Chuck DeVore Is No RINO; Long History Of Being A Conservative

In case there are doubts about Chuck DeVore's conservative credentials, the Sacramento Bee says he has a long conservative track record.

When DeVore was a child, his mother was a GOP activist who campaigned for Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential campaign. She raised him to be patriotic, quipping, "I dressed him in red, white and blue probably too often when he was a little kid."

DeVore's tilt to the right was evident by his college days. President of the College Republican Club at California State University, Fullerton, DeVore remembers giving a speech at 19 about how the solidarity trade union movement in Poland was likely to spur the Soviet Union's downfall.

Assemblyman Anthony Adams, R-Hesperia, characterized DeVore as well-respected by colleagues, erudite, principled – but no backslapper.

"He's the kind of guy that you'd want to have a policy discussion with, but he's probably not the kind of guy that you're going to invite out for a beer," Adams said.

DeVore tends to be loved or hated: He got sky-high marks on legislative report cards of the California Chamber of Commerce, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and California Republican Assembly, but he received flunking grades from Environment California and Equality California, representing gay and lesbian issues.

DeVore sees himself as somewhat of a "conservative with a bit of a libertarian tint."

"I didn't come up here to be everybody's pal and try to get along with folks at all costs," he said. "I came up here to try to live out a set of principles.