Attorney General Appoints Sheridan Downey III to California Fair Political Practices Commission

(SACRAMENTO) – Attorney General Bill Lockyer today announced the appointment of Sheridan Downey III, of Oakland, to the five-member California Fair Political Practices Commission.

Downey, who has deep civic roots in the West, has been a lawyer in private practice for more than 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in bankruptcy law. He also has been a law professor at the University of Santa Clara School of Law. Downey is the grandson of former US Senator Sheridan Downey, who was the running mate of unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Upton Sinclair in 1934, and the great grandson of a Wyoming congressman.

"I'm pleased to appoint Sheridan to the FPPC," Lockyer said. "He is a well-respected business lawyer and very committed to public service."

Downey received a bachelor of arts degree from Stanford University and law degree from the University of California Berkeley School of Law, where he also was a member of the Boalt Law Review.

Downey, a Democrat, will begin serving on the FPPC in February, replacing Commissioner Kathleen Richter Makel, whose term expires this month. The FPPC was created in 1974 as a non-partisan, independent body to administer and enforce the Political Reform Act. Members do not receive a salary and do not require Senate confirmation.