Evan Low

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Evan Low
羅達倫
EvanLow-3x5.jpg
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 28th district
Assumed office
December 1, 2014
Preceded byPaul Fong
Mayor of Campbell
In office
December 1, 2009 – December 1, 2014
Preceded byMichael Kotowski
Succeeded byJeff Cristina
Personal details
Born (1983-06-05) June 5, 1983 (age 38)
San Jose, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationDe Anza College (AA)
San Jose State University (BA)

Evan Low (Chinese: 羅達倫; pinyin: Luó Dálún) (born June 5, 1983) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Assembly.[1] He is a Democrat representing the 28th Assembly District, which encompasses parts of the Northern CA South Bay and Silicon Valley. He is a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus (and served as chair from 2017 to 2018), and the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Prior to his election in the Assembly in 2014, Low served as Mayor and City Councilmember in Campbell, California.

On January 15, 2020, Low was named national co-chair of the Andrew Yang for president campaign.[2]

Early life[]

Low was born in San Jose, California on June 5, 1983, to Chinese American optometrist Arthur Low. Low grew up in San Jose, California and attended Leland High School. In 2003, Low moved to Campbell, California.[3][4][5]

Education[]

Low earned an associate's degree from De Anza College, a community college in Cupertino, California, and a bachelor's degree in political science from San Jose State University.[4][5] In 2008, Low completed a three-week-long certificate program[6] at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government for Senior Executives in State and Local Government as a David Bohnett LGBTQ Victory Institute Leadership Fellow.[citation needed]

Campbell City Council[]

In 2004, Low unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the City Council, but he ran again in 2006 and won in his second attempt. Low worked as a senior district representative for California's former 28th State Assembly district Assemblymember Paul Fong.[3][4]

When his colleagues selected him to become Campbell mayor in 2009, Low became the youngest openly gay, Asian American Mayor in the nation.[7]

In 2013, his colleagues on the Campbell City Council selected him to serve as Mayor for a second time.[8] His term on the council expired in 2014.

California Assembly[]

In 2014, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins appointed Low as Assistant Majority Whip.[9] Low was kept in the same leadership role by Atkins's successor, Speaker Anthony Rendon, in 2016.[10]

Low chairs the California Assembly Business and Professions Committee.[11]

Low is a co-founder and co-chair of the California Legislative Tech Caucus, a bi-partisan group of Assemblymembers and Senators engaged in a statewide effort to ensure that California remains the global leader in technology and innovation. The Caucus is committed to learning about, protecting and promoting California's technology and innovation sector. The Caucus seeks to foster and promote technology and innovation, support legislation that creates jobs, improve the use of technology to improve the lives of people, promote the technology and innovation climate in California, and engage on emerging policy issues.."[12] There are 24 members of the Tech Caucus.[13]

In 2016, Low introduced AB 1887 that would ban all California state-funded travel to states that enacted laws to discriminate against individuals based upon sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, that was supported by U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.[12]

In 2016, New York Magazine identified Low as a potential United States presidential candidate in 2024 along with nine other young Democrats who, like Obama, have unusual ambition.[14]

He has been a leader in the state legislature with numerous bills signed. In the 2017–2018 session, The Sacramento Bee identified Low as California's most prolific lawmaker, where he had the most bills signed by any member of the state legislature by Governor Jerry Brown.[15] He has also been credited with driving the future of Uber and Lyft in the California State Legislature.[16]

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg recognized him for advancing the technology and innovation economy in the state of California.[17]

In 2019, Low introduced AB-57, which would allow candidates with birth names in character-based languages—such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean—to use those names in voter requested translated ballots. Previously, candidates such as Fiona Ma have had transliterated versions names of their name (e.g. Fei O Na Ma) appear on translated ballots. The bill also required candidates without character based birth names to phonetically translate their names on translated ballots, unless they prove that they are known under a different name within the target community. AB-57 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2019 and went into effect in 2020.[18]

2014 California State Assembly[]

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2014
California's 28th State Assembly district election, 2014
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Evan Low 30,807 39.7
Republican Chuck Page 20,895 26.9
Democratic Barry Chang 19,156 24.7
Republican Michael Hunsweck 6,732 8.7
Total votes 77,590 100.0
General election
Democratic Evan Low 71,239 59.4
Republican Chuck Page 48,645 40.6
Total votes 119,884 100.0
Democratic hold

