He was elected to the office of Assemblyman from the 43rd district, representing parts of Los Angeles County including West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills from 1983–87. Davis championed a popular campaign to help find missing children by placing their pictures on milk cartons and grocery bags. Davis's Republican opponent in the race, William Campbell, criticized Davis as "...the man special interests love most." Among other allegations raised by Campbell were disclosures that Davis had received campaign contributions from Eugene LaPietra, a candidate for the West Hollywood City Council who was convicted on federal pornography charges. LaPietra served as Davis’ finance chairman but was dismissed after the disclosures.