Stern sworn in to Senate acorn dc 7 16

2016-12-08 / Community

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Stern sworn in to Senate acorn dc 7 16

SternThe next generation of leadership has arrived in the state Capitol. The state Senate saw its first millennial sworn in to service as Henry Stern, 34, took the oath of office along with 19 of his fellow senators Monday afternoon.

The Canoga Park resident will serve in the state’s 27th Senate District, which encompasses western Los Angeles County and eastern Ventura County, including the communities of Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, Moorparkand Simi Valley.

Stern, a Democrat, beat Steve Fazio in the Nov. 8 election to replace the retiring Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills.

Stern’s election comes at a time of great tumult in the political landscape.

“California will be the vanguard in the fight to protect our environment, preserve women’s health choices, take care of our vulnerable populations and offer affordable healthcare,” he said. “We have the moral, legal, cultural and economic weight to lead the nation through this time of doubt and division.”

Among other goals, the new senator plans to focus his attention on job growth, with increased emphasis on innovation industries like film, clean energy, sustainable agriculture, biotech, advanced manufacturing and software development.

Stern, a lifelong resident of the district, was the senior policy adviser to Pavley, who termed out of office and is retiring from the Legislature.

A graduate of Harvard University and UC Berkeley Law, Stern has diverse experience in education, the environment, juvenile justice and infrastructure.

Before serving the 27th District, he served as counsel to U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman; advised clean energy businesses, civil rights groups and universities as an environmental attorney; taught civics; advocated for juvenile justice; and founded a tech incubator.

Stern teaches law at UCLA, volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club and is a member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the Jewish Federation and the Truman National Security Project.

The California Constitution requires that the Senate be organized on the first Monday of December. New members of the Senate were sworn in by California’s Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye.

The Legislature will reconvene for 2017 on Jan. 4, after the holidays.

— Acorn staff report