Ben Allen

This article is about the Californian lawyer and politician. It is not to be confused with Australian footballer and administrator, Ben Allan.
Ben Allen
Official Headshot of Senator Ben Allen
Member of the California State Senate
from the 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded by Ted Lieu (redistricted)
Personal details
Born March 13, 1978
Santa Monica, California
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Residence Santa Monica, California
Alma mater Harvard University (B.A.)
Cambridge University (M.Phil)
UC Berkeley School of Law (J.D.)
Occupation Politician
Profession Attorney, law professor
Religion Judaism[1]
Website http://www.benallenforsenate.com/

Ben Allen (Benjamin J. Allen, born March 13, 1978) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Democrat representing the 26th district, encompassing parts of the Westside and South Bay. Prior to being elected to the state senate, he was a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education and an attorney with the law firm of Richardson & Patel LLP.[2][3][4]

Personal life and education

Allen was born and raised in Santa Monica, California.[5] He attended local public schools including Santa Monica High School, where he was elected Class President during his senior year.[5] From 2003 through 2005, Allen worked for New York Congressman Jose Serrano.[6] Allen obtained an undergraduate degree from Harvard University in 2000, a Master's Degree from the University of Cambridge in 2001, and a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2008 and was admitted to the California Bar in December 2008.[7] An attorney, he is currently an adjunct law professor at UCLA School of Law[8] and Of Counsel at Richardson & Patel LLP.[4] He currently resides in Santa Monica, CA.[9]

Political career

Prior to his election to the State Senate, Allen was a member of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education[3] and the chair of the Los Angeles County Committee on School Board Organization.[10] Allen was first elected to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, receiving the highest number of votes of any candidate in both elections.[11][12][13] He served as president of the school board from 2012-2013.[14] Prior to his election to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board, he served as a University of California Regent from 2007 to 2008,[15] where he was the only voting student regent, while attending law school at University of California at Berkeley. As a Regent, Allen authored the first environmental sustainability measure passed by the University of California Board of Regents.[16]

State senate

Allen,[17] announced his candidacy for California's newly-redrawn and vacant 26th State Senate district on February 11, 2014.[9][18] His major opponents in the primary included Manhattan Beach Mayor Amy Howorth, former Assemblywoman Betsy Butler, and social justice attorney Sandra Fluke. After finishing in first place in the June 3, 2014 primary election with 22.2% of the vote, he faced fellow Democrat Fluke, who finished in second place with 19.4%, in the November 2014 general election.[17] Allen easily defeated Fluke in the general election.[19]

References

  1. ↑ Lowenfeld, Jonah (May 28, 2014). "New faces, new era". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Meet Ben". Ben Allen for Senate. 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "SMMUSD Board of Education". Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Professionals: Benjamin Allen". Richardson Patel LLP. 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Garen, Brenton (October 19, 2012). "Up Front With The Santa Monica - Malibu School Board Candidates". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Santa Monica College Professor Profile Page". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  7. ↑ "California Bar Member Profile Page". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Law 640 - Educational Policy-Making and the Law". UCLA School of Law. 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Islas, Jason (February 11, 2014). "From School Board to State Senate, Santa Monica Native Hopes to Make the Leap". Santa Monica Lookout. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ Rohit, Parimal M. (January 10, 2014). "SMMUSD’s Ben Allen Elected Chair Of School District Organization Committee". Santa Monica Mirror. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  11. ↑ Sumers, Brian (May 30, 2014). "Ben Allen, Santa Monica school board member, seeks state Senate seat". Daily Breeze. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Los Angeles County Statement of Votes Cast by Community for November 6, 2012 General Election". p. Malibu and Santa Monica Results Located on Pages 93 and 135.
  13. ↑ "Los Angeles County Statement of Votes Cast by Community for November 4, 2008 General Election". p. Malibu and Santa Monica Results Located on Pages 94 and 136.
  14. ↑ Chandler, Jenna (December 16, 2011). "'Curious' Allen Chosen New Board President". Santa Monica Patch. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  15. ↑ "The Regents of the University of California" (PDF). University of California. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
  16. ↑ Ephron, Amy (August 4, 2014). "The Secret Campaign of Sandra Fluke". Vogue (magazine). Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Ben Allen". Ballotpedia. 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Ben Allen". Smart Voter. May 19, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Ben Allen Captures Easy Victory". November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2014.

External links