Photos from the Vault

1978 Carol Hallett and Ronald Reagan

June 8, 1978
A. David Chan asked about Carol Hallett and by good fortune I had her photo in the “someday soon” stack. Her biography says she was field office representative for Assemblyman, later Congressman, William M. Ketchum. Speak up if you know for sure, my guess is that she was the first woman elected from the area to state assembly.
She later served in President Reagan’s administration as Assistant to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. She also headed the Customs Dept. in the George Herbert Walker Bush administration.
When these pictures were made Proposition 13 had just passed attendees at a fund raising luncheon were in a fine mood. About 1,200 people paid $15 each to eat and hear speeches by Carol Hallett and Ronald Reagan.
Quoting Jeanne Huber’s story:

An Atascadero Republican, Mrs. Hallett is seeking election to a second term in the 16th Assembly District.
Thursday’s event turned out to be as much a celebration of the voters decision to limit property taxes through Proposition 13 as it was a campaign rally for Mrs. Hallett, who is considered a shoo-in for re-election by political observers.
***
Reagan got a standing ovation with his response to a question of whether he planned to run for president in 1980: “I haven’t closed the door yet, so stay loose.”

Photos were by Thom Halls