Donald L. Totten
{{Short description|American mechanical engineer and politician (1933–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Donald Totten
|image =
|alt =
|caption =
|birth_date ={{nowrap|{{birth date|1933|02|19}}}}
|birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
|death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|mf=yes|2019|04|02|1933|02|19}}}}
|death_place = Cornelius, North Carolina
|restingplace =
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|birthname =
|nationality =
|office = Chair of the Cook County Republican Party
|term_start = 1985
|term_end = March 1988
|predecessor = J. Robert Barr
|successor = James Dvorak
|state_senate1= Illinois
|district1 = 3rd
|term_start1 = 1981
|term_end1 = 1983
|predecessor1 = David J. Regner
|successor1 = William Marovitz
|office2 = Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
|district2 =
|term_start2 = 1973
|term_end2 = 1981
|predecessor2 =
|successor2 =
|party = Republican
|otherparty =
|spouse =
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|residence = Hoffman Estates, Illinois
|alma_mater = University of Notre Dame
|occupation =
|profession = Mechanical Engineer
Politician
|committees =
|signature =
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|website =
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}}
Donald Lee Totten (February 19, 1933 – April 2, 2019) was an American mechanical engineer and politician who served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and in the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1983. He also served as chairman of the Cook County Republican Party.
Early life and career
Totten was born in Brooklyn in New York City. He lived with his family in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Totten attended Ridgewood High School in Ridgewood and Perkiomen School in Pennsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1955, Totten received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from University of Notre Dame. In 1955 he moved to Illinois and worked as an industrial plant engineer.
Political career
He was involved with the Republican Party and with Schaumburg Township Republican Party Committee. Totten served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1973 to 1981 and in the Illinois Senate from 1981 to 1983. In 1982, Totten ran for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor, finishing third behind Susan Catania and Republican nominee George Ryan.{{cite news|agency=Associated Press|title=Thompson nominated, to face Stevenson|date=March 17, 1982|newspaper=The Southeast Missourian|access-date=August 9, 2021|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1893&dat=19820317&id=yLofAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oNcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1137,1876788&hl=en}}
From 1985 until March 1988, Totten was the chairman of the Cook County Republican Party.
Totten helped manage the midwestern operations of the presidential campaigns of Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, and served as the Illinois coordinator for the presidential campaign of Jack Kemp in the 1988 Republican primaries.{{cite news|title=Kemp Coordinator is Optimistic|date=November 27, 1987|page=9|newspaper=The State Journal-Register}} He also served on the Regional Transportation Authority in Illinois.
Death
Totten died from heart failure at his daughter's house in Cornelius, North Carolina.{{cite web |title=Donald Totten Obituary (1933 - 2019) |url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/chicagotribune/obituary.aspx?n=donald-lee-totten&pid=192123174&fhid=2012 |publisher= Chicago Tribune|via=www.legacy.com |accessdate=10 November 2020 |language=en}}{{cite web |last1=Goldsborough |first1=Bob |title=Donald Totten, Cook County Republican Leader Who Led Midwest Efforts for two Reagan Presidential Runs, Dies |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-met-donald-totten-obituary-20190412-story.html |website=chicagotribune.com |publisher=Chicago Tribune |accessdate=10 November 2020 |date=12 April 2019}}'Illinois Blue Book 1981-1962,' Biographical Sketch of Donald L. Totten, pg. 74
Notes
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Category:People from Ridgewood, New Jersey
Category:Politicians from Brooklyn
Category:Politicians from Cook County, Illinois
Category:Ridgewood High School (New Jersey) alumni
Category:University of Notre Dame alumni
Category:American mechanical engineers
Category:Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
Category:Republican Party Illinois state senators
Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly
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