BURLINGAME – In honor of his long and outstanding career devoted to public education, the California Teachers Association State Council of Education has bestowed its “Friend of Education” award for 2007 to Assemblyman Gene Mullin, D-South San Francisco.
The former high school teacher and current chair of the Assembly Education Committee was honored over the weekend by the Council, CTA’s top governing body, comprised of nearly 800 democratically elected teacher delegates from across the state who met in Los Angeles for their quarterly gathering.
“Assembly member Mullin has been a fierce champion of public education and the securing of funding for public schools, for educational excellence for all students and the teaching profession, and equitable treatment for all public employees,” said David A. Sanchez, president of the 340,000-member CTA. “As a classroom teacher he understands that legislation doesn't happen in a vacuum and has a direct impact on local schools. And, he has understood above all else that a promise is a promise when it comes to supporting public education.”
Mullin warmly thanked teachers for the honor. “This is the capstone of my career. My commitment to public education runs deep, and it’s an honor to know that California’s teachers and CTA consider me a friend to their cause of providing students with the education they need and deserve.”
For 32 years, Mullin taught government and coached basketball at South San Francisco High School. And he earned accolades for his school work, including being named San Mateo County "Teacher of the Year" for 1991.
He joined CTA in 1967 and is now a member of CTA Retired. He served as chair of the negotiations committee for the South San Francisco Classroom Teachers Association (SSFCTA), a chapter of CTA, from 1984-1992. He was elected president of the SSFCTA and served in that office from 1992-95.
And he was given the prestigious CTA State Teacher of the Year in Politics Award in 1996.
In the Legislature, Mullin authored the measure that eliminated the minimum age requirement for qualified CalSTRS members to receive a lump-sum longevity payment. Another measure of his, AB 55, made it clear that when the state borrows money from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, it must make repayment with interest. The governor sought to keep the measure from reaching his desk and vetoed it when it got there.
But that battle set the stage for a major court victory that CTA and its allies eventually won.