David D. Mulford; Former State Assemblyman

David Donald Mulford, 84, a former Republican assemblyman who fought to require fire alarms in schools and to curb pollution. Mulford was first elected in 1957 and represented the Oakland, Berkeley and Piedmont area of Northern California in Sacramento until 1970, when he was defeated for reelection by Democrat Ken Meade. Mulford served as his party’s caucus chairman and on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. Best known for his work on fire safety laws, including requiring alarms in schools statewide, Mulford helped create the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board and the California-Nevada partnership to preserve Lake Tahoe. But he also was known for his outspoken views on UC student protests against the Vietnam War. Mulford, who had been an Army lieutenant during World War II and was a UC Berkeley graduate, demanded expulsion of students who were anti-Vietnam activists and punishment for 22 professors who participated in anti-draft rallies. In 1961 Mulford had also demanded--unsuccessfully--that then-UC President Clark Kerr cancel a Berkeley speech by Frank Wilkinson, longtime opponent of the House Un-American Activities Committee. In the 1970s, Mulford served as deputy chief of protocol for the state of California for three years and as chief of protocol for his native Oakland for five years. He was a partner in an Oakland insurance firm. On March 20 in Oakland.