By Ken Magri
Chico resident, veteran and longtime Democratic strategist Bob Mulholland passed away on October 19 at the age of 78.
The son of a veteran, Mulholland was born in 1946 almost a year after the end of World War II. From 1967 to 1968 he served in the US Army’s elite 101st Airborne division, the Screaming Eagles, a light infantry that specializes in air assaults. He was wounded and received a Purple Heart during the 1968 Tet Offensive in Vietnam.
Originally a supporter of the Vietnam War, Mulholland later became a vehement critic, although he continued to passionately support veterans’ issues.
Earlier this year, Mulholland was involved in the effort to bring the Vietnam Veterans Memorial replica, called “The Moving Wall,” to the Elks Lodge in Chico for several days in June on its tour around the country.
“This Wall visit in Chico will be a therapy session for thousands, including affected families and friends,” Mulholland told the News & Review back then.
Across social media, his friends and colleagues sent their condolences.
“Today I am saddened to hear the passing of Bob Mulholland, a veteran and superdelegate for California’s Political Action Committee,” said Antonio Villaraigosa, former Assembly Speaker and former Los Angeles Mayor in a Facebook post. “May his memory all give us comfort in this time.”
“We’ve lost a true friend and a fighter,” said Representative Mike Thompson, a Democrat representing California’s Fourth District. “Bob Mulholland was a passionate advocate for his community and a tireless champion for Democratic values.”
“I met Bob during the Tom Hayden for US Senate campaign,” said veteran and political commenter Jim Doyle of Fresno. “I never knew him to be angry, and I never saw him when he wasn’t smiling, regardless of the circumstances.”
Political involvement
In 1982, Mulholland got into politics in a big way, managing Tom Hayden’s first two campaigns for the California Assembly. He wound up working for Hayden for 15 years while becoming more intimate with California’s Democratic Party.
“I first met Bob when I moved up from Santa Barbara to take over the Chico News & Review in May 1980,” said President and CEO of N&R Publications, Jeff vonKaenel.
“Bob was a force of nature—one of the smartest, hardest-working, and most inventive political organizers in the country, doing his work in a small, isolated corner of California,” vonKaenel explained. “Through his leadership, the progressive Campaign for Economic Democracy in Chico—something like today’s Democratic Socialists—punched far above its weight. It was incredible to watch.”
Regarded by some as an attack dog, Mulholland fervently defended Democrat candidates while disparaging Republicans. He became a consultant for the California Democratic Party in 1987, and in the 1990s consulted for the Labour Party in the United Kingdom.
In 1989, Mulholland became a hero to many Sacramentans over a referendum to permanently close the city’s nuclear power plant, Rancho Seco. Built by Babcock & Wilcox and made operational in 1975, the nuclear plant had several serious safety issues and was too often down for expensive repairs.
Mulholland and Campaign California were successful in winning a local voter’s initiative which compelled the Sacramento Municipal Utility District to decommission the plant.
“No one should think the vote to close Rancho Seco automatically means other nuclear power plants can be closed by voters’ initiatives,” Mulholland argued at the time. “But it will get everyone’s attention.”
Mulholland was not afraid to go negative in political campaigns, saying once that “people don’t remember the good things about your guy. They remember the bad things about the other guy — that’s what sticks.”
One of Mulholland’s most memorable political moments happened in Chico in 1992, according to vonKaenel, when Barbara Boxer was running for the U.S. Senate.
At a Chico press conference, Bob confronted Boxer’s Republican opponent, Bruce Herschensohn, “about his visits to Hollywood strip clubs,” said vonKaenel. “The Los Angeles TV stations went wild, giving the story wall-to-wall coverage in the final 48 hours before the election.”
“The dancers interviewed on TV confirmed he’d been there—and that he was a lousy tipper—which, during the height of the Moral Majority era, said it all,” vonKaenel added.
During the 1996 presidential campaign, Mulholland suggested following Republican candidate Bob Dole around in a cigarette costume to point out how much money Dole took from big tobacco companies.
During Arnold Schwarzenegger’s first term as governor of California in 2004, Mulholland said of the actor-turned-politician, “He wears risers in his boots: He’s a 5 ft. 10 in citizen of Austria who believes his real place in history is to be president of the United States.”
Mulholland concluded, “You’ve got to be distrustful of a politician who has a makeup artist with him 24/7.”
In 2016, Mulholland became a superdelegate at the Democratic Party National Convention, one of 75 representing California. Superdelegates were allowed to support any candidate they wished without being restricted by primary voting results. At that convention he supported candidate Hillary Clinton.
In 2020, as a Biden/Harris supporter, he warned Democrats about Donald Trump’s ability “to talk with the everyday voter.”
Community involvement
In 2024, Governor Newsom appointed Mulholland to the Board of Directors for the Third District Agricultural Association’s Silver Dollar Fair in Chico. He was an advocate for youth involvement in agriculture, especially the fair’s Junior Livestock Auction.
“Bob’s presence at the fair was more than just service; it was heart,” wrote CEO Nick DiGrazia on a Facebook post. “He believed in the power of community and showed it every day through his actions.”
“Beyond being a phenomenal political strategist, Bob was also a fine human being—funny, kind, and a loving husband,” said vonKaenel. “He will be deeply missed.”
Mulholland is survived by his wife, Jane Dolan, who served on the Butte County Board of Supervisors for many years.
The cause of Mulholland’s death has not been disclosed.
The loss of Bob is painful. He was the quintessential American. Smart, scrappy and above all, a patriot. When some were crying bone spurs, he served and got a purple heart. He never forgot our Veterans. I was fortunate to meet him. We all benefitted from his time on this Earth. Condolences to Jane
Bob was the kind of guy who dependably sent our family a Christmas card every year, even when we moved to Australia some 30 years ago. I will never forget our climb up Mt Warning, when he visited us… Hugs to Jane
My friend Bob who announced “Once a Catholic aways a Catholic” at our family’s wedding a year ago was a highlight that will be remembered. Bob also very much supported vaccines considering the neighbor! Was privy to seeing his wounds on his back in the early 80’s, something I will never forget. This man kept up with me for year after year, God bless his faithfulness. I will miss him very much.
Bob spurred a lot of people to do so many good things for this City County State and beyond. RIP Bob
Bob was such a life force for this community. We’re forever grateful. Thank you.