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Nelson S. Dilworth

Republican

Picture of Nelson S. Dilworth
CA State Library
Date Party Office Votes Result
11-03-1936 Republican AD-76 14465 Win
11-08-1938 Republican AD-76 18755 Win
11-05-1940 Republican AD-76 28850 Win
11-03-1942 Republican AD-76 21586 Win
11-07-1944 Republican SD-37 23738 Win
11-02-1948 Republican SD-37 43595 Win
11-04-1952 Republican SD-37 59479 Win
11-06-1956 Republican SD-37 52697 Win
 

Candidate Biography:

Nelson Smith Dilworth, Sr.
Born: June 27, 1890 in East Palestine, Ohio
Married: Lillian Olive Whiteman (in 1924)
Children: Nelson S. Jr., James W., and George H.
Military Service: ARMY (WWI)
Died: June 21, 1965 in Hemet, CA

1911-1915: Publisher, Coachella Valley News
1915: Assistant Clerk, California State Assembly
1916-1924: Rural Letter Carrier, U.S. Post Office
1924-1936: Hemet Postmaster, U.S. Post Office
1942-1953: Member, Committee on Un-American Activities (California State Legislature)

  • Close Contest: In the 1936 Primary, Dilworth defeated Irwin Hayden by 44 votes. Dilworth won the General election by 375 votes.
  • LINK: The Nelson S. Dilworth Collection.
  • PUBLISHED: Author of Freedom.
  • LEGISLATION: Self-described "Designer" of AB4x1 (1940), which removed the Communist Party from the ballot in California. Author of AB 582 (1943) setting the minimum party registration for a qualified party as 1/10 of 1% of the votes cast in the most recent Gubernatorial election (in order to continue to keep the Communist Party off the ballot in California).
  • LEGISLATION: Author of SB 875 (Chapt 1610, Stats of 1955) which requires teachers who have been Communists since 1945 to register with their school districts.
  • LEGISLATION: Author of SB 1367 (1953) known as the "Dilworth Act" which allowed school boards to discharge Communist teachers.
  • LEGISLATION: Author of SB 512 (1949) which funded the construction of the UC Riverside campus, which resulted in Dilworth being known as the "Father of UC Riverside". Also the coauthor of SB 4 (1960x1) which created the San Bernardino-Riverside State College (now CSU San Bernardino) in 1960.
  • PLACENAME: Nelson S. Dilworth Elementary (Home of the Dragons) is located in San Jose. 
  • "The Honorable Nelson S. Dilworth was the soul of honor, the essence of patriotism, and the emblem of sincerity and righteousness in office..." Source: SCR 3 (1965x1)
  • QUOTABLE: "Liberty is never lost to a nation until it is lost in the souls of the men who compose that nation."
  • QUOTABLE: "It is often true that many things which, in the end, bring benefits and satisfaction are very difficult to get started in the beginning. So it is going to be hard to save America from those who are pushing us and taxing us downhill into a form of state socialism. And there is no time to lose."
  • QUOTABLE: "I feel safe in asserting that it is both obvious and apparent that we, today, are the beneficiaries of the courageous past achievements of our forefathers in political liberty and political institutions... In our hands rests all that is precious in America... We are, you see, the trustees of the future. It is your high privilege to preserve the best in America, to improve it, and pass it on to posterity, your children and mine. We can, in honor and integrity, do no less."
  • The above quotes can be found in "What is Our Constitution For?" an essay published by the State Senate as part of the Constitution of the State of California between 1949 and 1963.

Source: California Blue Book (1938), (1954)
Source: "What is Our Constitution For?" by Nelson S. Dilworth, Constitution of the State of California (1961)