Larry Margolis; Aide to Former Assembly Speaker Unruh

Larry Margolis, 73, the top aide to former Assembly Speaker Jesse M. Unruh. Margolis was considered so powerful when Unruh reigned in the 1960s that he was often referred to as “the 81st member� of the 80-member Assembly. In addition to helping create the Unruh Civil Rights Act, Margolis was also noted for turning the legislative staff into a professional cadre of policy experts independent of the executive branch. Margolis, who once said many considered him “an evil genius,� grew up in a poor home and went to UCLA on the GI Bill after serving in World War II. After leaving Unruh’s staff, Margolis served as a public policy consultant and visiting lecturer at Stanford University and the universities of Kansas and Missouri. From 1967 to 1978, he was executive director of the Citizens Conference of State Legislatures. Most recently, Margolis helped found Preventive Dental Systems, a nonprofit health maintenance organization to provide dental care for low-income families. On Tuesday in Sacramento.