Steve Knight (politician)

Steve Knight
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 25th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Buck McKeon
Member of the California State Senate from the 21st district
In office December 3, 2012 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Sharon Runner (redistricted)
Succeeded by	Sharon Runner
Member of the California State Assembly from the 36th district
In office December 1, 2008 – November 30, 2012
Preceded by	Sharon Runner
Succeeded by	Steve Fox
Palmdale City Councilman
In office December 5, 2005 – December 1, 2008
Succeeded by	Laura Bettencourt
Personal details
Born	Stephen Thomas Knight December 17, 1966 Edwards Air Force Base, Antelope Valley, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Lily Knight
Residence	Palmdale, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Antelope Valley College
Profession	Police officer
Religion	Catholic[1]
Website	Rep. Steve Knight
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	Army

Stephen Thomas "Steve" Knight (born December 17, 1966^[2]) is an American politician. A Republican, he is the U.S. Representative for California's 25th congressional district. Previously, he represented California's 21st State Senate district from 2012 to 2014 and California's 36th State Assembly district from 2008 through 2012. From 2010 to 2012, he served as Assistant Minority Leader in the California State Assembly.^[3]

Knight served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1993 and served for 18 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was previously a member of the Palmdale, California City Council.

Early life, military service and career

Knight was born at Edwards Air Force Base in the Antelope Valley. After graduating from Palmdale High School, he served in the U.S. Army from 1985-1987 as a track systems mechanic in Friedberg, Germany.^[4] When his tour ended, he served in the Army Reserve, and his total military service spanned from 1985 to 1993.^[5] In 2006, Knight received an associate of arts degree from Antelope Valley College.^[6]

Knight served for 18 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, where he was selected to serve on the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) team.^[7] He served on the Palmdale City Council and represented the north Los Angeles County area in both the California State Assembly and California State Senate.^[8]

Steve Knight speaks with members of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department

California State Legislature

Knight was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2008, succeeding Sharon Runner. From 2010 to 2012, he was the Assistant Minority Leader of the California State Assembly.^[9] In 2012, Knight was elected to the California State Senate, where he represented the 21st District until 2014. His father, the late William J. "Pete" Knight, was a former Air Force test pilot and Republican state senator in the Antelope Valley.^[8]

In the State Assembly, Knight was vice chairman of the natural resources and public safety committees and served on the aerospace; local government; utilities and commerce; and Rules Committees.^[10]

In 2014, Knight was one of three legislators who voted against a measure barring the display or sale of Confederate flag images from California state museums and gift shops. The sponsor of the bill called it a bill against "ugly racism" while Knight called it a free-speech issue.^[11]

While in the California State Legislature, Knight focused his efforts on reducing the tax burden on California families and businesses, and restoring the state's economic vitality during the Great Recession. In September 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill introduced by Knight that aimed to protect California’s disabled veterans by fixing an issue with property tax exemptions.^[12][13]

U.S. House of Representatives

2014 election

Knight focused his 2014 campaign on jobs and education.^[14] The Los Angeles Daily News endorsed Knight in the 2014 primary election.^[15] Due to California's blanket primary system, Knight faced fellow Republican Tony Strickland in the November 4, 2014, general election. Knight defeated Strickland with 53% of the vote.^[16]

2016 election

In May 2015, the National Republican Congressional Committee named Knight to its Patriot Program. The program gives added attention by the party to reelection campaigns in districts most likely to switch to Democratic representation in upcoming elections.^[17]

Two Democrats and one other Republican have filed to run in the district's top-two primary, which will take place on June 7, 2016.^[18]

In a debate on May 5th, 2016, Knight said, “I think that Social Security was a bad idea. I do. I absolutely think it was a bad idea. I think that what should have happened was we should have had the government sit down with the private sector and build a system that people could take with them."

Tenure

Knight was sworn into office on January 6, 2015.^[19]

Knight is pro-life and believes that life begins at conception.^[20] In September 2015, he co-sponsored the Women's Public Health and Safety Act, designed to allow individual states to determine if an abortion provider qualifies for Medicaid programs.^[21]

On January 8, 2016, Knight voted for HR 1927, the Fairness in Class Action Litigation and Furthering Asbestos Claim Transparency Act of 2016, a bill to prohibit a federal court from granting monetary relief for personal injury or economic loss to a party bringing a class action lawsuit, unless the party demonstrates that each proposed member suffered the same type and scope of injury as the class representative.^[22]

Knight is a supporter of Second Amendment rights.^[23]

Knight believes that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) should be repealed.^[24]

In April 2015, Knight had a verbal altercation with a protester. After the protester touched him, Knight threatened him. Knight later apologized.^[25]

In April 2015, Knight voted to impose a one-year delay on new Department of Defense rules designed to shield military families from abusive terms on payday loans and other forms of expensive short-term credit.^[26]

