Editorial: Ben Allen for state Senate
Creative commons photo by mark6mauno via Wikipedia
By Editorial Board
Nov. 5, 2018 3:19 a.m.
The board endorses Ben Allen as the state senator for Senate District 26, which includes Westwood.
Allen is currently the chair of the Senate Education Committee, which hears more than 400 bills regarding K-12 education, higher education and early childhood education during its two-year term. Allen has prioritized higher education and pushed for greater affordability in California’s public universities.
He helped author Senate Bill 483, which would provide $2 billion to renovate the University of California and California State University campuses, and authored Senate Bill 674, which encourages banks to lower interest rates on student loans.
His extensive experience authoring and advocating for education legislation will be vital in a state that greatly lacks funding and resources for its public schools.
In response to a shortage of science, technology, engineering and math teachers in California schools, Allen authored Senate Bill 436, which created a program that recruits and trains STEM professionals to teach in schools. As a member of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education from 2015 to 2016, Allen also helped raise $25 million for the program, showing his ability to feasibly execute his goals.
Allen has also shown commitment to promoting career technical education, having authored a bill to fund the Southern California Regional Occupational Center, a facility that provides high school students and adults with valuable job training.
This kind of experience and clear commitment to improving the quality of education in California make him the clear choice for a state senator position that counts Westwood as part of its constituency.
