Ben Allen (California politician)
Ben Allen | |
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Member of the California State Senate from the 26th district | |
Assumed office December 1, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Ted Lieu (redistricted) |
33rd University of California student regent | |
In office 2006–2007 | |
Preceded by | Maria Ledezma |
Succeeded by | D'Artagnan Scoza |
Personal details | |
Born | Santa Monica, California, U.S. | March 13, 1978
Political party | Democratic |
Residence(s) | Santa Monica, California, U.S. |
Education | |
Occupation | Politician |
Profession | Attorney |
Website | http://sd26.senate.ca.gov/ |
Benjamin Allen[1] (born March 13, 1978)[citation needed] is an American attorney and Democratic politician. He has been a California state senator representing the 26th district since 2015. He previously served as University of California Student Regent and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District school board member.
Personal life and education
Allen was born to a Jewish family[2][3] and raised in Santa Monica, California.[4] From 2003 through 2005, Allen worked for Congressman Jose Serrano.[5] Allen obtained an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 2000, a master's degree from the University of Cambridge in 2001, a JD from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 2008, and was admitted to the California State Bar in December 2008.[1] Allen is, as of 2019, a lecturer in law at UCLA School of Law[6] and a private attorney. He lives in Santa Monica.[7]
Political career
While at Berkeley, Allen served as UC Student Regent-designate from 2006 to 2007 and as Student Regent from 2007 to 2008.[8] Prior to his election to the State Senate, Allen was a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education[9] and chair of the Los Angeles County Committee on School Board Organization.[10] Allen was first elected to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board in 2008 and re-elected in 2012.[8][11][12] He served as president of the school board from 2012-2013.[13]
State senate
Allen announced his candidacy for the redrawn 26th district in February 2014.[7][14][15] His major opponents in the primary included Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth, former Assemblyperson Betsy Butler, and social justice attorney Sandra Fluke.[citation needed]
After finishing in first place in the June 2014 primary election, he defeated Fluke in the November 2014 general election by a wide margin.[14][16]
References
- ^ a b "California Bar Member Profile Page". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ Lowenfeld, Jonah (May 28, 2014). "New faces, new era". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ Arom, Eitan (January 6, 2017). "Jewish state legislators ready to make an impact". Jewish Journal.
- ^ Garen, Brenton (October 19, 2012). "Up Front With The Santa Monica - Malibu School Board Candidates". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Santa Monica College Professor Profile Page". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Law 640 - Educational Policy-Making and the Law". UCLA School of Law. 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- ^ a b Islas, Jason (February 11, 2014). "From School Board to State Senate, Santa Monica Native Hopes to Make the Leap". Santa Monica Lookout. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ a b Sumers, Brian (May 30, 2014). "Ben Allen, Santa Monica school board member, seeks state Senate seat". Daily Breeze. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "SMMUSD Board of Education". Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ Rohit, Parimal M. (January 10, 2014). "SMMUSD's Ben Allen Elected Chair Of School District Organization Committee". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Los Angeles County Statement of Votes Cast by Community for November 6, 2012 General Election" (PDF). p. Malibu and Santa Monica Results Located on Pages 93 and 135.
- ^ "Los Angeles County Statement of Votes Cast by Community for November 4, 2008 General Election" (PDF). p. Malibu and Santa Monica Results Located on Pages 94 and 136.
- ^ Chandler, Jenna (December 16, 2011). "'Curious' Allen Chosen New Board President". Santa Monica Patch. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ a b "Ben Allen". Ballotpedia. 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Ben Allen". Smart Voter. May 19, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
- ^ "Ben Allen Captures Easy Victory". November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
External links
- California state senators
- California Democrats
- Jewish American state legislators in California
- 1978 births
- Living people
- People from Santa Monica, California
- School board members in California
- Harvard University alumni
- UC Berkeley School of Law alumni
- University of California regents
- UCLA School of Law faculty
- 21st-century American politicians