Roger Dickinson was elected in November 2010, and reelected in November 2012, and represents the 7th Assembly District includes the Cities of Sacramento and West Sacramento. In his first term in the Assembly, Dickinson established himself as an effective lawmaker. In his first year, he achieved a 100% bill signing success rate – seven bills were approved by the legislature and all seven were signed into law. In the second year of his term, nine more bills were signed by the Governor. As a legislator, Dickinson has focused on issues related to environmental quality, education, health and human services for children and families, economic development, and consumer protection.
Assemblymember Dickinson serves as Chair of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee. He also serves on the Assembly Budget Committee, the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 on Health and Human Services, the Assembly Judiciary Committee, and the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee. Among other committees, he serves as Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development.
Prior to his election to the Assembly, Dickinson served on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors beginning in a special election in January 1994, and was subsequently re-elected to four four-year terms, serving through 2010.
As a member of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, Dickinson played key roles on issues such as health care, welfare reform, economic development, clean air, improved transportation, and smart growth. He was instrumental in the building of Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats; the transition of McClellan Air Force Base into a thriving economic center; the construction of a new primary health care center for Sacramento County; the conversion of the county vehicle fleet to clean fuels; the creation of Birth and Beyond, a home visitation program for at-risk families; the creation of the Dry Creek Parkway; and the turnaround of the Grant Joint Union School District; among other things.
Prior to his election to the Board of Supervisors, Dickinson participated in numerous community organizations. He spent 20 years as a member of the Regional Transit Board of Directors and was chairman of the board four times. He also served on the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Commission, the Sacramento County Air Pollution Control Advisory Board, and the North Sacramento Community Plan Citizens Advisory Committee. In addition, Dickinson served on the board and as President of the American Lung Association of Sacramento, and chaired the Sacramento Transportation Coalition. He is the former President of the Friends of Light Rail and board member of the Sacramento Tree Foundation.
Assemblymember Dickinson received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley where he lettered in varsity basketball and afterward earned a law degree at UCLA in 1976. He spent seven and a half years with the California Department of Consumer Affairs where he oversaw a statewide project to improve small claims court. In private practice, he helped to form the firm of Kemnitzer, Dickinson, Anderson & Barron emphasizing automobile warranty law and sales misrepresentation cases. He has litigated cases up to the California Supreme Court.
Dickinson lives with his wife, Marj, in the Woodlake neighborhood where they have owned a home for more than 30 years.