Knight has authored a bill that would create a national memorial to mark the site of the St. Francis Dam disaster in the Santa Clarita Valley.^[27]

In the wake of the Aliso Canyon gas leak, which became public in October 2015, Knight was criticized by some residents in his district for his reaction to the leak. He did not visit the Porter Ranch gas leak site until January 8, 2016, saying that he did not want to politicize the problem.^[28] The New York Times reported that Knight, who has received campaign donations from Sempra Energy, said in December 2015 that he was confident that SoCalGas was “working on this as diligently as they can.”^[29] In February 2016, Knight introduced a bill that would block mining at Soledad Canyon.^[30] Knight also introduced legislation intended to increase federal regulation of gas storage facilities.^[31] Knight's legislation was merged into a bipartisan bill named the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016. In April 2016, the bill was passed unanimously by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It awaits a vote by the full U.S. House.^[32]

Also in February 2016, Knight introduced legislation that would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to continue and expand upon its research, engineering and development programs through 2019.^[33][34]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Armed Services
  • Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
  • Subcommittee on Military Personnel
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
• Committee on Science, Space and Technology
  • Subcommittee on Energy (Vice Chair)
  • Subcommittee on Space
• Committee on Small Business
  • Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce
  • Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations

Personal life

Knight is Catholic. He lives in Palmdale with his wife Lily and their two sons.^[6]

References

1. "California-25: Steve Knight (R)". www.nationaljournal.com.
2. "KNIGHT, Steve, (1966 - )". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
3. Smith, Perry (November 10, 2014). "Speculation Begins For Steve Knight’s State Senate Seat". KHTS. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
4. "New Members Guide 2015". The Hill. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
5. "New Members of the 114th Congress Who Have Served in the Military" (PDF). Exchange and Commissary News (Westbury, NY: Executive Business Media). December 1, 2014. p. 11.
6. "House of Representatives Member Profile; Rep. Steve Knight". RollCall.com. Washington, DC: CQ-Roll Call, Inc. September 8, 2014.
7. "Steve Knight (R) - District 21". California State Senate. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
8. Panzar, Javier (December 10, 2015). "Democratic lawyer announcing challenge to GOP Rep. Steve Knight". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
9. "Steve Knight's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
10. "Our View: Knight for state Senate". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. October 2, 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
11. Merl, Jean (August 27, 2014). "Confederate flag vote puts Knight on spot in congressional race". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
12. "Gov. Brown passes bill for disabled veterans". Daily Press. September 30, 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
13. "Knight Measures To Help Veterans, And Protect The Disabled Clear The Senate". High Desert Daily. May 28, 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
14. Simon, Melissa (October 24, 2014). "Strickland, Knight focus on jobs, education". Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
15. "Endorsement: Steve Knight for Congress in California’s 25th District". Los Angeles Daily News. May 8, 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
16. Winburn, Jim (November 5, 2014). "2014 General Election results of interest to Antelope Valley voters". The Antelope Valley Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
17. Merl, Jean (May 1, 2015). "Republicans add Californians to list of its vulnerable House members". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
18. Wenner, Gretchen (April 25, 2016). "Knight faces three primary challengers in 25th congressional district". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
19. "Congressman Steve Knight Sworn Into Office". KHTS. January 6, 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
20. Steve Knight On the Issues, accessed April 1, 2016
21. Women's Public Health and Safety Act Vote Smart, accessed April1, 2016
22. Fairness in Class Action Litigation Vote Smart, accessed April1, 2016
23. Steve Knight On the Issues, accessed April 1, 2016
24. Steve Knight On the Issues, accessed April 1, 2016
25. Bump, Philip (April 21, 2015). "California Rep. Steve Knight tells a protester, ‘I’ll drop your ass’". Washington Post. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
26. Democrats Defeat GOP Plan to Block Predatory Lending Protections For SoldiersThe Huffington Post, April 30, 2015
27. Money, Luke (January 1, 2016). "Knight cites frustrations, progress during first year in Congress". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
28. "As Porter Ranch Gas Leak Lingers, Candidates Smell a Political Opportunity" Los Angeles Times, January 18, 2016
29. The Invisible Catastrophe The New York Times, March 31, 2016
30. Money, Luke (February 16, 2016). "Wilk introduces ‘Plan B’ to help block Cemex mine". Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
31. Healy, Patrick (February 16, 2016). "Energy Secretary Calls for 'Fresh Look' at Regulation After Gas Leak". NBC. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
32. Bartholomew, Dana (April 24, 2016). "Valley lawmakers continue push for safer natural gas storage". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 29 April 2016.
33. Varela, Rob (February 8, 2016). "Knight pushes FAA bill to expand aerospace research". Ventura County Star. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
34. "Knight Introduces Aerospace Research Legislation". KHTS. February 9, 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2016.

External links

• Official website
• Campaign website
• Stephen Knight at Ballotpedia
• Steve Knight at GovTrack