Frank Riggs

Frank D. Riggs (born September 5, 1950) is a politician from the states of California and Arizona.

Riggs was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and he served in the United States Army from 1972 to 1975. Riggs worked as a police officer and in real estate. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Republican in 1990 from California's 1st District, narrowly defeating four-term Democrat Doug Bosco. He represented the area stretching from Napa County to the northern Pacific coast.

Riggs voted against the Gulf War resolution and, as a member of the Gang of Seven, a group of newly-minted, idealistic congressmen, favored identifying publicly the congressmen who made overdrafts at the House Bank. Riggs was defeated in 1992 by Democrat Dan Hamburg but won a rematch in 1994.

In 1996, Riggs won re-election in a campaign that generated controversy after he used the example of Polly Klaas while attacking his opponent's anti-death penalty stance. During his tenure as congressman, fraud and conspiracy civil-lawsuit charges were filed in Sonoma County Superior Court against a partnership which included Mr. Riggs, regarding a 37-acre (150,000 m2) parcel of land referred to as Haystack Landing.

In 1998, State Senator Mike Thompson, who was due to be termed out of his seat, decided to run for the 1st District House seat. The Democrats had originally hoped to draft Thompson in 1996, but he declined. Believing that he faced almost certain defeat against the popular Thompson, Riggs instead ran for the Republican nomination for the United States Senate. A late entrant, he dropped out of the race before election day but still finished in fifth place (the fourth place Republican) in the state's open primary system. The nomination was won by State Treasurer Matt Fong. Meanwhile, Thompson won the congressional seat handily and still holds it today.

In 2001, Riggs moved to Arizona. In 2005, he explored a run for governor, as most Arizona Republicans were deciding not to challenge popular Governor Janet Napolitano for reelection the following year. However, Riggs discovered that he had to be a five-year resident of Arizona in order to run for governor.