Mike Levin

Mike Levin
Personal details
Born (1978-10-20) October 20, 1978
Inglewood, California, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Chrissy
Children 2
Education Stanford University (BA)
Duke University (JD)
Website Campaign website

Mike Levin is an American environmental activist and Democratic politician. He is running to represent California's 49th congressional district, encompassing portions of San Diego County and Orange County, in the United States House of Representatives in the 2018 election.[1]

Early life and education

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

During World War II, his paternal grandfather, Ted Levin, served in the Pacific theater as a gunner with the 867th Bomb Squadron of the U.S. Army Air Forces.[6]

Nonprofit and clean energy work

Levin 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][10] He also served as the vice president of Better Energy Systems, a consumer-facing cleantech startup based in Berkeley, California,[11] and on the board of directors of the Center for Sustainable Energy, an environmental organization based in San Diego.[12] 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]

In a commentary published on April 16, 2011, in the Orange County Register, Levin praised California's legislature for taking “bold steps to put our state...in a leading position for investment and growth” by choosing a clean energy strategy. “There’s clear evidence that clean energy drives job creation and investment even in the midst of a recession,” he wrote.[13]

Political advocacy and candidacy

For many years, Levin served as the executive director of the Democratic Party of Orange County.[12] In this capacity, he met with Barack Obama and hosted several fundraisers for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign for President.[14][15][16]

2018 campaign

On March 8, 2017, Levin announced his run for United States Congress in California's 49th congressional district to replace incumbent Representative Darrell Issa.[12] 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 entitled 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."[17][18] On January 10, 2018, Issa announced his retirement.[19]

Due to the lack of an incumbent, many candidates announced their candidacy, and there were a total of 16 candidates on the ballot in the primary.[20] The large number of candidates in the nonpartisan blanket primary led to fears that the Democrats would be locked out of the general election.[21] [22]

In the primary election on June 5, Levin came in second in total votes to Republican Diane Harkey and advanced to the November general election.

Barack Obama endorsed Levin as well as other candidates.[23] Levin was also endorsed by the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) Action Fund. He also received the endorsements of the Sierra Club and the National Organization for Women.[6][24][25]

Issues

Levin has said that his leading priority as a candidate for the House is “Accelerating Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection.” He wishes to put his district “at the forefront of clean energy economic growth.” He believes “strongly in the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change is driven by human activity.” His other priorities include “Holding Washington Accountable,” “Providing Affordable Healthcare Coverage for All,” and “Achieving World-Class Education.” He opposes efforts “to privatize public education,” supports expansion of bilingual instruction, and promises to “advocate for solutions like the College for All Act, which aims to eliminate tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities for students from families that make up to $125,000 per year, and would make community college tuition-free for all income levels."[6][26][27]

He has also emphasized his support for Planned Parenthood, “which provides essential preventative and reproductive health care services like cancer screenings, STD testing and low-cost birth control to millions of American women,” and for “federal legislation that specifically bans sexual harassment.” In addition, he supports an assault weapons ban and “a path to citizenship for law-abiding undocumented immigrants."[6][26]

Personal life

Levin lives in San Juan Capistrano with his wife, Chrissy, and their two children.[3][25]

References

  1. ↑ "Mike Levin". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Meet Mike Levin". https://mikelevin.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ML-Magazine-Final.pdf
  3. 1 2 WISCKOL, Martin. "Democratic activist Mike Levin joins race against Rep. Darrell Issa". The Orange County Register. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  4. ↑ Levin, Mike. "About Me". Mike Levin for Congress. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  5. ↑ Brown, Alice (18 April 2000). "Levin and Mills reflect on past year's accomplishments, regrets". The Stanford Daily. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Priorities - Mike Levin". mikelevin.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Hsu, Tiffany (18 November 2010). "Orange County hits pay dirt with clean-tech industry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  8. ↑ "40 Under 40". Retrieved 2018-06-25.
  9. 1 2 Levin, Mike. "PROPOSED CARLSBAD ENERGY PLANT CONTRADICTS STATE PRIORITIES". Center for Sustainable Energy. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  10. ↑ "Mike Levin - Myths vs. Facts". mikelevin.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  11. ↑ Levin, Mike (19 March 2010). "Congressional Inaction Is Cleantech's Biggest Stumbling Block". Environmental Protection Online. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  12. 1 2 3 Quach, Hoa (8 March 2017). "OC Attorney to Challenge Rep. Darrell Issa in 2018". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  13. ↑ Levin, Mike. "Reader Rebuttal (Mike Levin): Clean energy drives job creation". The ORange County Register. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  14. ↑ Johnson, Ted (23 August 2016). "Hillary Clinton Continues Fundraising Swing at Home of Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel". Variety. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  15. ↑ Strause, Jackie (2 August 2016). "Hillary Clinton's Stop at Leonardo DiCaprio's House Highlights Two-Day, Big-Bucks Hollywood Fundraising Tour". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  16. ↑ Bellantoni, Christina (3 August 2016). "Essential Politics: Republican defections and crying babies". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  17. ↑ Combs, Seth. "Mike Levin enters stage left". San Diego City Beat. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  18. ↑ Black, Lisa (13 March 2017). "Congressman Darrell Issa Finally Agreed to Two Town Halls that Went Badly For Him". OC Weekly. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  19. ↑ Mai-Duc, Christine; Wire, Sarah (10 January 2018). "Issa becomes second California Republican to announce retirement as Democrats look to reclaim House". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  20. ↑ "California's 49th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  21. ↑ Heller, Nathan (4 June 2018). "A Tight, Chaotic Primary Race in California's Forty-Ninth District". The New Yorker. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  22. ↑ Bowman, Bridget (1 June 2018). "Democratic Poll: Mike Levin Ahead in California's 49th District". Roll Call. Retrieved 25 June 2018.
  23. ↑ JENNEWEIN, CHRIS. "President Obama Endorses Levin, Campa-Najjar in San Diego House Districts". Times of San Diego. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  24. ↑ Burke, Holly. "LCV ACTION FUND ENDORSES MIKE LEVIN FOR CONGRESS". LCV. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  25. 1 2 "Mike Levin" (PDF). ocvote.com. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  26. 1 2 "49th Congressional District candidate Mike Levin on the issues". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  27. ↑ Cabrera, Marissa; Cavanaugh, Maureen. "Democrat Mike Levin Aims To Champion Clean Energy, Health Care And Education". KPBS. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
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