2003 Ralph B. Atkinson Award Winner

The Atkinson Award is named for the distinguished civil rights advocate Ralph B. Atkinson. The award is presented each year by the Monterey County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union to a local advocate for civil liberties. We are pleased to announce the 2003 recipient is Congressman San Farr.

Congressman Farr's public statements on the USA PATRIOT Act and his outstanding record on such issues as equality; a woman's right to choose; civil rights for lesbian, gay, and transgender individuals; immigration; labor; voters' rights; hate crimes; and the death penalty, among others, define him as an outstanding advocate of civil liberties at a time of imminent threat to a broad range of constitutional rights and freedoms.

Sam Farr began his career in public service in 1964 with a two-year commitment in the Peace Corps in Colombia, South America. He graduated from Wilamette University in Salem, Oregon, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1963 and attended the Monterey Institute of International Studies and Santa Clara University. He is fluent in Spanish.

Before becoming our area's congressman in 1993, Sam represented the Monterey Peninsula and Big Sur on the County Board of Supervisors from 1975 to 1981. He then distinguished himself with over 12 years in the California Assembly, where he was recognized as a leader in legislative efforts for educational excellence, environmental protection, and economic development, and was named "Legislator of the Year" nine times. In the House of Representatives, Congressman Farr has stood up readily for civil rights and early established himself as a leader by chairing California's Democratic Congressional Delegation, the largest and most ethnically diverse congressional delegation in the country.

We are privileged to have Sam Farr take his place amongst the list of local civil rights advocates who have honored us by accepting the Ralph B. Atkinson Award for Civil Liberties.