Frank Riggs | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Riggs in 2018 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Daniel Hamburg |
| Succeeded by | Mike Thompson |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Douglas Bosco |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Hamburg |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Frank Duncan Riggs (1950-09-05)September 5, 1950 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 2023(2023-12-20) (aged 73) Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Golden Gate University (BA) |
Frank Duncan Riggs (September 5, 1950 – December 20, 2023) was an American U.S. army veteran, law enforcement officer, charter school executive, and Republican politician from the states ofCalifornia andArizona. He served three terms in theU.S. House of Representatives during the 1990s.
Frank Riggs was born inLouisville, Kentucky, on September 5, 1950.[1] He served in theUnited States Army from 1972 to 1975.[2]
An Army veteran, having served as a Military Police officer, Riggs worked as a police officer and deputy sheriff inSanta Barbara, California, andSonoma County, respectively. He was a member of theWindsor Unified School District Board of Trustees from 1984 to 1988 and was a real estate executive and owner of his own development company for over 20 years.[2]
In 1999, Riggs joined the board of the Charter Schools Development Corporation, and served with CSDC until 2012. During his service, CSDC went from being a start-up nonprofit to a national leader in financing and developing educational facilities forcharter schools, reaching $125 million in assets, and procuring and leveraging private capital for facility acquisitions and improvements worth $680 million; representing over four million square feet of facilities for 235 charter schools in 25 states.
In 2001, he moved to Arizona.[3] He served as CEO of ABS School Services of Phoenix, which provides financial accounting and business management services to approximately 200 school district charter, private, and federal grant schools. Riggs was also the founding board president for Arizona Connections Academy, a statewide on-line charter school. He resided inScottsdale, Arizona for 14 years.
Riggs was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives as a Republican in 1990 from California's 1st District, narrowly defeating four-termDemocratDoug Bosco. He represented the area stretching fromNapa County to the northern Pacific coast. He served in the 102nd, 104th, and 105th Congresses. During his service, he was on theHouse Appropriations Committee (including the Agriculture and the Energy and Water Development Subcommittees), the House Transportation and Public Works Committee, and the House Banking and Financial Affairs Committee.
Riggs also served on the House Education and Workforce Committee and chaired the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families in the 105th Congress. In that capacity, he authored the Charter School Expansion Act (signed into law by P↑residentBill Clinton in October, 1998) which provides federal start-up grants to newly formed charter schools to help defray their initial operating expenses.[4]Most Arizona charter schools have received federal start-up grants as a result of Riggs's legislation.
Riggs voted against theGulf War resolution and, as a member of theGang of Seven, a group of freshman Republican congressmen, favored identifying publicly the congressmen who made overdrafts at theHouse Bank. He was defeated in 1992 by DemocratDan Hamburg but won a rematch in 1994.
In 1996, he won re-election over DemocratMichela Alioto-Pier by about four percentage points.[5]
In 1998, Riggs faced a potentially competitive contest against State SenatorMike Thompson, who was due to betermed out of his seat. Thompson's state senate district was virtually coextensive with the congressional district. Riggs decided not to run for re-election. Instead, he ran for the Republican nomination for theUnited States Senate. A late entrant, he dropped out of the race before Election Day but still finished in fifth place (the fourth place Republican) in the state's open primary system. The nomination was won by State TreasurerMatt Fong, who went on to lose the general election toBarbara Boxer, seeking her second term in the Senate. Meanwhile, Thompson easily won the congressional race.
In2005, he explored a run for governor, as most Arizona Republicans were deciding not to challenge popular GovernorJanet Napolitano for reelection the following year. However, he discovered that he had to be a five-year resident of Arizona in order to run for governor.[6]
In2014, he unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination forGovernor of Arizona, finishing last in the Republican primary with less than five percent of the vote.[3][7]
In2016, Riggs created an exploratory candidacy for theArizona Corporation Commission,[8] but ultimately did not run for the position.
In the2018 Arizona Republican primary election, Riggs ran for state Superintendent of Public Instruction against college professor Dr. Bob Branch, incumbentDiane Douglas, former Basis Charter Schools Director of Charter School Development Jonathan Gelbart, and former public school teacher Tracy Livingston.[9] A week after the election in which Riggs traded the lead with Dr. Branch several times, Riggs came out ahead by only 249 votes. However, he lost the race to DemocratKathy Hoffman in the November 6, 2018, general election.[10]
Riggs died in Arizona on December 20, 2023, at the age of 73.[11]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank Riggs | 99,782 | 43.3 | |||
| Democratic | Douglas H. Bosco (Incumbent) | 96,468 | 41.9 | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Darlene G. Comingore | 34,011 | 14.8 | |||
| Total votes | 230,261 | 100.0 | ||||
| Turnout | ||||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dan Hamburg | 119,676 | 47.6 | |||
| Republican | Frank Riggs (Incumbent) | 113,266 | 45.1 | |||
| Peace and Freedom | Phil Baldwin | 10,764 | 4.3 | |||
| Libertarian | Matthew L. Howard | 7,500 | 3.0 | |||
| Total votes | 251,206 | 100.0 | ||||
| Turnout | ||||||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank Riggs | 106,870 | 53.3 | |||
| Democratic | Dan Hamburg (Incumbent) | 93,717 | 46.7 | |||
| No party | Chase (write-in) | 86 | 0.0 | |||
| Total votes | 200,673 | 100.0 | ||||
| Turnout | ||||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Frank Riggs (Incumbent) | 110,242 | 49.7 | |
| Democratic | Michela Alioto | 96,522 | 43.4 | |
| Libertarian | Emil Rossi | 15,354 | 6.9 | |
| Total votes | 222,118 | 100.0 | ||
| Turnout | ||||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Matt Fong | 1,292,662 | 45.28% | |
| Republican | Darrell Issa | 1,142,567 | 40.02% | |
| Republican | Frank Riggs | 295,886 | 10.36% | |
| Republican | John M. Brown | 48,941 | 1.71% | |
| Republican | Mark Raus | 45,480 | 1.59% | |
| Republican | Linh Dao | 29,241 | 1.02% | |
| Total votes | 2,854,777 | 100.00% | ||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 1st congressional district 1991–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 1st congressional district 1995–1999 | Succeeded by |
