James Franklin Battin (born July 28, 1962 in Billings, Montana) is a former California State Senator for District 37, which includes much of Riverside County in the inland part of Southern California. Prior to serving in the State Senate, Battin served in the California State Assembly from 1994 until 2000. Battin was term limited from the Senate in 2008. Early years Battin was born and raised in Billings, Montana. He gained appreciation and respect for nature and the wilderness during his childhood in Montana. Throughout his youth, Jim was an avid sportsman - backpacking, fishing and hunting regularly. Battin is the son of five-term Congressman and then U.S. District Court Judge James F. Battin. Battin spent some of the early years of his life in Washington, D.C. where he was introduced to politics at a very young age. Battin often played in then-Congressman Gerald Ford's backyard, and Battin knew Bob Dole as one of his father's congressional freshman classmates. When Battin was just six, he accompanied his father to brunch at the White House, where he met President Richard Nixon. Education In high school, Battin competed on the school's debate team - ranking third in the state his junior year and winning the state championship his senior year, qualifying him for the national championship, in which he competed. Battin attended the University of Oregon, where he earned a degree in psychology. In college, he met and later married his wife Mary. They now have three children; Christopher, Bailey, and Kelsey. Move to Riverside County and TV The Battins moved to La Quinta in Riverside County in 1985. Battin worked as a television executive for 10 years with KMIR-TV, the NBC television affiliate in Palm Desert. During this time Battin also began his long "career" as a community volunteer, most notably as the driving force behind 'Bringing Home the Holidays', the largest food donation program in the Coachella Valley at the time. He also became a board member of Martha's Kitchen, a meal-distribution program for those in need, and participated in the Youth Education Motivation Program, where business people share with students their "secrets of success in the world of work." Battin also was active in Junior Achievement, working with his wife to instill the entrepreneurial spirit in elementary school children. State Assembly Battin was elected to the California State Assembly, District 80, in 1994. He defeated one term incumbent Julie