D. Wiedmann, Former CAR Executive, Dies

Donald A. Wiedmann, a seaman turned realtor widely credited for making the California Assn. of Realtors a political powerhouse in Sacramento, has died at the age of 60.

Wiedmann had been hospitalized and was undergoing treatment for cancer at a Westside hospital.

Born in Ohio, Wiedmann entered the real estate business in San Diego in 1960 after a 10-year Navy stint. He was elected president of the California Assn. of Realtors in 1978, a largely ceremonial one-year position.

But his political savvy and ability to foresee long-term changes in the real estate industry were soon recognized by realtors across the state, who soon named him executive vice president--the most powerful job in the realty trade group.

Wiedmann was one of the first housing experts to sense the growing role that politics--from special-interest groups to environmental issues--was having on the state’s housing industry.

Under his leadership, the trade group beefed up its lobbying staff in Sacramento and solidified a grass-roots network of realtors across the state who could be mobilized at a moment’s notice to exert political pressure on local and state lawmakers.

He was a driving force in passage of dozens of bills that affect all California homeowners and real estate agents, including a 1987 law that requires home sellers to disclose defects in their homes to buyers and a 1981 law that requires veteran realtors to take “continuing education” courses before they can renew their licenses.

By the time Wiedmann retired last June, California realtors represented about one-fifth of all the members of the National Assn. of Realtors--the biggest trade group in the nation and a powerful political force in Washington.

Wiedmann leaves a brother, Gerald Wiedmann; two sisters, Lois Lowstuter and Ginny Schuster, and an aunt, Virginia Sabatinos. All reside in Ohio.

He was buried last Monday in Chula Vista at the El Camino Memorial Park.

Contributions in Wiedmann’s memory are being accepted by the Don Wiedmann Scholarship Fund, which aids college students interested in real estate studies. Checks should be made out to the fund and mailed to the California Assn. of Realtors, 525 S. Virgil Ave., Los Angeles, Calif. 90020.