Ellen Marie Corbett is an American Democratic politician from the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. She served in the California State Senate, representing the 10th District, which included

San Leandro San Leandro (Spanish for " St. Leander") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area; between Oakland to the northwest, and Ashland, Castro Valley, and Hayward to the sout ...

, Hayward, Pleasanton, Union City, Fremont,

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

Milpitas Milpitas (Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Marí ...

, and part of San Jose. She was the Senate

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

. Ellen Corbett was elected to the California State Assembly in the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, and served there until 2004, when she was termed out. She servedon the San Leandro

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

and was the first woman in the city's history directly elected as Mayor. Corbett served as Mayor of San Leandro from 1994 to 1998. Corbett has worked as an attorney, community college professor and civic activist. In 2016, Corbett was elected as a board member of the

East Bay Regional Park District The East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) is a special district operating in Alameda County and Contra Costa County, California, within the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area. It maintains and operates a system of regional parks which ...

. Corbett attended Chabot Community College and

California State University, East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

. She graduated from the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...

and McGeorge Law School. Corbett lives in San Leandro, California.

Senate 10th District

The 10th District encompasses the southern part of the

East Bay The East Bay is the eastern region of the San Francisco Bay Area and includes cities along the eastern shores of the San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay. The region has grown to include inland communities in Alameda and Contra Costa counties ...

, located directly south of California's 9th State Senate district. As such, it includes the southern half of

Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and 21st most populous nationally. The county seat is Oakland. Alam ...

and a portion of

Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, officially the County of Santa Clara, is the sixth-most populous county in the U.S. state of California, with a population of 1,936,259, as of the 2020 census. Santa Clara County and neighboring San Benito County together f ...

2011 redistricting

After redistricting in 2011 by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission, the new 10th district now includes 40.7% of Alameda County and 17.4% of Santa Clara County. Cities in the district include Fremont, Hayward, Milpitas, and Santa Clara. The new boundaries will take effect in the 2014 election for the district, which Corbett is ineligible to run in due to term limits.

2014 US Congressional elections

Corbett termed out of the state senate seat in 2014. In February 2013, addressing the possibility of her running for

Eric Swalwell Eric Michael Swalwell (born November 16, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 15th congressional district since 2013. His district covers most of eastern Alameda County and part of centr ...

's seat in the US House of Representatives 15th congressional district, Corbett said "I would be honored to serve in he United StatesCongress, but it’s too early to discuss 2014." After the 2013 legislative session, Corbett began campaigning against Swalwell, with the support of Pete Stark, who Swalwell defeated in 2012. However, she finished in third by 0.5% to Hugh Bussell, a technology manager/educator from Livermore, also in the race. Swalwell finished in the lead with almost 50 percent of the vote.

Legislative positions

Corbett has passed legislation to provide students with more information on student loan options, provide safeguards for car purchasers, and protect California homeowners who suffered during the nationwide housing crisis. She has received an 87% rating from

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 ...

California in 2012, and a 99% lifetime rating from the

California League of Conservation Voters California Environmental Voters (also called EnviroVoters), formerly the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV), is a lobbying and educational organization which focuses on environmental issues affecting California. It is affiliated with ...

. Corbett has publicly advocated for restoring of full funding to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the 2012 U.S. Farm Bill, which had proposed cuts to the program.

Legislative honors

In 2008, Corbett was named one of the Top 100 Attorneys in California and an Outstanding Legislator by the California State Sheriff’s Association. She has received honors from the

California Labor Federation California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the

Consumer Federation of California The Consumer Federation of California (CFC) was founded in 1960 as a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization. CFC campaigns for state and federal laws and appears at the California state legislature in support of consumer-focused regulations.http ...

, the American Cancer Society, the California Congress of Seniors, the Sierra Club of California, the

Environmental Working Group The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability. EWG is a nonprofit ...

, the California League of Conservation Voters, Clean Water Action California, and the

Hindu American Foundation The Hindu American Foundation ( ) is an American Hindu advocacy group founded in 2003. The organisation has its roots in the Hindu nationalist organisation Vishwa Hindu Parishad America and its student wing Hindu Students Council. Scholars ar ...

References

External links

Corbett at the Maplight.org campaign finance website

Corbett at the Votesmart.org website

Join California Ellen Corbett
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Ellen American women lawyers Women mayors of places in California Lawyers from Oakland, California Democratic Party California state senators California State University, East Bay alumni Educators from California Living people Mayors of places in California People from San Leandro, California McGeorge School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Politicians from Oakland, California University of California, Davis alumni Women state legislators in California People from Hayward, California San Francisco Bay Area politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians Chabot College faculty American women academics Year of birth missing (living people)