Claire Levy

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Claire Levy
Member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 10, 2007
Preceded by	Tom Plant
Born	July 3, 1956 (1956-07-03) (age 51) Bloomington, Indiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	David Driscoll
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Jewish

Claire Levy (born July 3, 1956^[1]) is a legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006, Levy represents House District 13, which encompasses Clear Creek, Gilpin, and eastern Boulder counties.^[2]

Contents 1 Early career 2 Legislative career 2.1 2006 campaign 2.2 2007 legislative session 2.3 2008 legislative session 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Early career

Raised in Indiana,^[3], Levy earned a bachelor's degree from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1978, and then a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, 1982.^[1]

Moving to Denver in 1982^[3], Levy worked as a deputy public defender in the Colorado State Public Defender's Office from 1983 to 1986,^[1] representing indigents accused of felonies. After moving to Boulder in 1986, Levy briefly worked in private practice^[3] with Buchan, Gray, Purvis, and Scheutze. In 1989,^[1] she took a job in the Jefferson County Attorney's office focusing on land use and planning issues. Since 1999, Levy has worked in private practice in Boulder.^[3]

Levy has served as a precinct captain for the Boulder County Democratic Party, on the boards of PLAN Boulder County (where she has also been vice-chair and chair), the Boulder Arts Academy, and the Boulder Ballet, and as a member of the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (including three years as its chair), the Boulder County Housing Authority, and the City of Boulder Planning Board.^[3][4] Levy and her husband, David Driscoll, have two daughters, Mara and Ellie.^[1]

[edit] Legislative career

[edit] 2006 campaign

Bills Introduced in 2007 by Rep. Levy (for which Rep. Levy is the primary originating sponsor)
BILL	TITLE	OUTCOME
HB07-1037	Concerning measures to promote energy efficiency [...].	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1146	Concerning the requirements that certain local governments adopt an energy efficiency code in connection with the construction of certain buildings.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1165	Concerning the application of county building code requirements to structures used exclusively for agricultural purposes.	Passed House and Senate in different versions
HB07-1242	Concerning higher education loan repayment assistance programs for students from institutions of higher education who enter public interest careers.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1246	Concerning the creation of guidelines for the enhanced predictability of discretionary land use decisions made by local governments.	Signed by Gov. Ritter
HB07-1362	Concerning clarification of the documents required for creation of a common interest community [...]	Signed by Gov. Ritter

Claire Levy faced Jim Rettew, an instructor at the University of Colorado in the Democratic Party primary for House District 13 to succeed term limited Rep. Tom Plant.^[5] In the reliably Democratic district, the two candidates differed primarily on emphasis, rather than the substance of issues, with Levy placing her focus on global warming, schools and health care.^[6] Levy also accumulated an extensive list of endorsements from local organizations and Democratic Party leaders.^[7][8]

Levy won 71% of the vote at the party assembly for the house district, forcing Rettew to petition onto the primary ballot. She again prevailed in the primary election, earning over 60% of the popular vote and the Democratic Party's nomination for the legislature.^[9] Having won her party primary and facing no Republican opponent, Levy dedicated her political efforts during the remainder of the election season to promoting Referendum I, a statewide domestic partnerships initiative.^[10] In the general election, Levy defeated Libertarian Rand Fanshier with over 80% of the vote.^[11]

[edit] 2007 legislative session

In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Levy sat on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Transportation and Energy Committee, the Legal Services Committee, and was vice-chair of the Joint Rule 36 Complaint Committee.^[12] The Rule 36 complaint committee reviews allegations of misconduct by lobbyists, and, during the 2007 session, heard a case involving robocalls made by a lobbyist for business leaders;^[13] Levy voted with the majority of the committee, which found that the calls, although deceptive, were protected political speech.^[14]

During the 2007 session, Levy was a prominent proponent of legislation related to energy efficiency standards.^[15] Successful legislation introduced by Levy included measures to require local governments to include updated energy-efficiency standards in building codes,^[16][17] to require utility companies to provide rebates to customers who use energy-efficient products, ^[18] and to add a 50-cent fee to natural gas bills to pay for energy-efficiency programs.^[19] She was also the House sponsor of a Senate bill to impose new energy-efficiency standards on state buildings.^[20]

Following the legislative session, Levy sat on the interim Transportation Legislation Review Committee.^[21]

[edit] 2008 legislative session

In the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Levy sits on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Transportation and Energy Committee, and the Joint Legal Services Committee. Levy also sat on a special committee that recommended the censure of Rep. Douglas Bruce for kicking a photographer, ^[22] and a special ethics panel investigating possible conflicts of interest for Colorado State Fair engineering contracts received by Sen. Abel Tapia.^[23] She was also named assistant chair of the house majority caucus for the 2008 session of the Colorado General Assembly.^[24]

In the 2008 legislative session, Levy introduced bills to prioritize transportation funds for communities that engage in smart growth planning,^[25][26] to impose new fees on vehicles with low fuel economies to fund the state's Office of Smart Growth,^[27] and a bill to extend state tax credits for historic preservation.^[28] A bill to require electric utilities to devote 2 percent of sales revenue to energy efficiency programs^[29] passed the house over objections that it would prove costly to municipal electric authorities.^[30]

Another of Levy's bills would give judges, rather than prosecutors, discretion over whether minors can be charged as adults in criminal court.^[31] Although the legislation passed the state house, Democratic legislative leaders expected the bill to be vetoed by Gov. Bill Ritter.^[32] The bill eventually bassed both houses of the legislature in a weakened form.^[33]

Levy's campaign treasurer, Edith Stevens, was the target of vocal public criticism in late 2007 after she and her husband, a former district judge, won control of a parcel of a neighbor's property through adverse possession. Levy stood behind Stevens and her husband under pressure to disassociate them from her campaign,^[34] but Stevens ultimately resigned from her position as Levy's campaign treasurer.^[35] Following the controversy, Levy signed on during the 2008 session as a co-sponsor on legislation to modify Colorado's adverse possession law,^[36] and introduced legislation that would prevent county and district court judges from presiding over cases involving another current or former judge from the same jurisdiction.^[37] Both measures were passed by the General Assembly^[38] and were signed into law by Gov. Ritter.^[39]

In response to recommendations issued by a state commission on health care, Levy has expressed a desire to introduce legislation to create a single-payer health care system in Colorado,^[40] and has indicated that she may sponsor such a bill late in the 2008 session.^[41]

Levy was also a prominent voice of opposition to increased spending on security measures for the state capitol following a 2007 shooting in the building, arguing that existing security was sufficient and that the capitol was not a high-profile target.^[42][43]

Late in the 2008 legislative session, Levy announced that she would sponsor legislation to require disclosure by corporations of self-owned, or "captive" real estate investment trusts, a practice she denounced as a "a tax-evasion scheme" used by companies including Wal-Mart.^[44]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Legislative web page
• Campaign web site