Arlen F. Gregorio

In 1970, he was elected to represent San Mateo County in the California State Senate.[6] According to fellow Senator Alan Robbins, Gregorio "refused special-interest money" and "contributions over $100".[7] During his two terms in the Senate (1970 - 1978),[2] Gregorio authored laws dealing with legislation and campaign finance reform, alcohol and drug abuse, the arts,[2] environment, education and health.[6][8][9][10][11] He was chairman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee[5] from 1973 to 1978.[1] Gregorio had a particular interest in reforming campaign financing and the political process in general.[12] His political reforms included allowing the public to attend state budget conference committee meetings and to access legislator committee voting results.[13]

In 1975, Gregorio challenged then Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. to a debate after the Governor vetoed his "alcohol tax bill."[14] In 1976 he created legislation that would give members of the public the "voting majority on most regulatory boards."[15] Gregorio lost his November 1978 Senate bid by a margin of only 90 votes after a vote recount.[1] In 1979, he won a special election to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and was re-elected in 1980, serving through 1984.[16] Gregorio's last political race was in 1984, when he left the Board of Supervisors to run again for the state Senate.[16][17] In that political contest, Gregorio and his opponent, Becky Morgan, set a "new Senate campaign spending record" of $1.6 million.[18]

After leaving politics, Gregorio began an attorney mediation practice in San Francisco in 1985.[2] He founded the non-profit, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center in San Mateo, California in 1986.[2][19] In 1989, he created the first law partnership that focused exclusively on the mediation of civil trial matters.[2] The firm is known as Gregorio, Haldeman & Rotman and is located in San Francisco.[20]