William R. Leonard (born October 29, 1947) is a Republican U.S. politician who served as a member of the California State Board of Equalization from 2002 until his resignation in March 2010.

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Quick Facts California State Board of Equalization Board Member, 2nd District, Governor ...

Bill Leonard
California State Board of Equalization Board Member, 2nd District
In office January 6, 2003 – March 10, 2010
Governor	Gray Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger
Preceded by	Dean Andal
Succeeded by	Barbara Alby
Member of the California Senate
In office December 7, 1992 – November 30, 1996
Preceded by	Frank Hill
Succeeded by	Jim Brulte
Constituency	31st district
In office December 5, 1988 – November 30, 1992
Preceded by	H. L. Richardson
Succeeded by	Teresa Patterson Hughes
Constituency	25th district
Minority Leader of the California Assembly
In office June 17, 1997 – November 5, 1998
Preceded by	Curt Pringle
Succeeded by	Rod Pacheco
Member of the California State Assembly
In office December 2, 1996 – November 30, 2002
Preceded by	Jim Brulte
Succeeded by	Robert Dutton
Constituency	63rd
In office December 6, 1982 – November 30, 1988
Preceded by	Dick Mountjoy
Succeeded by	Paul A. Woodruff
Constituency	61st district
In office December 4, 1978 – November 30, 1982
Preceded by	Jerry Lewis
Succeeded by	John Lewis
Constituency	67th district
Personal details
Born	(1947-10-29) October 29, 1947 (age 76) San Bernardino, California, US
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Sherry Boldizsar
Children	3
Education	University of California, Irvine

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After earning his B.A. in history from the University of California, Irvine, Leonard worked in real estate and property management.

Leonard served on the Board of Directors of the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District before being elected to the California State Assembly in 1978 on the coattails of Proposition 13.

In 1988, after serving five terms in the Assembly, he was elected to the California State Senate, representing an 11,000-square-mile (28,000 km²) district. During his time in the Senate, Leonard was the longest-serving Republican Caucus Chairman, holding the post from 1990 until term limits forced him to leave the Senate in 1996.

During his time in the Senate, Leonard wrote California's Leonard Law, the only law in the United States to extend First Amendment rights to students at private colleges and universities.

In 1996, by a margin of 63%–37%, voters returned Leonard to the Assembly, where he served as Republican Leader from 1997 to 1998. He was re-elected in 1998 with 72% of the vote and in 2000 with 58% of the vote in a three-way race.

After term limits forced Leonard to leave the Assembly in 2002, he won election to represent the Second District on the five-member State Board of Equalization with 59% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2006 with 55.8% of the vote.

Leonard resigned from the State Board of Equalization in March 2010 in order to join Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration.^[1]