Steve Fox is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and former member of the

California State 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 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 ...

, Fox represented the 36th district, encompassing much of the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and the ...

and

Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley (SCV) is part of the upper watershed of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. The valley was part of the Rancho San Francisco Mexican land grant. Located in Los Angeles County, its main population center is the ...

, as well as small portions of

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...

and

San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...

. Prior to being elected to the state Assembly, he worked as a public school teacher, an attorney, and trustee of

Antelope Valley College Antelope Valley College (AVC) is a public community college in Lancaster, California. It is part of the California Community College system. It is operated by the Antelope Valley Community College District, with a primary service area of cove ...

. Fox formerly served as a governing board member of the Antelope Valley Hospital. Fox ran for Assembly in 2008 as a

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 ...

and lost the Republican primary to Steve Knight, who went on to win the general election. Fox later switched his political affiliation and became a

. Fox won his seat in 2012 by only 145 votes over his Republican opponent, Lancaster

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 ...

man Ron Smith. He became the first Democrat to win election to the legislature in the area in 36 years, despite having been outspent in the election by more than 12-to-one. In 2014, Fox sought a second term to the state Assembly, losing to

Palmdale Palmdale is a city in northern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. The city lies in the Antelope Valley region of Southern California. The San Gabriel Mountains separate Palmdale from the Los Angeles Basin to the south. On Aug ...

City Councilman Tom Lackey by a 60% to 40% margin. Fox ran again for the state Assembly against Lackey in 2016, however he lost by a 54% to 46% margin. Fox sought another rematch against Lackey in 2018. He lost again, but by a smaller margin than in the previous two elections. Fox sought another rematch against Lackey in 2020. He lost by a wider margin than in the prior two campaigns. In 2022, Fox sought election to the California State Assembly in the newly drawn 39th District. He was defeated in the primary by a wide margin.

Lawsuits and settlements

Fox was charged with sexually harassing two female employees in 2014 while in the State Assembly. A former legislative director claimed that he exposed himself to her when she drove to his residence to give him a ride to work, that she was asked to perform non-legislative related tasks for Fox, and that she was fired when she reported his behavior. In October 2017, the California State Assembly paid $100,000 to the plaintiff to settle the case. A second former aide charged that he forced her to work on his campaigns and for his law firm without pay while she was employed on his staff, though she didn't accuse him of sexual misconduct. The State Assembly paid $110,000 settlement in 2015 to settle the lawsuit.

California State Assembly

2012 election

2014 election

2016 election

2018 election

2020 election

District 39

Personal life

Fox and his wife Sharon, a retired school teacher, have been married for 32 years. They have two children, Rebecca Fox, a First 5 Los Angeles organizer, and Joshua Fox, a police officer. They have three grandchildren.

References

External links

Law Firm Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fox, Steve Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Living people People from Palmdale, California California lawyers 1953 births 21st-century American politicians