Evan Low
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.
Evan Low | |
---|---|
羅達倫 | |
Member of the California State Assembly from the 28th district | |
Assumed office December 1, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Paul Fong |
Mayor of Campbell | |
In office December 2010 – December 1, 2014 | |
Preceded by | Michael Kotowski |
Succeeded by | Jeff Cristina |
Personal details | |
Born | San Jose, California, U.S. | June 5, 1983
Political party | Democratic |
Education | De Anza College (AA) San Jose State University (BA) |
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 several-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.
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]
2014 California State Assembly
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
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
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
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][18][19]
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.[20][21][22][23]
References
- "Election results, Santa Clara County, November 2014". The Mercury News. November 4, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- https://www.ebar.com/news/latest_news//286838
- McLaughlin, Ken (December 7, 2009). "Campbell picks young, gay mayor". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
- Jones, Carolyn (December 2, 2009). "Young, gay Asian becomes mayor of Campbell". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
- "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.
- https://www.hks.harvard.edu/educational-programs/executive-education/senior-executives-state-and-local-government
- 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.
- 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.
- White, Jeremy (November 25, 2014). "California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announces leadership team". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- White, Jeremy (March 10, 2016). "Speaker Rendon names new California Assembly committee chairs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- https://a28.asmdc.org/biography
- Miller, Cheryll (October 13, 2015). "State Lawmakers Form Tech Caucus". The Recorder. ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- Bajko, Matthew (April 7, 2016). "Political Notebook: Pelosi backs CA banning travel to stateswith anti-LGBT laws". Retrieved April 9, 2016.
- Cogan, Marin (February 25, 2016). "Is There a 'Next Obama' on the Democratic Party Bench?". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
- https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article219711725.html
- https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-pol-sac-future-of-uber-taxi-law-20170615-htmlstory.html
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=54&v=ZMqLO2MC6sA
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-03. Retrieved 2013-04-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- 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.
- http://www.techwire.net/news/low-named-2017-legislator-of-the-year-by-tech-association.html
- http://www.calfac.org/news-release/cfa-honors-legislators-dedicated-helping-protect-propel-higher-education-state
- https://www.facebook.com/Assemblymemberlow/posts/10154336877480823
- http://www.faccc.org/blog/2015/07/10/political-spotlight-assemblymember-evan-low-d-campbell/