Richard Charles Ackerman (born December 5, 1942) is a Republican U.S. politician, who was a California State Senator for the 33rd District, representing inland Orange County, from 2000 to 2008.Born in Long Beach, California, Ackerman earned a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1964 and a J.D. from Hastings College of the Law in 1967.