Elinor A. Levin (born 1987) is an American politician, tutor and former teacher who has represented the
89th district of the
Iowa House of Representatives since January 2023, which consists of parts of central
Johnson County, including much of southern
Iowa City
Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...
. She is a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
Early life
Levin was born in 1987 in
Palatine, Illinois
Palatine () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 67,908. As of the 2010 Census, it was the seventh-largest community in Cook Coun ...
, where she was raised. She graduated from
William Fremd High School in 2005. She received a
Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and English from
Cornell College, and moved to
Coralville, Iowa, in 2009 shortly after graduating. She moved to Iowa City in 2010.
[
]
Political career
Levin announced her candidacy for the open 89th district of the Iowa House of Representatives in November 2021, following decennial redistricting. She won the Democratic primaries on June 7, 2022, with over 63 percent of the vote, and defeated Republican Jacob Onken in the general election on November 8 by over 7,000 votes.[
Levin currently serves on the Agriculture, Environmental Protection, Natural Resources, Public Safety, and Veteran Affairs committees.
Levin primarily runs on a ]grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
campaign. She has said that her priorities include sustainable energy
Energy is sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". Most definitions of sustainable energy include considerations of environmental aspects such as greenh ...
and combatting rural flight
Rural flight (or rural exodus) is the migratory pattern of peoples from rural areas into urban areas. It is urbanization seen from the rural perspective.
In industrializing economies like Britain in the eighteenth century or East Asia in the ...
. She does not support the use of eminent domain for the construction of CO2 pipelines. She is pro-choice.
Personal life
Levin is married to Kevin Lawrence, a United States Navy officer. They reside in Iowa City. She is a private writing tutor and a former public school teacher.[
Levin is of Jewish descent though is not religious. She has described herself as ]queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
.
Electoral history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Elinor
Date of birth missing (living people)
Living people
1987 births
Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives
21st-century American legislators
LGBT state legislators in Iowa
Women state legislators in Iowa
People from Palatine, Illinois
Politicians from Iowa City, Iowa
Cornell College alumni
Schoolteachers from Iowa
LGBT people from Illinois