Ben Allen (California politician)

Benjamin Allen[1] (born March 13, 1978) 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.

For the Australian footballer, see Ben Allan.
For other people named Benjamin Allen, see Benjamin Allen.
Ben Allen
Member of the California State Senate
from the 26th district
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded byTed Lieu (redistricted)
33rd University of California student regent
In office
2006–2007
Preceded byMaria Ledezma
Succeeded byD'Artagnan Scoza
Personal details
Born (1978-03-13) March 13, 1978
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
ResidenceSanta Monica, California, U.S.
Education
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionAttorney
Websitehttp://sd26.senate.ca.gov/

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.

After finishing in first place in the June 2014 primary election, he defeated Fluke in the November 2014 general election by a wide margin.[16][17]

Ben Allen successfully defended his seat four years later. He secured 77 percent of the vote in the June 2018 primary, defeating Baron Bruno, an unaffiliated realtor, and Mark Matthew Herd, Libertarian candidate and Westwood neighborhood councilman. In the November 2018 primary election, Allen defeated Bruno again, winning by a margin of 54.4 percent. His current term ends on December 4, 2022.[18][19]

References
  1. "California Bar Member Profile Page". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. Lowenfeld, Jonah (May 28, 2014). "New faces, new era". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  3. Arom, Eitan (January 6, 2017). "Jewish state legislators ready to make an impact". Jewish Journal.
  4. Garen, Brenton (October 19, 2012). "Up Front With The Santa Monica - Malibu School Board Candidates". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  5. "Santa Monica College Professor Profile Page". Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  6. "Law 640 - Educational Policy-Making and the Law". UCLA School of Law. 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  7. 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.
  8. Sumers, Brian (May 30, 2014). "Ben Allen, Santa Monica school board member, seeks state Senate seat". Daily Breeze. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  9. "SMMUSD Board of Education". Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  10. Rohit, Parimal M. (January 10, 2014). "SMMUSD's Ben Allen Elected Chair Of School District Organization Committee". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  11. "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.
  12. "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.
  13. Chandler, Jenna (December 16, 2011). "'Curious' Allen Chosen New Board President". Santa Monica Patch. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  14. "Ben Allen". Ballotpedia. 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  15. "Ben Allen". Smart Voter. May 19, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  16. "California State Senate elections, 2014". Ballotpedia. 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  17. "Ben Allen Captures Easy Victory". November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
  18. "California State Senate elections, 2018". Ballotpedia. 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  19. Rosenfeld, David (November 6, 2018). "Ben Allen cruises to re-election for State Senate". Daily Breeze. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
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