Bruce McPherson

Who is Bruce McPherson?

Bruce A. McPherson is a California politician who was the 30th California Secretary of State, sworn in March 30, 2005. He was nominated to replace former Secretary of State Kevin Shelley, who resigned on March 4. McPherson, a Republican from Santa Cruz County, served his term as Secretary until January 8, 2007. He was confirmed unanimously by both Democratic-controlled houses of the California State Legislature after being nominated to replace Shelley, a Democrat, by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He lost his bid for a full term to Democrat Debra Bowen in November 2006.

Previously, McPherson was a State Assemblyman from 1993 to 1996 and a State Senator from 1996 to 2004, when he retired due to term limits. McPherson was defeated in the 2002 election for Lieutenant Governor of California by incumbent Cruz Bustamante. Prior to his political career, he worked as the editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, a newspaper owned by his family. He and his wife have a daughter, Tori Kistler. Their son, Hunter, was murdered in a 2001 San Francisco street robbery.

McPherson left the Republican Party in June 2012 to register as "no party preference".

In November 2012, McPherson was elected to the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.