2002 California State Board of Equalization elections

2002 California State Board of Equalization elections

←  1998 November 5, 2002 (2002-11-05) 2006  →
All 4 seats on the California State Board of Equalization
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 2 2 Seats before 2 2 Seats won 2 2 Seat change Popular vote 3,457,322 3,156,420 Percentage 50.2% 45.9%

The 2002 California State Board of Equalization elections took place on November 5, 2002, to elect all four seats of the State Board of Equalization, with the primary election taking place on March 5, 2002. ^{[1] [2]}

Overview

California State Board of Equalization general election, 2002

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	Before	After	+/–	%
	Democratic Party	4	3,457,322	50.2%	2	2		50.0%
	Republican Party	4	3,156,420	45.9%	2	2		50.0%
	Libertarian Party	3	267,351	3.9%	0	0		0.0%
Total		11	6,881,093	100.0%	4	4		100.0%

Popular vote

Democratic			50.2%
Republican			45.9%
Libertarian			3.9%

Board of Equalization seats

Democratic			50.0%
Republican			50.0%

Board of Equalization District	Incumbent	Party		Elected officeholder	Party
1st	Johan Klehs		Democratic	Carole Migden		Democratic
2nd	Dean Andal		Republican	Bill Leonard		Republican
3rd	Claude Parrish		Republican	Claude Parrish		Republican
4th	John Chiang		Democratic	John Chiang		Democratic

District 1

The incumbent was Democrat Johan Klehs, who was elected in 1994 and 1998. He was ineligible for reelection.

Primary election

Results

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 1 Democratic primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carole Migden	604,270	100.0
Total votes			604,270	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			158,181	20.7

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 1 Republican primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark S. Bendick	211,448	56.2
	Republican	Max Woods	165,401	43.8
Total votes			376,849	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			136,046	26.5

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 1 Libertarian primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Elizabeth C. Brierly	6,304	100.0
Total votes			6,304	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			40,107	88.7

General election

Candidates

• Mark S. Bendick (R), business tax manager ^[3]
• Carole Migden (D), member of the California State Assembly (1996-2002) ^[3]
• Elizabeth C. Brierly (L), business analyst ^[3]

Results

California's 1st Board of Equalization district, 2002 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Carole Migden	1,205,726	60.7
	Republican	Mark S. Bendick	667,536	33.6
	Libertarian	Elizabeth C. Brierly	114,962	5.7
Total votes			1,988,224	100.0
	Democratic hold

District 2

The incumbent was Republican Dean Andal, who was elected in 1994 and 1998. He was ineligible for reelection.

Primary election

Results

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 2 Democratic primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Y. Santos	238,467	54.7
	Democratic	Norman R. Angelo	197,959	45.3
Total votes			436,426	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			197,959	24.6

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 2 Republican primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Leonard	370,839	60.0
	Republican	Edward J. "Ted" Costa	247,260	40.0
Total votes			618,099	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			138,904	18.3

General election

Candidates

• Bill Leonard (R), member of the California State Assembly (1978-1988, 1996-2002) and a member of the California State Senate (1996-2002) ^[3]
• Tom Y. Santos (D), tax consultant/realtor ^[3]

Results

California's 2nd Board of Equalization district, 2002 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Leonard	1,057,953	58.7
	Democratic	Tom Y. Santos	746,019	41.3
Total votes			1,803,972	100.0
	Republican hold

District 3

The incumbent was Republican Claude Parrish, who was elected in 1998 with 53.1% of the vote. He was running for reelection.

Primary election

Results

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 3 Democratic primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mary Christian-Heising	309,587	100.0
Total votes			309,587	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			94,354	23.4

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 3 Republican primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Claude Parrish (incumbent)	363,442	64.0
	Republican	Steve Petruzzo	161,355	28.4
	Republican	Emad Bakeer	43,343	7.6
Total votes			568,140	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			91,564	13.9

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 3 Libertarian primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	J.R. Graham	5,577	100.0
Total votes			5,577	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			1,041	15.7

General election

Candidates

• Mary Christian-Heising (D), businesswoman/educator/journalist ^[3]
• J.R. Graham (L), author/security officer ^[3]
• Claude Parrish (R), incumbent member of the Board of Equalization ^[3]

Results

California's 3rd Board of Equalization district, 2002 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Claude Parrish (incumbent)	1,020,619	59.1
	Democratic	Mary Christian-Heising	642,208	37.1
	Libertarian	J.R. Graham	66,955	3.8
Total votes			1,729,782	100.0
	Republican hold

District 4

The incumbent was Democrat John Chiang, who was elected in 1998 for 60.2% of the vote. He was running for reelection.

Primary election

Results

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 4 Democratic primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Chiang (incumbent)	387,460	100.0
Total votes			387,460	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			158,376	29.0

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 4 Republican primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Glen Forsch	217,306	100.0
Total votes			217,306	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			103,662	32.3

2002 California State Board of Equalization District 4 Libertarian primary ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Kenneth A. Weissman	2,726	100.0
Total votes			2,726	100.0
Invalid or blank votes			1,526	35.9

General election

Candidates

• John Chiang (D), incumbent member of the Board of Equalization ^[3]
• Glen Forsch (R), businessman ^[3]
• Kenneth A. Weissman (L), attorney ^[3]

Results

California's 4th Board of Equalization district, 2002 ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Chiang (incumbent)	863,369	63.6
	Republican	Glen Forsch	410,312	30.2
	Libertarian	Kenneth A. Weissman	85,434	6.2
Total votes			1,359,115	100.0
	Democratic hold

References

1. "March 5, 2002, Primary Election - Board of Equalization" (PDF). Secretary of State of California . Retrieved January 7, 2026.
2. "November 5, 2002, General Election - Board of Equalization" (PDF). Secretary of State of California . Retrieved January 7, 2026.
3. "2002 Primary Election Certified List of Candidates". Secretary of State of California . Retrieved January 7, 2025.