Ira Ruskin (November 12, 1943 – July 3, 2014) was an

American politician The politics of the United States function within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers. These are: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bi ...

from

Redwood City, California Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a ...

. 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 ...

, he is a former member of the California State Assembly and of Redwood City Council. He and his wife Cheryl (a licensed

landscape design Landscape design is an independent profession and a design and art tradition, practiced by landscape designers, combining nature and culture. In contemporary practice, landscape design bridges the space between landscape architecture and gard ...

er) resided in

; the couple had no children.

Education

He received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in history from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1968 and an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in communications (with an emphasis on filmmaking) from Stanford University in 1983.

Political career

From 1995 to 2004, Ruskin was a member of the Redwood City Council. From 1999 to 2001, he also served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Redwood City Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...

. In 2004, Ruskin was elected to the

California Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Ass ...

. He defeated

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Steve Poizner in the general election. Ruskin had local government experience but initially lacked major campaign funding. The Assembly race heated up when Poizner donated $6 million to his own campaign. Ruskin began fundraising from California's public employee unions and ultimately won the race. In November 2006 Ruskin was re-elected to the California State Assembly by a wide margin, 67.4% to his challenger Virginia Chang Kiraly's 32.6

He was re-elected to his third Assembly term in 2008.

Term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

s in California prevented Ruskin from running for re-election in 2010. Ruskin planned to run for a

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

seat in 2012.

Awards

Ruskin was the recipient of the first-ever award from

DAWN Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

(a Democratic feminist organization) to a man for "excellent work performed on behalf of freedom and equality for women." He helped bring attention to the plight of the Bosnian Muslim women in a public forum which included the live transatlantic interview of

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

camp survivors. Ruskin became involved in public policy and politics after working on

as a

genocidal Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, ...

in Bosnia.

Death

In May 2011 Ruskin told friends he had been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor and was withdrawing from the political arena to concentrate on his health.Article
/ref> On July 3, 2014, he died at age 70.

References

External links

Ira Ruskin Political History
joincalifornia.com; accessed July 6, 2014.

Smart Voter website; accessed July 6, 2014.

latc.com, November 10, 2004.

''The Cardinal Inquirer'', stanford.edu, November 3, 2004.
"Ex-Assemblyman Ira Ruskin Succumbs to Brain Tumor"
''San Jose Inside'', July 5, 2014. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruskin, Ira 1943 births 2014 deaths Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Mayors of places in California People from Redwood City, California Jewish American state legislators in California California city council members University of California, Berkeley alumni Stanford University alumni Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Deaths from cancer in California 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American Jews