Clio Lloyd

Clio Lloyd (1864- ?) was the 27th Chief Clerk of the California Assembly and a Santa Barbara newspaper publisher.

Lloyd was born in Mercer County, Illinois. He was educated in public schools and private college. Mr. Lloyd took up teaching as a profession for 8 years, until he went into the newspaper publishing and real estate businesses in Santa Barbara County, California. In 1893, he was chosen as a Commissioner from Southern California to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In December 1905 he was elected to a four-year term as a member of the Santa Barbara Board of Education. In the early 1900s, he was publisher of the Santa Barbara Daily Press. He was also Director of the Press Publishing Company in Santa Barbara.

Lloyd served as clerk when party patronage was still widely practiced in California government. During his terms as clerk, Lloyd served under four Republican Speakers of the Assembly: Arthur G. Fisk, Frank C. Prescott, Robert L. Beardslee Sr., and Philip A. Stanton. Prior to the professionalization of the Chief Clerk's office by longtime Chief Clerk Arthur Ohnimus, clerks were often majority party loyalists. To this end, Lloyd was active in Southern California Republican politics. He was Vice President of the League of Southern California Republican Clubs and Secretary of the Santa Barbara County Republican Central Committee. He was a member of the Independent Order of the Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Served as Chief Clerk from 1901-1910—at the time, this was the longest anyone had served as Chief Clerk. Clio Lloyd was the first person in California history to serve more than two consecutive terms as Chief Clerk. When Governor James Gillett called the Legislature into a brief Second Special Session in October 1910, Clio Lloyd did not run for re-election.

In California, the Chief Clerk is now a nonpartisan officer of the Legislature, responsible for advising the presiding officer on parliamentary rulings, guiding legislators on legislative procedures, and overseeing the records and votes of the house.