2016 California State Assembly[]

See also: California State Assembly election, 2016
California's 28th State Assembly district election, 2016
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Evan Low (incumbent) 83,038 71.5
Republican Nicholas Sclavos 33,154 28.5
Total votes 116,192 100.0
General election
Democratic Evan Low (incumbent) 136,547 70.0
Republican Nicholas Sclavos 58,641 30.0
Total votes 195,188 100.0
Democratic hold

2018 California State Assembly[]

See also: California State Assembly election, 2018
California's 28th State Assembly district election, 2018
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Evan Low (incumbent) 77,011 70.8
Republican Michael L. Snyder 31,776 29.2
Total votes 108,787 100.0
General election
Democratic Evan Low (incumbent) 130,815 71.1
Republican Michael L. Snyder 53,195 28.9
Total votes 184,010 100.0
Democratic hold

2020 California State Assembly[]

2020 California's 28th State Assembly district election
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Evan Low (incumbent) 67,678 69.5%
Republican Carlos Rafael Cruz 24,462 25.1%
No party preference Sam Ross 5,262 5.4%
Total votes

Honors[]

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation naming June 5, 2006, “Evan Low Day” in the City and County of San Francisco.[7][19][20]

Assemblymember Low has been named "Legislator of the Year" by the Internet Association, TechNet, The Computing Technology Industry Association, California Faculty Association, Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, California District Attorneys Association and Faculty Association of California Community Colleges.[21][22][23][24]

References[]

  1. ^ "Election results, Santa Clara County, November 2014". The Mercury News. November 4, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  2. ^ https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//286838
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b McLaughlin, Ken (December 7, 2009). "Campbell picks young, gay mayor". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Jones, Carolyn (December 2, 2009). "Young, gay Asian becomes mayor of Campbell". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Campbell Council Expected To Elect Country's Youngest Openly Gay Mayor". KTVU. December 1, 2009. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  6. ^ https://www.hks.harvard.edu/educational-programs/executive-education/senior-executives-state-and-local-government
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b Vongsarath, Chris (2009-12-02). "Campbell's Evan Low sworn in as youngest Asian-American, openly gay mayor in the country". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 2015-06-24. ... following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Art Low, a former Campbell Chamber of Commerce President and the 1994 Citizen of the Year.
  8. ^ Babcock, Brian (January 3, 2013). "Evan Low says he'll focus on 'issues that unite us'". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved April 24, 2013. [Low] wanted to become a teacher, while his father Arthur wanted him to take over his optometry business.
  9. ^ White, Jeremy (November 25, 2014). "California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announces leadership team". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  10. ^ White, Jeremy (March 10, 2016). "Speaker Rendon names new California Assembly committee chairs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  11. ^ https://a28.asmdc.org/biography
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b Miller, Cheryll (October 13, 2015). "State Lawmakers Form Tech Caucus". The Recorder. ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  13. ^ Bajko, Matthew (April 7, 2016). "Political Notebook: Pelosi backs CA banning travel to stateswith anti-LGBT laws". Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Cogan, Marin (February 25, 2016). "Is There a 'Next Obama' on the Democratic Party Bench?". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  15. ^ https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article219711725.html
  16. ^ https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-pol-sac-future-of-uber-taxi-law-20170615-htmlstory.html
  17. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=54&v=ZMqLO2MC6sA
  18. ^ Bollag, Sophia (July 18, 2019). "California candidates can use foreign language birth names on ballots under new law". Sacramento Bee.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ Elias, Jennifer (2010-02-04). "New Campbell mayor credits much of his success to SJSU". Spartan Daily. San Jose State University. Archived from the original on 2014-02-02. Retrieved 2015-06-24. Low said he was rejected from every major college he applied.
  21. ^ http://www.techwire.net/news/low-named-2017-legislator-of-the-year-by-tech-association.html
  22. ^ http://www.calfac.org/news-release/cfa-honors-legislators-dedicated-helping-protect-propel-higher-education-state
  23. ^ https://www.facebook.com/Assemblymemberlow/posts/10154336877480823
  24. ^ http://www.faccc.org/blog/2015/07/10/political-spotlight-assemblymember-evan-low-d-campbell/

External links[]

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