Alan Lowenthal

Alan S. Lowenthal (born March 8, 1941) has been a Democratic member of the California State Senate, representing the 27th District since 2004. He previously served in the California State Assembly representing the 55th Assembly district from 1998 until 2004. In both posts, he represented the city of Long Beach and its surrounding suburbs.

Legislative career

Senator Lowenthal serves as Chair of the Senate Committee Education as well as the Select Committee on California Ports and Goods Movement. Senator Lowenthal was named Legislator of the Year by the California Firefighters Association in 2002 after he passed a law that limited liability for organizations that donated firefighting equipment. The League of California Cities named him Legislator of the Year in 2001 due to his advocacy on behalf of local governments. He has also received the "Rivie" Award from the Friends of the Los Angeles River due to his efforts to help clean up the troubled river. Other legislation that Senator Lowenthal has had signed into law is a law to reduce diesel emissions at the ports by limiting idling time for trucks conducting transactions at the ports, a bill established a grant program to provide financial incentives for purchasing or leasing electric vehicles, and a bill to protects highways.

Political Career Prior to Assembly Service

Lowenthal entered elected office as a member of the Long Beach City Council in 1992. In 1998 he won a seat in the California State Assembly, where he served until 2004, at which time he successfully ran for the State Senate. He was reelected for a second term in 2008.

Education and Academic Career

He graduated with a B.A. from Hobart College and earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. After earning his doctorate and prior to entering politics, Lowenthal became a professor of community psychology at California State University, Long Beach in 1969 where he remained on leave for several years until retiring recently.

Personal life

Lowenthal was born in New York City. His ex-wife, Bonnie Lowenthal, was elected to the California State Assembly in 2008. His son Daniel is an elected judge to the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Distinctions

With Bonnie Lowenthal's election and Alan Lowenthal's reelection in 2008, Senator and Assemblywoman Lowenthal are the first divorced husband and wife to serve concurrently in the California State Legislature (although Senator George and Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, who served concurrently from 2004 to 2008, and Senator Tony and Assemblywoman Audra Strickland, who are serving concurrently with the Lowenthals, were both non-divorced pairs of husbands and wives to serve concurrently).

Lowenthal provided significant commentary throughout the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?.

The 27th State Senate District

The 27th District includes the Los Angeles County communities of Avalon, Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Cerritos, Artesia, Bellflower, Downey, South Gate, Lynwood, Paramount, Hawaiian Gardens, Florence-Graham and Willowbrook.

References

External links

• Official website
• Alan Lowenthal at the Internet Movie Database