Debra Lynn Bowen (born October 27, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of State of California from 2007 to 2015. Previously, she was a member of the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...

from 1992 to 2006. In March 2008, she was given the Profile in Courage Award by the

John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963), the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963). It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighb ...

Background and education

Bowen was born and raised in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

, where she graduated from Guilford High School in 1973. She received her bachelor's degree in 1976 from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It ...

, and her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

in 1979 from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

. In 1984, she started her own California law firm. Motivated by the death of

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

a few weeks earlier, in September 2014, her last year serving as Secretary of State, Bowen revealed that she has been battling depression since she had been in college. She vowed to continue to serve out her term as Secretary of State.

Career in politics

Bowen began her career in politics on the Neighborhood Watch and

Heal the Bay Heal the Bay is a U.S. environmental advocacy group of activists based in Santa Monica, California. The focus is protecting coastal waters and watersheds of southern California, and is focused on Santa Monica Bay. Heal the Bay is a 501(c)(3) ...

. Her first elected office was to 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 ...

, where she represented the 53rd Assembly District in the

South Bay, Los Angeles The South Bay is a region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, located in the southwest corner of Los Angeles County. The name stems from its geographic location stretching along the southern shore of Santa Monica Bay. The South Bay contains fi ...

area from 1992 to 1998. Bowen was first elected to the

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

, representing the 28th State Senate District, in 1998. Her district included all or portions of the cities of Carson, El Segundo, Hermosa Beach,

Lomita Lomita (Spanish for "Little hill") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 20,921 at the 2020 census, up from 20,256 at the 2010 census. History The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporat ...

, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, and Wilmington. Bowen chaired the California Senate's Committee on Elections, Reapportionment and Constitutional Amendments. She also sat on the Energy, Utilities & Communications and Rules committees. Due to

term limits 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 ...

, her service in the Senate ended in December 2006. On June 6, 2006, Bowen faced

Deborah Ortiz Deborah V. Ortiz (born March 19, 1957, in Sacramento) is an American politician from Sacramento, California. A Democrat, she served in both chambers of the California State Legislature. A then-member of Sacramento City Council, Ortiz was elect ...

, another state senator, in the Democratic primary to run against

Bruce McPherson Bruce A. McPherson (born January 7, 1944) is an American politician who served as the 30th California secretary of state from March 30, 2005, to January 7, 2007. He is currently a member of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Early li ...

for the position of

California Secretary of State The secretary of state of California is the chief clerk of the U.S. state of California, overseeing a department of 500 people. The secretary of state is elected for four year terms, like the state's other constitutional officers; the officeh ...

. Bowen won the primary by a 61-39 margin. On November 2, Bowen defeated Republican candidate McPherson for reelection by a margin of 3%. She was re-elected on November 2, 2010 over Republican

Damon Dunn Damon Jerrel Dunn (born March 15, 1976) is an American politician, commercial real estate developer, minister, and former football player. Early life Dunn was born in 1976 in Fort Worth, Texas to a 16-year-old mother, Ramona Dunn. When Dunn ...

Candidacy for Congress seat

Secretary of State Debra Bowen, CA-36 candidate (5671449410)

After incumbent Jane Harman announced she was vacating the seat, Bowen was widely discussed as a possible candidate for the 36th congressional district special election to replace her. On February 15, 2011, Bowen announced in an email to her supporters that she was entering the race. Her candidacy was endorsed by former

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

governor and

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well ...

chairman

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 2009 ...

Democracy for America Democracy for America (DFA) is a progressive political action committee, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of pub ...

, the California League of Conservation Voters, and the California Nurses Association. She came in third, not qualifying for the general election for the seat.

Policy interests

Bowen is known for her support of opening government to the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...

. In 1993, her first year in elected office, she helped to pass Assembly Bill (AB) 1624, which made all of California's bill information available on the Internet. In May 2007, Bowen commissioned a "Top to Bottom Review" of California's electronic voting systems, to determine their security. On August 3, 2007, Bowen withdrew approval and certification and conditionally re-approved three electronic voting systems ( Diebold Election Systems, Hart InterCivic,

Sequoia Voting Systems Sequoia Voting Systems was a California-based company that is one of the largest providers of electronic voting systems in the U.S., having offices in Oakland, Denver and New York City. Some of its major competitors were Premier Election Soluti ...

), and rescinded approval of a fourth system, ( Election Systems & Software), after the top-to-bottom review of the voting machines found the machines to be highly insecure. For these efforts she was awarded the Profile in Courage Award by the

. Bowen was interviewed for the January 16, 2008 broadcast of '' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer'' and was the keynote speaker for the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium.

Electoral history

References

External links

*
AB 1624 Info on CA Legislation site
Government Technology Magazine July 2008 *
Join California Debra Bown
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Debra 1955 births Living people Politicians from Rockford, Illinois California lawyers Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Michigan State University alumni People from Los Angeles County, California Secretaries of State of California University of Virginia School of Law alumni Women state legislators in California American women lawyers 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians