| Michael Feuer | |
|---|---|
| Member of the California State Assembly from the 42nd district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 4, 2006 [1] |
|
| Preceded by | Paul Koretz |
| Member of the Los Angeles City Council from the 5th district | |
| In office July 1, 1994 – July 1, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Zev Yaroslavsky |
| Succeeded by | Jack Weiss |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 14, 1958 San Bernardino, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Gail Ruderman Feuer[2] |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Harvard Law School |
| Profession | Politician Lawyer |
| Religion | Judaism |
Michael Nelson Feuer (born May 14, 1958)[3] is an American politician and lawyer. He has been elected to three two-year terms in the California State Assembly, representing the 42nd Assembly District. The district includes Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and parts of West Los Angeles. He was elected in 2006 on the Democratic ticket, and reelected in 2008 and 2010.
Feuer served as a member of the Los Angeles City Council from 1995 to 2001, representing the 5th Council District. In 2001 he was a candidate for Los Angeles City Attorney. He placed first of four candidates in the primary for the nonpartisan office, but narrowly lost the runoff to Rocky Delgadillo. Prior to seeking office, Feuer served as executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of Justice and was a lawyer in private practice.
Due to California's term limits law, his third term is his final term in the Assembly. In September 2011 he filed papers to initiate a second campaign for Los Angeles City Attorney, the same position he sought in 2001. The primary is March 5, 2013, with a general election, if necessary, on May 21, 2013.
Feuer holds both a bachelor's degree and a law degree from Harvard University, and is married with two children: Danielle, 18, who is in her freshman year at Yale University, and Aaron, who is 21, and is in his junior year at Yale.
Contents |
Feuer was born and raised in San Bernardino, California. Feuer's first electoral victory came in fourth grade when he was elected class president at Parkside Elementary School, a racially-mixed public school.[4] In another early election, Feuer ran for class president at Golden Valley Junior High School. The initial election resulted in a tie. A few days later, the staff of the school decided to have another election, which Feuer won. He graduated in 1976 from San Bernardino High School, where he was class valedictorian. In high school, he played basketball and was a fan of the California Angels.
Feuer received both a bachelor's degree (magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and a law degree (cum laude) from Harvard University.[5] He later served on the Harvard Law School Visiting Committee, which reports to the Harvard Board of Overseers. He practiced law at two of California’s leading firms and served as a judicial clerk to the California Supreme Court.[5]
Feuer served as executive director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services - The House of Justice.[5][6] The Los Angeles Daily Journal declared that Feuer transformed Bet Tzedek into a “national success story” by establishing programs to help Alzheimer’s patients, victims of the Northridge earthquake and L.A. civil unrest, and Holocaust survivors striving to obtain restitution.[5] At Bet Tzedek, Feuer oversaw free legal representation for more than 50,000 elderly, poor, and disabled clients on issues including health care, nursing home abuse, consumer fraud, and slum housing.[5]
From 1995 to 2001, Feuer served as the 5th District member of the Los Angeles City Council. He was elected to fill a vacancy caused by the election of Councilmember Zev Yaroslavsky to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Feuer was elected over Barbara Yaroslavsky, the outgoing councilmember's wife.[4] While on the Council, Feuer led committees on business tax reform, children’s and seniors’ issues, and ethics in government.[5] He wrote ordinances and created new programs to combat gun violence, expand decent, affordable housing, protect seniors from elder abuse, advance the rights of women and girls, enhance environmental quality, improve emergency services and public safety, promote better race relations, and reform City government. Feuer chaired the City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee, delivering balanced multi-billion dollar budgets and intervening to ensure meals and transportation for seniors in need, jobs for disadvantaged youth, basic services for Los Angeles’ neighborhoods and funding to promote literacy.[5] Feuer reached the two-term limit for his city council seat in 2001, and ran for city attorney.[5][7][8]
In 2001, Feuer ran for City Attorney. He placed first in the nonpartisan primary for the office, taking 39% to opponent Rocky Delgadillo's 38%, but was narrowly defeated in the runoff, with Delgadillo taking 52% to Feuer's 48%.[9] Feuer collected numerous endorsements in the race, including the LA Times.[10] Afterward, Feuer worked in private practice and taught at the UCLA School of Public Affairs. He also wrote articles on children, seniors, government reform, violence prevention, consumer rights, the justice system and the environment in California’s leading newspapers. He served as a commentator on National Public Radio member KPCC.[11]
In 2006, Feuer defeated West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land and three others in the Democratic primary for the 42nd Assembly District seat. Feuer ran with the endorsement of the Los Angeles Times, outgoing assemblymember Paul Koretz, and the Sierra Club.[12][13][14] The Los Angeles Times highlighted Feuer's experience and policy skill as evidence that he would be an effective legislator. Land was endorsed by the California Labor Federation AFL-CIO.[15] Feuer won the Democratic nomination with over 50% of the vote.[16] With more than 50% of 42nd Assembly District voters registered as Democrats, Feuer was assured an easy victory in the general election,[17] and indeed, Feuer won the general election against Republican Steven Mark Sion with more than 72% of the vote.[18] In 2008 he was reelected, defeating Sion again with more than 76% of the vote. He was elected to a third and final term in the Assembly in 2010, defeating Republican Mary Toman-Miller with more than 73% of the vote.
During his first term in the Assembly, Feuer served as chairman of Budget Subcommittee No. 5, dealing with information technology and transportation.[19] He also served on the Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee, the Judiciary Committee, the Revenue and Taxation Committee, and the Select Committees on Rail Transportation and Prison Construction and Operation.[5] As a freshman, Feuer introduced more than 20 bills, on topics including transit oriented development, improvements on the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, reducing DUI ticket masking, nursing home safety and information, and putting a 7% cap on UC fee increases. The most publicized of Feuer's bills was AB 1471, which required all semi-automatic gun cartridges sold in California after 2010 to be microstamped in two locations. Feuer delivered the June 1, 2007, Democratic weekly radio address concerning that bill. (Media:http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/Newsline/Audio/20070601RadioAddressEnglishGunsFeuer.mp3 Radio Address) Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger approved Feuer's microstamping bill and his bill on DUI ticket masking on October 14, 2007, but vetoed several of Feuer's other bills, including those on nursing homes, consumer rebates, and court fees.[20]
Feuer currently serves as chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee. He continues to serve on the Budget Committee and the Environmental Safety & Toxic Materials Committee. He also serves on the Insurance Committee, and is a legislative participant in the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Zev Yaroslavsky |
Los Angeles City Councilman 5th district 1994–2001 |
Succeeded by Jack Weiss |
| California Assembly | ||
| Preceded by Paul Koretz |
California Assemblyman 42nd district 2007–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |