PROFILES
Ken Hechler - Democrat
A resident of Huntington, West Virginia, for the past 40 years, Ken Hechler was born at Roslyn, Long Island. He has had five different careers:
- Graduating from Swarthmore College and with a Columbia University Ph.D., he has taught political science at Columbia, Barnard, Princeton and Marshall universities.
- His military career included four years in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, and after hostilities ended he interrogated Hermann Goering, Admiral Doenitz and scores of Nazi field commanders prior to their trial at Nuremberg.
- His writing career includes six books, including Working With Truman and the war book, The Bridge at Remagen, which sold 600,000 copies and was made into a full-length motion picture.
- From 1949 to 1953, he served as a Special Assistant in the Truman White House, where he was a speech-writer and research director and traveled with President Truman on his campaign trips and visits to Key West.
- He served 18 years as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, specializing in coal mine health and safety and championing many environmental issues against the opposition of exploiters.
He was first elected Secretary of State of West Virginia in 1984, and re-elected every four years since that date, concentrating on election reform of financing campaigns, and challenging the under-taxation of natural resources like coal, timber, oil and natural gas.
Steven Kuykendall - Republican
Steven T. Kuykendall served in the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2001 representing California's 36th Congressional District. Congressman Kuykendall served on the Armed Services, the Science and the Transportation and Infrastructure Committees of the House.
In his first year in Congress, Congressman Kuykendall helped craft a plan to pay down the national debt while still providing a tax cut and protecting Social Security. He secured funds to clean up Santa Monica Bay, replace the Ballona Wetlands tidal gate and dredge the Marina del Rey south entrance. Congressman Kuykendall also helped pass a defense authorization bill that directly benefits South Bay companies and saves aerospace jobs - and secured $1 million to help ease traffic congestion around LAX.
Before his election to Congress, Mr. Kuykendall served two terms in the California State Assembly, from 1994 to 1998. During his first term in the state legislature, he served as Republican Whip. He also served on the Banking and Finance, Labor and Employment, Higher Education, and Utilities and Commerce Committees. Mr. Kuykendall demanded a full accounting of legislative spending and oversaw the Assembly's first "clean" fiscal audit in ten years. In addition, he co-authored California's "Megan's Law" and wrote the "Tyler Jaeger Act" to protect children from abuse and child molesters.
Mr. Kuykendall began his public service as councilman and mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes. He has also served as president and trustee of the Peninsula Education Foundation, regional commissioner for AYSO Youth Soccer, chairman of the Palos Verdes Regional Law Enforcement Committee and vice-chairman of the Los Angeles County Emergency Preparedness Commission.
Commissioned as a Marine Corps Second Lieutenant in 1968, Mr. Kuykendall served two tours of duty in Vietnam, participating in the effort to stop the North Vietnamese Easter Offensive in 1972. He rose to the rank of Captain and retired in 1973 after a permanent shoulder injury.
In 1973, Mr. Kuykendall became a businessman working in the commercial and mortgage banking field until 1994. During that time, he founded and served as president of Lockheed Mortgage Corporation, a subsidiary of Lockheed Corporation. He was also a principal with David Buxton Financial Corporation from 1984-1994. Since leaving Congress, he is engaged in local, state and federal government relations as president of Steven T. Kuykendall & Associates.
Congressman Kuykendall holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Oklahoma City University and a Masters of Business Administration from San Diego State University. He is a member of Veterans of Foreign War, American Legion, Navy League, and First Marine Division Association. He and his wife, Jan, moved to Rancho Palos Verdes in 1976, where they have raised their 3 children - Kerry, a pilot in the U.S. Navy; Brent, a school teacher in the South Bay; and Craig, a junior in college.
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