16 Facts About Kevin Shelley

Kevin Francis Shelley was born on November 16,1955 and is an American politician, who was the 28th California Secretary of State from January 6,2003, until his resignation on March 4,2005.

Kevin Shelley obtained his JD from University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Kevin Shelley joined the staff of Congressman Phillip Burton and continued in his position when Sala Burton assumed her husband's seat after his death.

In 1990, Kevin Shelley was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

Kevin Shelley wrote clinic protection ordinances and sunshine laws to make government more accountable.

Kevin Shelley authored the Marine Life Protection Act that protects coastal ecosystems, the California Nursing Home Reform Act to protect the elderly, and the Healthy Schools Act to protect children from pesticides.

Kevin Shelley created a voting reform package that includes a Voters' Bill of Rights and allows each voter to permanently vote by mail.

Term limits prevented Kevin Shelley from seeking a fourth term as an Assemblyman in 2002, so he sought election as California's Secretary of State, the state's chief elections official.

Six months after taking office, Kevin Shelley had to certify that there were enough signatures on these petitions to mandate the 2003 gubernatorial recall election, the first such election in state history.

Kevin Shelley was generally credited with good work on his handling of the 2003 recall election and on his handling of the controversy over the verifiability of electronic voting machines.

Kevin Shelley was the first state election official to decertify DRE voting machine systems already in use, to require all DRE voting machine systems to contain an accessible paper copy of a person's vote, and to adopt standards and security measures for such systems.

Kevin Shelley initiated an investigation into electronic voting machine manufacturer Diebold Election Systems, and at the conclusion of the investigation, requested that then-State Attorney General Bill Lockyer investigate Diebold for criminal fraud.

Kevin Shelley maintained that he did not know that the funds were illicitly transferred to his campaign treasury.

On October 29,2004, Kevin Shelley replaced three of his top aides, including the assistant state secretary of communications, with veteran civil servants, in an effort to bring more accountability to his office.

Kevin Shelley announced his resignation on February 4,2005, effective March 1, although he did not leave office until three days later, on March 4.

California State Bar records indicate Kevin Shelley resumed practicing law in April 2005.