Bill Maze is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician from California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 and a member of the Republican Party

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

. Maze is the president of Citizens for Saving California Farming Industries, a non-profit dedicated to dividing California into two states.

Background

A US Army veteran, he graduated from California Polytechnic College

California Polytechnic State University

California Polytechnic State University, or Cal Poly, is a public university located in San Luis Obispo, California, United States. The university is one of two polytechnic campuses in the 23-member California State University system....

 in San Luis Obispo in 1968.

Early career

Maze is a former Chairman and member of the Economic Development Corporation and Business Incentive Zone Council. He has also served as Director of California State Association of Counties

California State Association of Counties

The California State Association of Counties is a lobbying, advocacy and service organization representing the state's 58 counties at the state and federal level...

, and has headed the Visalia Chamber of Commerce, Pro Youth Visalia, Inc., and the Boys & Girls Club. Maze is a past member of the Central California Resource Advisory Council for the Federal Bureau of Land Management, CA Farm Bureau and Woodlake Rotary Club.

Maze was a member and chairman of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, where he served for decade before being elected to the legislature in 2002.

Assembly races

In 1998 Maze lost the Republican primary for the California State Assembly

California State Assembly

The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...

 against then Fresno mayor pro tem Mike Briggs

Mike Briggs

Mike E. Briggs is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party...

. He lost the general election as well, where Maze collected about 8000 write-in votes.

In 2002, then 34th district incumbent Republican Phil Wyman

Phil Wyman

Phillip D. "Phil" Wyman is an American politician from California and a member of the Republican Party.-Assembly Races:...

 decided to seek reelection in the neighboring 36th district instead, leaving Maze as the sole GOP candidate in the heavily Republican district. Maze won election to the 34th district, which covers Tulare County

Tulare County, California

Tulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...

, Inyo County

Inyo County, California

-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...

, Kern County

Kern County, California

Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...

, and San Bernardino County

San Bernardino County, California

San Bernardino County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 2,035,210, up from 1,709,434 as of the 2000 census...

 and won easy reelection in 2004 and 2006.

Assembly career

As an Assemblyman Maze served on the Assembly Budget Committee and the Health Committees, served as Vice Chair of the Agriculture Committee, the Committee on Water, Parks, and Wildlife, and the Business and Professions Committee. The Assembly Speaker also appointed Maze to numerous Select Committees, including the Select Committee on Foster Care, where he served as Vice Chair.

California State Term Limits prevented Maze from seeking reelection in 2008. His wife Rebecca tried to succeed him, but she lost in the Republican primary.

External links

• JoinCalifornia, Election History for the State of California