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Mike Levin

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For other people named Mike Levin, see Mike Levin (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Mark Levin.

Mike Levin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 49th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2019
Preceded byDarrell Issa
Personal details
Born
Michael Ted Levin

(1978-10-20) October 20, 1978 (age 45)
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Chrissy Parker Levin
​
​
(m. 2011)​
Children2
Residence(s)San Juan Capistrano, California, U.S.
EducationStanford University (BA)
Duke University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

Michael Ted Levin (born October 20, 1978) is an American politician serving since 2019 as the U.S. representative from California's 49th congressional district, which covers most of northern coastal San Diego County, as well as part of southern Orange County. A member of the Democratic Party and an environmental attorney by occupation, he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2018 and reelected in 2020.[1]

Early life and education

Levin was born in Inglewood, California and raised in Lake Forest, California,[2] in South Orange County.[3] His mother is Mexican American and his father is Jewish.[4] Levin was raised in both the Jewish and Catholic faiths.[5] He attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles before attending Stanford University. At Stanford, Levin served as president of the student body.[6] He attended law school at the Duke University School of Law before returning to his native Orange County.

Early career

Levin co-founded CleanTech OC, a clean energy trade association in Orange County,[7] and was profiled in an OC Metro "40 Under 40" piece for his work at FlexEnergy, a company that developed a technology to capture and use methane from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities.[8] He was the director of government affairs at FuelCell Energy from 2014 to 2017.[9] He also served as vice president of Better Energy Systems, a consumer-facing cleantech startup based in Berkeley, California,[10] and on the board of directors of the Center for Sustainable Energy, an environmental organization based in San Diego.[11] In this capacity, Levin opposed the redevelopment of Encina Power Station, arguing that "the proposed Carlsbad plant contradicts the priorities that California has established to reduce pollution across our state as it will use combustion to generate power."[9]

Levin served as the executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County.[11] He later served on the National Finance Committee for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for President.[12][13][14]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018
See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 49

On March 8, 2017, Levin announced his candidacy for United States Congress in California's 49th congressional district to replace incumbent Representative Darrell Issa.[11] The district had historically been one of Southern California's more Republican districts, but redistricting after the 2010 census cut out most of its heavily Republican inland portion, making it significantly more competitive. Issa had nearly been defeated in 2016 as Hillary Clinton carried the district.

At a town hall event that Issa held on March 11, 2017, Levin publicly confronted Issa and mentioned a book he had sent Issa in 2016, Climate Change for Beginners. Levin charged that Issa's solution to climate problems "is to build more natural gas plants and to keep the nuclear energy plants online for longer.... I think that's an unfathomable proposal for a progressive and environmentally-friendly place like San Diego."[15][16] On January 10, 2018, Issa announced his retirement.[17]

Levin campaigned with a platform focused on energy and environmental issues.[18]

Due to the competitive character of the race as well as the absence of an incumbent, there were 16 candidates on the ballot in the primary.[19] The large number of candidates in the nonpartisan blanket primary led to fears that Democrats would be locked out of the general election.[20][21]

In the June 5 primary, Levin came in second to Republican State Board of Equalization chair Diane Harkey and advanced to the general election. This assured that the district would be represented by someone from the Orange County portion of the district, though the 49th is a San Diego district by weight of population. Levin is from San Juan Capistrano, while Harkey is from nearby Dana Point.

Barack Obama endorsed Levin as well as other candidates.[22]

Tenure

As of November 2021, Levin had voted in line with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[23]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Levin lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife, Chrissy, and their two children.[2][27]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Mike Levin". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  2. ^ a b Wisckol, Martin. "Democratic activist Mike Levin joins race against Rep. Darrell Issa". Orange County Register. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  3. ^ Levin, Mike. "About Me". Mike Levin for Congress. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  4. ^ Staggs, Brooke (October 16, 2020). "Democrat Mike Levin and Republican Brian Maryott battle gently for 49th District House race". The Orange County Register. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  5. ^ "No Gambler: An Interview With Congressman Mike Levin | SD JEWISH JOURNAL". sdjewishjournal.com. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  6. ^ Brown, Alice (April 18, 2000). "Levin and Mills reflect on past year's accomplishments, regrets". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  7. ^ Hsu, Tiffany (November 18, 2010). "Orange County hits pay dirt with clean-tech industry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "40 Under 40". Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Levin, Mike. "Proposed Carlsbad Energy Plant Contradicts State Priorities". Center for Sustainable Energy. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Levin, Mike (March 19, 2010). "Congressional Inaction Is Cleantech's Biggest Stumbling Block". Environmental Protection Online. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c Quach, Hoa (March 8, 2017). "OC Attorney to Challenge Rep. Darrell Issa in 2018". Times of San Diego. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Johnson, Ted (August 23, 2016). "Hillary Clinton Continues Fundraising Swing at Home of Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel". Variety. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  13. ^ Strause, Jackie (August 2, 2016). "Hillary Clinton's Stop at Leonardo DiCaprio's House Highlights Two-Day, Big-Bucks Hollywood Fundraising Tour". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  14. ^ Bellantoni, Christina (August 3, 2016). "Essential Politics: Republican defections and crying babies". Los Angeles Times.
  15. ^ Combs, Seth. "Mike Levin enters stage left". San Diego City Beat. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  16. ^ Black, Lisa (March 13, 2017). "Congressman Darrell Issa Finally Agreed to Two Town Halls that Went Badly For Him". OC Weekly. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Mai-Duc, Christine; Wire, Sarah (January 10, 2018). "Issa becomes second California Republican to announce retirement as Democrats look to reclaim House". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  18. ^ "49th Congressional District candidate Mike Levin on the issues". San Diego Union-Tribune. May 17, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "California's 49th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  20. ^ Heller, Nathan (June 4, 2018). "A Tight, Chaotic Primary Race in California's Forty-Ninth District". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  21. ^ Bowman, Bridget (June 1, 2018). "Democratic Poll: Mike Levin Ahead in California's 49th District". Roll Call. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  22. ^ JENNEWEIN, CHRIS. "President Obama Endorses Levin, Campa-Najjar in San Diego House Districts". Times of San Diego. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  23. ^ Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Caucus Members". Congressional Progressive Caucus. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  25. ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Mike Levin. December 13, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  26. ^ "10 Years After Disastrous Citizens United Decision, Rose, Porter, Freshmen Dems Launch New 'End Corruption' Caucus". U.S. Congressman Max Rose. January 16, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  27. ^ "Mike Levin" (PDF). Orange County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mike Levin.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 49th congressional district
2019–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
325th 		Succeeded by
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