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Carol Bentley Ellis
Carol Bentley (later Ellis), from a 1988 newspaper
Born
Carol Curtis

February 26, 1945
Riverside, California
DiedDecember 13, 2021
California
OccupationPolitician

Carol Bentley Ellis (born Carol Curtis; February 26, 1945 – December 13, 2021) was an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.[1]

Early life and education

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She was born Carol Curtis in Riverside, California, the daughter of Francis Curtis and Irene Ingberg Curtis. She had a twin sister, Joy. She studied marketing at San Diego State University, and graduated from SDSU in 1968.[2]

Career

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Bentley started her career as an aide to Republican state senator Jack Schrade. From 1978 to 1988 she served as chief of staff for state senator Jim Ellis (R-San Diego).[3]

In 1988 she was elected to the California State Assembly, succeeding Larry Sterling (R-El Cajon) who had been elected to succeed Ellis in the State Senate.[4]

In 1989 she entered the special election for the State Senate that Sterling had just won. He had been appointed to a municipal judgeship earlier that year.[5] Her opponent in that race was Democratic assemblywoman Lucy Killea, who drew national attention when she was denied communion by the Roman Catholic bishop of San Diego, for her pro-choice position on abortion;[6] the story drew national attention, and increased donations for Killea's winning campaign.[7][8][9]

Reelected in 1990, Bentley opted to leave the assembly two years later and instead make another run for the State Senate.[10]

She faced veteran assemblyman David G. Kelley in the 1992 Republican primary for the open (and redrawn) 37th district. The race became unexpectedly heated, with Kelley hitting her on ethics (In 1991, she proposed a bill that would directly benefit one of her contributors, Coleman College, by exempting them from state financial oversight),[11] and accused her of taking inappropriate expense reimbursements from the state.[12] But it was his attacks over her "ghost voting" (leaving her voting card behind while she was away from the Capitol and allowing other members to vote for her) that threw her campaign off balance.[13] Kelley prevailed with 52% of the vote.[14]

During her time in the legislature, she advocated for crime victims[2] and, after her final term in the assembly ended, she served as a member of the California Board of Prison Terms from 1993 to 2005.[15]

In later years, she sold real estate in Mission Beach.[1]

Personal life

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Curtis married David Bentley in 1967; they divorced in 1990.[15] She remarried in 1997, to former state senator Jim Ellis, whose chief of staff she had served as at the start of her political career. He died in 2017.[16] She died in 2021, at the age of 76.[16]

Electoral history

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Member, California State Assembly: 1989-1993
Year Office Democrat Votes Pct Republican Votes Pct
1988 California State Assembly
District 75 		Sam Hornreich 41,552 32.3% Carol Bentley 82,428 64.1%
1989 California State Senate
District 39 (special election) 		Lucy Killea 62,283 51% Carol Bentley 59,721 48.9%
1990 California State Assembly
District 75 		Tom Connolly 35,514 35% Carol Bentley 54,438 53.7%
1992 California State Senate
District 37 		James Rickard 101,872 37.7% Carol Bentley 48%
David G. Kelley 52% 		141,970 52.5%

References

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  1. ^ a b Pam Kragen (13 February 2022). "Obituary: East County legislator Carol Bentley Ellis remembered for dedication to community, crime victims". The San Diego Union-Tribune.
  2. ^ a b Tobin Vaughn (August 31, 2020). "NewsCenter | SDSU | Enhancing Opportunities". newscenter.sdsu.edu.
  3. ^ "Former Members | California Legislative Women's Caucus". womenscaucus.legislature.ca.gov.
  4. ^ "JoinCalifornia - 11-08-1988 Election".
  5. ^ "JoinCalifornia - Larry Stirling".
  6. ^ Horstman, Barry M. (1989-12-03). "Bishop's Intrusion into Senate Race Stirs Debate". The Los Angeles Times. p. 115. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Horstman, Barry M. (1989-11-22). "Bentley Facing a Changing Race Against Killea". The Los Angeles Times. p. 110. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Horstman, Barry M. (1989-11-30). "Bentley Tries to Refocus Campaign Against Killea". The Los Angeles Times. p. 119. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Weber, Jennifer (1989-11-28). "Abortion only one part of Killea-Bentley race". Times-Advocate. p. 9. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "El Cajon assembly woman enters race for state Senate nomination". The Desert Sun. 1991-12-21. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Framolino, Ralph (1991-03-24). "S. D. Legislators Draw Up Wish List for 1991 Session". The Los Angeles Times. p. 638. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Nunley, Shellee (1992-03-21). "Lawmakers clash over expense pay". The Desert Sun. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ {California Journal Vol. XXIII, No.7 (July 1992) "Complete Primary Results". StateNet Publications, July 1992}
  14. ^ Acuna, Armando (1988-06-09). "Complacency by McColl Played a Key Role in Her Downfall, Bentley Believes". The Los Angeles Times. p. 96. Retrieved 2022-12-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ a b "Carol Bentley". JoinCalifornia. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  16. ^ a b Gary Warth (April 13, 2017). "Former City Council member, state legislator Jim Ellis dies". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on September 4, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
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California Assembly
Preceded by Member of the California State Assembly
from the 75th district
December 4, 1988 - November 30, 1992 		Succeeded by
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