Marc Levine
Marc Levine | |
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Member of the California State Assembly from the 10th district | |
Assumed office December 3, 2012 | |
Preceded by | Jared Huffman (redistricted) |
Personal details | |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence(s) | San Rafael, California |
Alma mater | Cal State Northridge, Naval Postgraduate School |
Marc Levine is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly. He is a Democrat representing the 10th district, encompassing the North Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was a San Rafael city councilmember.
Political career
Marc Levine served on the San Rafael City Council, and gained a reputation for innovative environmental policies and pragmatic solutions. He ran for the State Assembly in 2012 to ensure that there was a strong voice for local communities in Sacramento, and has worked to build a more cooperative relationship between state and local government since his election.
Levine's election to the Assembly in 2012 was a remarkable upset, in which he and his locally-based campaign prevailed, despite being outspent 5-to-1 by Sacramento interest groups supporting another candidate. His victory was hailed by reformers as a positive result of electoral reforms that allowed voters to choose candidates in an open primary.
Levine was reelected to the Assembly in 2014 by nearly a three to one margin and received more votes than any other Member of the Assembly.[1]
Career
Previous to serving in public office, Levine developed award-winning technology for human rights organizations, in the process raising millions in funding from the U.S. State Department, the Soros Foundation, and other funders to create technology that is now in use globally. He earned his Master's Degree in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, and was recognized with a Special Act Award for his work promoting the elite graduate school around the world.
While earning his Political Science Degree at Cal State Northridge, Levine was elected Chair of the California State Student Association, to represent over 450,000 students on campuses across California to the State Legislature and Board of Trustees.
Personal life
Levine lives in Marin County with his wife Wendy and their two children.
Immigration
Levine has stated: "Immigrants are welcome and we will do everything we can to help them achieve legal status." In 2015, he took action by authoring two immigration bills— both of which were signed by Governor Brown.[2]
AB 899 (Levine) safeguards the privacy of immigrant children by requiring federal immigration officials to obtain a court order before accessing juvenile records.[3]
AB 900 (Levine) helps unaccompanied minor immigrants who are escaping violence and exploitation to receive humanitarian relief through the Special Immigrant Juvenile Status visa process.[4]
In 2014, when more than 60,000 unaccompanied refugee children from poverty-stricken and violence-torn areas of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras arrived to the US, more than 4,000 children came to California. Levine worked with legislative leaders and Governor Brown to pass legislation providing $3 million in legal aid for those immigrants.[5]
References
- ^ "Secretary of State" (PDF).
- ^ "Assemblymember Levine Immigration Legislation Signed Into Law - Assemblymember Marc Levine Representing the 10th California Assembly District". asmdc.org. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
- ^ "Bill Text - AB-899 Juveniles: confidentiality of records". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
- ^ "Bill Text - AB-900 Juveniles: special immigrant juvenile status". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
- ^ "Gov. Brown approves legal help for minors in the country illegally". latimes.com. Retrieved 2015-11-20.