A headline in the June 2011 EBCitizen.com.

ASSEMBLY 20 | Nobody epitomizes their surname better than Assemblyman-elect Bill Quirk. His personality and style sometime takes precedent over his actions, but the sketching of a stodgy patrician is often incorrect.

In a sports blazer and tie dominated by a pink shirt, Quirk was upbeat Tuesday night about his likely election to the State Assembly. He said the campaign had achieved everything they had set out to do, including unleashing a significant ground game to get out their message to voters. The campaign made over 85,000 phone calls and knocked on 35,000 doors, said Quirk. “I have left nothing on the table.”

When Quirk was asked to describes the normally tense hours before election results start pouring in, he said he took a nap between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. and proceeded to show us a phone app he uses to collect data on his sleep patterns while emitting radio waves. Quirk slept 29 minutes Tuesday evening and received a “Sleepscore” of 126. The former nuclear scientist obviously does not shy away from his past occupation as he gave an impromptu science lecture at Democratic Party headquarters in Hayward.

“These are radio waves,” Quirk said in response to a playful question about the safety of the app. “What you are talking about is ionizing radiation. That’s totally different. You’re talking about x-rays, ultra-violet—totally different.”

Quirk, however, will not have much time to rest before making the transition to life in Sacramento. An orientation for the new class of state legislators is scheduled for Thursday. How long has it been since Quirk’s been a freshman? “Almost 50 years,” he joked.

THE CITIZEN CALLED IT IN JUNE 2011 Check out this East Bay Citizen article from June 2011 that predicted the likelihood of Quirk’s victory Tuesday night. Earlier in the campaign season, Quirk told me the questions about his public persona were useful. Needless to say, we never saw the infamous green “Masters” blazer ever again.

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QUIRK WON’T BE THE ONLY QUIRK IN SACRAMENTO Quirk isn’t a common name, yet there will be two freshman in the Assembly with the same surname. Assemblywoman-elect Sharon Quirk-Silva will follow Bill Quirk in the roll call starting next month.

The Orange County Democrat issued a major upset for the party’s bid to strengthen its upper-hand in the Legislature, when Quirk-Silva topped Republican Assemblyman Chris Norby in the 65th Assembly District.

I don’t know? Look at the photo, they kind of look alike.

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