 12,657 | |
| Republican | Matt Kokkonen | 5.6% | 11,636 | |
| Independent | John Uebersax | 1.1% | 2,188 | |
| Independent | Steve Isakson | 1% | 2,172 | |
| Democratic | Bernjamin Lucas | 0.8% | 1,568 | |
| Total Votes | 207,906 | |||
| Source:California Secretary of State | ||||
Achadjian was a member of theNRCC's Young Guns Program in 2016. The Young Guns program "supports and mentors challenger and open-seat candidates in races across the country."[6]
2014
Elections for theCalifornia State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held onNovember 4, 2014. Thesignature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. IncumbentKatcho Achadjian (R) andHeidi Harmon (D) were unopposed in the blanket primary. Achadjian defeated Harmon in the general election.[7][8][9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Katcho AchadjianIncumbent | 62.7% | 77,452 | |
| Democratic | Heidi Harmon | 37.3% | 46,126 | |
| Total Votes | 123,578 | |||
2012
Achadjian won re-election in the2012 election forCalifornia State Assembly District 35. Due to redistricting following the 2010 census, he was displaced from District 33. He andGerald Manata (D) advanced past theblanket primary on June 5, 2012, unopposed. He was subsequently elected in the general election on November 6, 2012.[10][11]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | K.H. "Katcho" AchadjianIncumbent | 61.3% | 103,762 | |
| Democratic | Gerald "Gerry" Manata | 38.7% | 65,500 | |
| Total Votes | 169,262 | |||
2010
Achadjian defeatedMatt Kokkonen,Fred Strong andEtta Waterfield in the June 8 primary. He then defeated DemocratHilda Zacarias and LibertarianPaul K. Polson in the November 2 general election.[12][13]
| California State Assembly, District 33 General Election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| K.H. Achadjian (R) | 84,629 | |||
| Hilda Zacarias (D) | 54,817 | |||
| Paul K. Polson (L) | 7,051 | |||
| California House of Representatives, District 33 Republican Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| K.H. Achadjian (R) | 18,697 | |||
| Etta Waterfield (R) | 16,623 | |||
| Matt Kokkonen (R) | 14,072 | |||
| Fred Strong (R) | 1,637 | |||
Campaign themes
2016
The following issues were listed on Achadjian's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes,click here.
| “ |
| ” |
| —Katcho Achadjian's campaign website,http://katcho2016.com/ | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | California State Assembly, District 35 | Won | $404,678 | N/A** |
| 2012 | California State Assembly, District 35 | Won | $404,201 | N/A** |
| 2010 | California State Assembly, District 33 | Won | $471,428 | N/A** |
| Grand total | $1,280,307 | N/A** | ||
| Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). | ||||
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2016
In 2016, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 4 through August 31. The formal session ended on August 31, but constitutionally the session adjourned sine die on November 30.
- Legislators are scored by the American Council of Engineering Companies California on their votes on "issues important to the engineering and land surveying industry."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are ranked on "how they voted in accord with CMTA."
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the interests of seniors.
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on tax and fiscal legislation.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to drug regulation policies.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
- Legislators and 2016 general election candidates are scored based on their responses to a questionnaire asking about "their opinions on the importance of the 2nd Amendment."
- Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer related issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills that the coalition took a position on.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on issues "that determine a member’s adherence to conservative principles."
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2015, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from December 1, 2014, through September 12, 2015.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2014, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 6 to August 30.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2013, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from December 3, 2012, to September 13, 2013
|
2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2012, theCalifornia State Legislature was in session from January 4 to August 31.
|
Personal
Note: Pleasecontact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Achadjian passed away on March 5, 2020.[1] He and his wife, Araxie, had two children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the termK.H. + Achadjian + California + Legislature
See also
- California State Legislature
- California State Assembly
- California Assembly Committees
- California State Assembly District 35
External links
- Congressional campaign website
- Facebook page
- Twitter feed
- House website
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions viaFollow the Money
Footnotes
- ↑1.01.1Paso Robles Daily News, "Katcho Achadjian, former local state assemblyman, dies at 68," March 6, 2020
- ↑Roll Call, "Republican Launches Bid to Succeed Lois Capps in California," April 16, 2015
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices June 7, 2016, Presidential Primary Election," accessed April 4, 2016
- ↑The New York Times, "California Primary Results," June 7, 2016
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," June 7, 2016
- ↑NRCC, "32 Congressional Candidates Announced “On the Radar” as Part of NRCC’s Young Guns Program," November 19, 2015
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official primary candidate list," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official 2012 Primary election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official 2010 Primary election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑California Secretary of State, "Official 2010 General election results," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Das Williams (D) | California Assembly District 35 2012-2016 | Succeeded by Jordan Cunningham (R) |
| Preceded by Sam Blakeslee (R) | California State Assembly District 33 2010-2012 | Succeeded by Tim Donnelly (R) |
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