Evan Low

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 – 2014
Preceded by Michael Kotowski
Succeeded by Jeff Cristina
Member of the Campbell City Council
In office
2006–2014
Personal details
Born (1983-06-05) June 5, 1983
San Jose, California
Nationality American
Political party Democratic
Residence Campbell, California
Alma mater San Jose State University (BA)
Occupation Politician

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 South Bay and Silicon Valley.

Prior to his election in the Assembly in 2014, Low served as a Mayor and City Councilmember in Campbell, California. He is also a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, and the California Asian & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.

Early life

Low was born in 1983 as the son of Arthur Low, a Chinese American optometrist, grew up in San Jose, California, attending Leland High School, and moved to Campbell in 2003.[2][3][4]

Education

He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from San Jose State University.[3][4] He participated in a three-week program, the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.[4]

California Assembly

In 2014, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins appointed Low as Assistant Majority Whip.[5] Low was kept in the same leadership role by Atkins's successor, Speaker Anthony Rendon, in 2016.[6]

Low is a co-founder and co-chair of the California Legislative Tech Caucus, a bipartisan and bicameral group of state lawmakers dedicated "to ensur[ing] that California remains the global leader in technology and innovation." [7] There are 24 members of the Tech Caucus.[8]

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.[7]

In 2016, New York Magazine identified Low as a potential United States presidential candidate in 2024.[9]

2014 California State Assembly

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

Campbell City Council

In 2004, he unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the City Council, and won in 2006. Low worked as a senior district representative for California's former 28th State Assembly district Assemblymember Paul Fong.[2][3]

When his colleagues selected him to become Campbell mayor in 2009, Low became the youngest openly gay, Asian American Mayor in the nation.[10]

In 2013, his colleagues on the Campbell City Council selected him to serve as Mayor for a second time.[11] His term on the council expired in 2014.

Low is also known for launching a petition on the website Change.org, that asked the Food and Drug Administration to lift its ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood. By August 31, 2013, the petition had garnered over 25,000 signatures and by September 10, 2013, nearly 50,000.

Honors

While Mayor of San Francisco, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom issued a Proclamation naming June 5, 2006, “Evan Low Day” in the City and County of San Francisco.[10][12][13]

References

  1. ↑ "Election results, Santa Clara County, November 2014". Mercury News. November 4, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  2. 1 2 McLaughlin, Ken (December 7, 2009). "Campbell picks young, gay mayor". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved December 9, 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Jones, Carolyn (December 2, 2009). "Young, gay Asian becomes mayor of Campbell". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 "Campbell Council Expected To Elect Country's Youngest Openly Gay Mayor". KTVU. December 1, 2009. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  5. ↑ White, Jeremy (November 25, 2014). "California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announces leadership team". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  6. ↑ White, Jeremy (March 10, 2016). "Speaker Rendon names new California Assembly committee chairs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Miller, Cheryll (October 13, 2015). "State Lawmakers Form Tech Caucus". The Recorder. ALM Media Properties, LLC. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ Bajko, Matthew (April 7, 2016). "Political Notebook: Pelosi backs CA banning travel to stateswith anti-LGBT laws". Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ Cogan, Marin (February 25, 2016). "Is There a 'Next Obama' on the Democratic Party Bench?". New York Magazine. Retrieved March 14, 2016.
  10. 1 2 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.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ http://www.apaics.org/index.php/resources/representative_profile/Evan_Low_CA
  13. ↑ Elias, Jennifer (2010-02-04). "New Campbell mayor credits much of his success to SJSU". Spartan Daily. San Jose State University. Retrieved 2015-06-24. Low said he was rejected from every major college he applied.
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