Zoe Lofgren

Zoe Lofgren
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 19th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2013
Preceded by Jeff Denham
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 16th district
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by Don Edwards
Succeeded by Jim Costa
Chairperson of the House Ethics Committee
In office
January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by Gene Green
Succeeded by Jo Bonner
Personal details
Born Sue Lofgren
(1947-12-21) December 21, 1947
San Mateo, California, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) John Collins
Alma mater Stanford University
Santa Clara University
Religion Lutheranism

Zoe Lofgren (born Sue Lofgren,[1] December 21, 1947), pronounced ZO,[2] is the U.S. Representative for California's 19th congressional district, serving in Congress since 1995. She is a member of the Democratic Party. The district, numbered as the 16th District from 1995 to 2013, includes most of San Jose.

She is the ranking member on both the House Committee on House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, and on the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement.

Early life, education, and early career

A Bay Area resident, Lofgren attended Gunn High School (1966) in Palo Alto,[3] and while in high school, Lofgren was a member of the Junior State of America, a student-run political debate, activism, and student governance organization.[4] She earned her B.A. at Stanford University (1970) and a J.D. at Santa Clara University School of Law (1975).[1]

In 1978 she married John Marshall Collins.[3]

Returning to San Jose, Lofgren worked in Don Edwards' district office, while at the same time earning her law degree. After two years as partner at an immigration law firm in San Jose, she was elected first to a community college board, then to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, where she served for 13 years.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1994, Lofgren entered the Democratic primary in what was then the 16th District, after Edwards retired after 32 years in Congress. It was the real contest in this heavily Democratic district. A decided underdog, she managed to defeat the favorite, former San Jose mayor Tom McEnery. Lofgren's victory virtually assured her of becoming only the second person to represent the district since its creation in 1963 (it was numbered as the 9th District from 1963 to 1975, as the 10th from 1975 to 1993, the 16th from 1993 to 2013, and has been the 19th since 2013). She has been reelected ten times with no substantive opposition.

Earlier photo of Lofgren (2005)

In 2006, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) reported that Lofgren's campaign had paid to two companies controlled by her husband $348,186 over the previous six years for rent and services such as accounting and fundraising.[5]

Lofgren is the chair of the 34-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and is the chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. In April 2011, she became the first member of Congress to call for federal investigation into the Secure Communities deportation program.[6]

Beginning in 2009, Lofgren served as chair of the House Ethics Committee. In doing so, she presided over a rare sanction of censure, against long-time member Charles B. Rangel.[7]

In the Stop Online Piracy Act House Judiciary Committee hearings, she defended the current state of the internet in opposition of the bill. She has also opposed the data retention requirements in the H.R. 1981 (the Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011).[8]

In February 2013, Lofgren became one of the sponsors of the Fair Access to Science and Technology Research Act to expedite open access to taxpayer-funded research.[9]

Lofgren participates in a remote Judiciary Committee roundtable in Santa Clara, California in 2015.

Committee assignments

Caucuses

Other leadership positions

Electoral history

16th Congressional District of California, Democratic Primary election, June 7, 1994[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren 16,168 45.3
Democratic Tom McEnery 15,037 42.2
Democratic Dick Lane 1,537 4.3
Democratic Cynthia Williamson 1,414 4.0
Democratic Tom Harney 780 2.2
Democratic Edward R. Dykes 721 2.0
Total votes 35,657 100.0
Voter turnout %
United States House of Representatives elections, 1994[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren 74,935 65.0
Republican Lyle J. Smith 40,409 35.0
No party Barraza (write-in) 8 0.0%
Total votes 115,352 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 1996[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 94,020 65.7
Republican Chuck Wojslaw 43,197 30.2
Libertarian David Bonino 4,124 2.8
Natural Law Abaan Abu-Shumays 1,866 1.3
Total votes 143,207 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 1998[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 85,503 72.82
Republican Horace Eugene Thayn 27,494 23.42
Natural Law John H. Black 4,417 3.76
Total votes 117,414 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2000[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 115,118 72.1
Republican Horace "Gene" Thayn 37,213 23.3
Libertarian Dennis Michael Umphress 4,742 3.0
Natural Law Edward J. Klein 2,673 1.6
Total votes 159,746 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2002[15]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 72,370 67.1
Republican Douglas Adams McNea 32,182 29.8
Libertarian Dennis Michael Umphress 3,434 3.1
Total votes 104,556 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2004[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 129,222 70.9
Republican Lawrence R. Wiesner 47,992 26.4
Libertarian Markus Welch 5,067 2.7
Total votes 182,281 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2006[17]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 98,929 72.8
Republican Charel Winston 37,130 27.2
Total votes 136,059 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2008[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 146,481 71.3
Republican Charel Winston 49,399 24.1
Libertarian Steven Wells 9,447 4.6
Total votes 205,327 100.0
Voter turnout %
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 105,841 67.9
Republican Daniel Sahagun 37,913 24.3
Libertarian Edward M. Gonzalez 12,304 7.8
Total votes 156,058 100.0
Democratic hold
United States House of Representatives elections, 2012[19]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Zoe Lofgren (incumbent) 162,300 73.2
Republican Robert Murray 59,313 26.8
Total votes 221,613 100.0
Democratic hold

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lynne E. Ford (December 21, 1947). Encyclopedia of Women and American Politics. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Guide to Frequently Mispronounced Congressional Names".
  3. 1 2 "Official Congressional Directory, 2005–2006, 109th Congress, Convened ...". Congress, Joint Committee on Printing. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Notable Alumni of the Junior State of America".
  5. ↑ Kelley, Matt (June 17, 2007). "Lawmakers used campaign funds to pay relatives". usatoday.com. Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  6. ↑ Romney, Lee (April 22, 2011). "Congresswoman calls for investigation of enforcement program that screens for illegal immigrants in jails". Los Angeles Times.
  7. ↑ Kane, Paul; Farentholt, David A. (December 2, 2010). "House censures Rep. Charles Rangel in 333–79 vote". The Washington Post.
  8. ↑ Gross, Grant (July 28, 2011). "House Panel Votes to Require ISPs to Keep Customer Records". PC World. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Mike Doyle and Kevin Yoder Introduce Bill Expanding Access to Federally Funded Research". Archived from the original on October 25, 2013.
  10. ↑ Our Campaigns "California District 16 – Democratic Primary Race," (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  11. ↑ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  12. ↑ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  13. ↑ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  14. ↑ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  15. ↑ 2002 Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  16. ↑ Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  17. ↑ 2006 Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  18. ↑ 2006 Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008" (retrieved on August 8, 2009).
  19. ↑ Office of the California Secretary of State (retrieved on August 8, 2009).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zoe Lofgren.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Don Edwards		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 16th congressional district
1995–2013 		Succeeded by
Jim Costa
Preceded by
Gene Green		 Chairperson of the House Ethics Committee
2009–2011 		Succeeded by
Jo Bonner
Preceded by
Jeff Denham		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 19th congressional district
2013–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Frank LoBiondo		 United States Representatives by seniority
64th 		Succeeded by
Mac Thornberry
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.