Name John McCarthy | ||
A drive through the richmond san rafael bridge westbound john f mccarthy memorial bridge
John F. "Jack" McCarthy (February 18, 1924-February 1981) was a Republican member of the California Senate. Before he was in California's legislature, he was a merchant marine during the Second World War. He entered office in 1950 as a nonpartisan senator before turning Republican in 1952. He was declared Minority Leader and served from 1967 until his retirement in 1971. During his tenure, he created and passed a bill for the formation of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in 1957. He was a strong advocate of free speech, and believed that a university is like a fourth branch of government. A lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, McCarthy represented State Senate District 13, and in his last term, District 3. He was born in San Francisco and died in the suburb of Tiburon. He had 7 children.
The Richmond-San Rafael Bridge was named in his honor.