Ellen Cogen Lipton (born March 26, 1967) is an American politician and patent attorney from Huntington Woods,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. She currently serves on the

Michigan State Board of Education The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is a state agency of Michigan, in the United States. The MDE oversees public school districts in the state. The department is governed by the State Board of Education. The State Board of Education was fi ...

. She formerly served as a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 U ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, she represented the 27th State House District, which is located north of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

in south-east

Oakland County Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the Metro Detroit, metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 Census, its population was 1, ...

. She was first elected in 2008, and subsequently re-elected in 2010 and 2012. She ran to represent the 11th District in the state Senate in 2014. Incumbent Vincent Gregory defeated Vicki Barnett and Ellen Lipton in the Democratic primary. In 2018, she joined the Democratic field to replace retiring Rep.

Sander Levin Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member o ...

in the 9th District of Michigan. She was defeated in the primary by

Andy Levin Andrew Saul Levin (born August 10, 1960) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Levin was elected to the House in 2018, succeeding his retiring father, Sander L ...

, the retiring incumbent's son winning 42.4% to Levin's 52.4. Lipton carried the Oakland County portion of the District, while Levin carried the Macomb County section. In 2020, Lipton was nominated by the MDP to run for the State Board of Education. She won an 8 year term

Biography

Ellen Cogen was born to a Jewish family in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, on March 26, 1967. She graduated from Altamont High School in 1984 and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

in 1988. She received her Juris Doctor from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1992. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan (Section of Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Law) and served as a patent attorney specializing in medicine and technology for several years. She was formerly president of the Michigan Ambassadors for the Weizmann Institute.

Political career

Lipton took office as representative for the 27th District on January 1, 2009, and was subsequently re-elected in November 2010, and November 2012. The 27th District is a small suburban district located north of the city of

, in south-eastern

. It includes all of the following cities: Berkley, Ferndale,

Hazel Park Hazel Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As a part of Metro Detroit, the city shares its southern border with the city of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,422. Hazel Park was incorporated as a c ...

, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, and

Royal Oak Township Royal Oak Charter Township is a charter township in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,374. The city of Royal Oak, Michigan, Royal Oak is s ...

."Ellen Cogen Lipton's State Representative Website"
. http://027.housedems.com/district-map (website). The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and is the most liberal of all Detroit-area districts. It has a median household income of $49,214, above the Michigan average. The 27th district also has a strong Jewish population. Lipton served on the Education (Democratic vice chair), Statutory Legislative Council (Democratic vice chair), Judiciary, and Insurance Committees. She previously served on the Appropriations Committee. Lipton's campaigns focused mainly on the economy, and her support for public education, green energy, no-fault auto insurance, embryonic stem-cell research, and protecting Michigan's natural resources. She was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILY's List is an American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "Early Money ...

, an organization that supports pro-choice female candidates, the Michigan

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...

, Michigan

Clean Water Action Clean Water Action is an American environmental advocacy group. Created in 1972, the group focuses on canvassing and gaining support for political issues and candidates. It is a 501(c)(4) organization and is based in Washington, D.C. History The ...

Equality Michigan Equality Michigan is an American civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization serving Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Equality Michigan serves Michigan's LGBT community through victims services, lobb ...

, the Michigan AFL-CIO, ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...

'' and ''

The Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. In 2013, Lipton was named Democratic Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS), and was named the

Sander M. Levin Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member o ...

Elected Official of the Year by the Oakland County Democratic Party. She was also named an Environmental Champion by the Michigan Chapter of the

and a Clean Water Hero by the Michigan Chapter of

for her voting on environmental issues. In 2014, Lipton ran to become Michigan's next state senator for the 11th District, which includes the cities of

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Farmington Hills Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Part of the affluent suburbs northwest of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Farmington Hills is the second most-populated city in Oakland County, after Tro ...

, Ferndale,

, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Southfield, and

. Lipton was defeated by incumbent Senator

Vincent Gregory Vincent "Vince" Gregory (born July 20, 1948) is a politician from the state of Michigan. From 2011 to 2019, he represented the 11th Senate district in the Michigan Senate. The district, which is located in southern Oakland County, includes So ...

."Ballotopedia"
https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_State_Senate_elections,_2014 (website)."Ellen Lipton's Campaign Website"
. http://www.ellenlipton.com (website). In 2020, Lipton ran for and won a seat on the Michigan State Board of Education, receiving more votes than any other candidate running for a Statewide education office.

Electoral history

*2020 campaign for Michigan State Board of Education *(Need data) *2018 campaign for US House of Representatives, Democratic Primary"2018 Official Michigan Primary Election Results - 9th District Representative 2 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Andy Levin (D), 52.4% **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 42.4% **Martin Brook (D), 5.1% *2014 campaign for State Senate, Democratic Primary"2014 Official Michigan Primary Election Results - 11th District State Senator 4 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Vincent Gregory (D), 34.7% **Vicki Barnett (D), 34.3% **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 31% *2012 campaign for State House"2012 Official Michigan General Election Results - 27th District State Representative 2 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 75.6% **Ezra Drissman (R), 20.3% **John Wierzbicki (L), 4% *2010 campaign for State House
. http://miboecfr.nicusa.com (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 67.55% **Michelangelo Fortuna III (R), 29.11% **John Skosnik (L), 3.34% *2008 campaign for State House
. http://miboecfr.nicusa.com (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 71.41% **David Micola (R), 22.71% **Shelly Bane (G), 3.07% **John Skosnik (L), 2.81%

References

External links

Official websiteCampaign websiteProject Vote Smart biography''Detroit News'' biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipton, Ellen 1967 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Harvard Law School alumni Jewish American people in Michigan politics Jewish American state legislators in Michigan Living people Members of the Michigan House of Representatives People from Huntington Woods, Michigan Williams College alumni Women state legislators in Michigan