| Susan Davis | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 53rd district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2001 |
|
| Preceded by | Brian Bilbray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Susan Carol Alpert April 13, 1944 Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Steve Davis |
| Residence | San Diego, California |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley, University of North Carolina |
| Occupation | Social worker |
| Religion | Judaism |
Susan Carol Alpert Davis (born April 13, 1944) is the U.S. Representative for California's 53rd congressional district, serving since 2001. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just under half the city of San Diego, as well as the entire cities of Coronado, Imperial Beach and Lemon Grove.[1]
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Davis was born Susan Carol Alpert in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the daughter of Dorothy M. "Dora" (née Wexler) and Dr. George R. Alpert. All of her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.[2] She has spent most of her life in California. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where she was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority.[3] She earned a master's degree in social work from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her husband Steve Davis was a doctor in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. After returning to California, she became a social worker in San Diego.[4]
Davis was elected to the San Diego School Board in 1983. She served there until 1992, spending eight years of her time as president or vice president of the body. In 1994, she was elected to the California State Assembly, and was reelected in 1996 and 1998. In the Assembly, Davis chaired the Committee on Consumer Protection, Government Efficiency and Economic Development. She authored a state law giving women direct access to their OB/Gyns without getting a referral from their primary care physicians.
Davis serves on the House Armed Services Committee, for which she has served as the Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel since July 1, 2007. She also serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on House Administration.
Susan Davis is a member of the New Democrat Coalition and portrays herself as working across party lines.
Davis has introduced a federal version of the California OB/Gyn law she authored at the start of every Congress since she was elected. Provisions of her OB/GYN bill were included in the health care reform bill enacted into law.
In 2000, she challenged three-term Republican incumbent Brian Bilbray in what was then the 49th District, winning with 50 percent of the vote. Her district was renumbered the 53rd District after the 2000 Census redistricting. She has been reelected four times without much difficulty. She is the first Democrat to represent what is now the 53rd district for more than one term in over half a century. The only other Democrat to represent this district since the Harry Truman administration, Lynn Schenk, was toppled by Bilbray in the 1994 Republican wave.
Davis and her husband Steve have two children and three grandchildren.
| California Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mike Gotch |
California State Assemblywoman, 76th District 1994-2000 |
Succeeded by Christine Kehoe |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Brian Bilbray |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 49th congressional district 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Darrell E. Issa |
| Preceded by District Created |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 53rd congressional district 2003-Present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by John Culberson R-Texas |
United States Representatives by seniority 171st |
Succeeded by Jeff Flake R-Arizona |