Alphonzo Edward Bell Jr. (September 19, 1914 – April 25, 2004), was a Republican United States Representative from California. Bell represented Malibu and the influential Westside region of Los Angeles for eight terms, from 1961 to 1977.
Family background and early life
Al Bell, as he was known to his friends, was a scion of the pioneering ranching, oil, and real estate development family that gave its name to the Southern California communities of Bell, Bell Gardens, and Bel-Air. His father, Alphonzo, used oil company profits to develop upscale Westside communities, including parts of Westwood, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, and Bel-Air.
The younger Bell grew up on his father's estate and ranch just north of Los Angeles, a vast and sprawling acreage encompassing the areas that are now known as Bel Air and Pacific Palisades. Numbering among his closest childhood friends and frequent horseback riding companions was Will Rogers, Jr., whose famous father owned a large ranch just north of that of the Bell family.
Bell began his education at the Webb School of California in the early 1930s. He went on to earn a degree in political science from Occidental College in 1938, and after serving in the Army Air Force during World War II (from 1942 to 1945), he joined the family oil business and served as company president from 1947 to 1959. Also a rancher and cattleman, Bell sold the oil company in 1975.
Political career and public service
California Republican Party
Bell first entered politics in the mid-1950s, holding several Republican Party positions.
He served as chairman of the Republican Central Committee of Los Angeles County, chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of California, and as a member of the Republican National Committee.
Although Bell's political idol, and his original inspiration to enter public service, had been President Franklin Roosevelt, he switched from the Young Democrats while a college student to later registering as a Republican, and actively supported General Dwight D. Eisenhower for president in 1952.
Bell served as chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of California from 1956 to 1959, and as a member of the Republican National Committee from 1956 to 1959.
United States Congress
In 1960, Bell was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-seventh Congress, and won re-election to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1961 - January 3, 1977.
While in Congress, Bell represented a vast Congressional District — the 28th and, after re-districting, the 27th — running along the California coast from Malibu to the Palos Verdes Peninsula and encompassing all or part of Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel-Air and West L.A. Then considered a Republican stronghold, the district nevertheless had only 40% to 49% GOP voter registration, making bi-partisan support for a candidate for office essential.
In Congress, Bell became known as tending toward conservative positions on foreign policy and defense — he backed the Vietnam War through three presidential administrations — but often took more moderate to liberal positions on domestic issues, including open housing laws and other civil rights legislation, as well as on environmental and preservation issues, and on education policy and reform.
Some called Congressman Al Bell a political conservative, others a moderate. A Ralph Nader study on Bell's voting record in 1972 said: "It's hard to say exactly what he is. He leans in many areas, especially those concerning economic regulation, toward the conservatives. When it comes to the people issues, especially those concerning the downtrodden in American society, Bell is a liberal."
The congressman once described himself as "middle-ground" and said he voted according to principle and on an issue's merits, rather than political expediency. "A moderate", he told a Los Angeles Times columnist in 1970, "has to study harder. The extremist at either end doesn't have to do most of the work or most of the thinking - he knows what he's for and against beforehand. A moderate has to decide each question on its own merits."
As a ranking member of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics, and on the Committee on Education and Labor, he earned bi-partisan approval for his work on such diverse bills as the Older Americans Act, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as well as laws improving labor standards, workers' safety, veterans' benefits and environmental protection and ecosystem and wildlife preservation programs.