Hubbry Logo
search
logo
2208348

Zoe Lofgren

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Zoe Lofgren

Susan Ellen "Zoe" Lofgren (/ˈz ˈlɒfɡrɪn/ ZOH LOF-grin; born December 21, 1947) is an American politician and lawyer serving as a U.S. representative from California. A member of the Democratic Party, Lofgren is in her 16th term in Congress, having been first elected in 1994. Lofgren has long served on the House Judiciary Committee, and chaired the House Administration Committee in the 116th and 117th Congresses.

Lofgren was the 16th district's first female U.S. representative, before part of the district was redistricted into the 19th congressional district. She currently represents the 18th district, which covers much of Santa Clara County, including Gilroy, Morgan Hill, and most of San Jose. Representing a district covering much of Silicon Valley, Lofgren has been noted for her activity in tech-related policy areas such as net neutrality and digital surveillance.

Lofgren was born in San Mateo, California, the daughter of Mary Violet, a school cafeteria employee, and Milton R. Lofgren, a beer truck driver. Her grandfather was Swedish. Lofgren attended Gunn High School (1966) in Palo Alto, 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. She earned her B.A. degree in political science from Stanford University in 1970 and her Juris Doctor degree from Santa Clara University School of Law in 1975.

After graduating from Stanford, Lofgren worked as a staffer for Congressman Don Edwards. She served on the House Judiciary Committee when the committee prepared articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon in 1973.

In 1978, Lofgren married John Marshall Collins. Returning to San Jose, she worked in Don Edwards's district office while earning her J.D. degree. After two years as partner at a San Jose immigration law firm, she was elected to the board of San Jose City College. In 1981, she was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, representing downtown San Jose and nearby communities, where she served for 13 years.

In 1994, Lofgren entered a six-way Democratic primary in what was then the 16th district, when Edwards retired after 32 years in Congress. The district, then as now, is a Democratic stronghold, and it was understood that whoever won the Democratic primary would be only the second person to represent this 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). A decided underdog, she managed to defeat the favorite, former San Jose mayor Tom McEnery, by just over 1,100 votes. She breezed to victory in November, and has been reelected every two years since with no substantive opposition.

During the 2004, 2006 and 2008 elections, Lofgren's campaign paid approximately $350,000 to two businesses her husband operates: Collins and Day and John Marshall Collins P.C. over a six-year period to support campaign efforts.

Lofgren chairs the 46-member California Democratic Congressional Delegation. She serves on the Judiciary Committee and chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. In 2007, she co-sponsored the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, which the ACLU characterized as "legislating against thought". In April 2011, she became the first member of Congress to call for federal investigation into the Secure Communities deportation program.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.