Topic: Francine Busby

Francine Pocino Busby (born March 3, 1951) was a 2006 Democratic candidate for Congress in California's 50th district, in North San Diego County. She lost to Republican Brian Bilbray in both the general election and the June 6 special election five months earlier to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Randy "Duke" Cunningham.

Busby was born in Los Angeles, California, to an Italian American family, and grew up in nearby Arcadia. She graduated with a BA in Humanities from UC Irvine. From 1974–1981 Busby was a travel manager and marketer for the Walt Disney Travel Company. She married her husband David Busby in 1979. They had two children, Maria and Michael, and Busby quit her job to raise them. In 1988 the family moved to Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California.

She ran two successful school bond campaigns in 1998 and 2000, became president of the Cardiff Education Foundation in 2000, was appointed to fill a vacancy to the Cardiff School Board, and, in 2002, was elected for a full school board term. She also serves in various community organizations.