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Lou Papan

Democratic

Picture of Lou Papan
CA Blue Book 2000
Date Party Office Votes Result
11-07-1972 Democratic AD-27 66136 Win
11-05-1974 Democratic AD-19 46399 Win
11-02-1976 Democratic AD-19 58954 Win
11-07-1978 Democratic AD-19 46073 Win
11-04-1980 Democratic AD-19 45376 Win
11-02-1982 Democratic AD-19 56060 Win
11-06-1984 Democratic AD-19 67479 Win
11-04-1986 Democratic SD-08 79117 Loss
11-05-1996 Democratic AD-19 72464 Win
11-03-1998 Democratic AD-19 75980 Win
11-07-2000 Democratic AD-19 90675 Win
 

Candidate Biography:

Louis John Papan (Birthname: Elias Papandricoupolos)
Born: August 2, 1928 in Springfield, Massachusetts
Married: Irene Damis (m. 1958, d. 2000)
Children: John V., Diane and Virginia*
Military Service: ARMY (WWII), USAF (Korea)
Died: April 28, 2007 in Burlingame, CA

Previous: Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Previous: Member, Daly City Council
1974-1976: Speaker pro Tem, California State Assembly
1981: Founder, John's Closet; a non-profit that provides new clothes to needy children. The organization was named for Papan's son John who had died of a rare illness.
1990: Primary Candidate for SBOE-2 (Lost; 13.34%)
2006: Primary Candidate for SD-08 (Lost; 13.6%)

  • Legislative Altercation: In 1974, Papan fought with Assemblyman Kenneth A. Meade. Meade had to get 15 stitches to fix the resulting head wound. According to Papan's Oral History Project interview, the cause of the fight was caused by a misunderstanding over Papan's refusal to vote for a Meade bill in Committee.
  • Chaired Rules Committee for 10 years; longest tenure in California history. 
  • PLACENAME: The portion of Route 1 in San Mateo County from the interchange at Skyline Boulevard to the southern city limits of the City of Pacifica is officially named the "Louis J. Papan Highway". - Source: cahighways.org
  • PLACENAME: The Lou and Irene Papan Lupus Research Program is located at UC San Francisco. 
  • FAMILY: Gina has previously served as a Deputy California Attorney General, and was a primary candidate for AD-19 in 2002, losing with 34.4%. She has been a member of the Millbrae City Council (2005-Present) and is also currently the Deputy Director of the California Office of Criminal and Justice Planning. Papan was also a 2008 Primary Candidate for AD-19 (Lost; 34.2%) and a 2011 Special Election candidate for San Mateo County Supervisor (Lost; 25.8%). Diane is a member of the San Mateo City Council (2015-2022).
  • LEGISLATION: Author of AB 1331 (2000) which removed the name of former Senator Alan Robbins from a number of laws, funds, and entities following Robbins' conviction of tax evasion. The renamed things included; the Robbins-Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Areias-Robbins Credit Card Full Disclosure Act of 1986, the Areias-Robbins Retail Installment Account Full Disclosure Act of 1986, the Robbins-Vuich-Calderon Financial Institutions Act of 1986, the Robbins Courthouse Construction Fund, the Robbins-Nielsen County Revenue Stabilization Act of 1987, the Statham-Robbins Courthouse Construction Fund, the Robbins-Seastrand Health Insurance Guaranty Association, the Rosenthal-Robbins Auto Insurance Nondiscrimination Law, the Robbins-McAlister Financial Responsibility Act, and the Robbins Rape Evidence Law.
  • Following the death of his son John in 1981 of a rare congenital illness (now called "Papan's syndrome"), Papan helped start two non-profits; the John Papan Memorial Scholarship Fund and John's Closet (which provides clothing to needy children). There is also a street named John Papan Court in Daly City, CA.

Source: California Blue Book (1975), (2000)