Julia Brownley - California Representative

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2006. Public service seems to have run in her family of early Virginia settlers. Brownley’s grandfather, Gordon Williamson Shepherd, at age 23, was one of the youngest men in the 1920 Virginia legislature. He is described in the Official Virginia record of legislators as “an old and wise head on young shoulders.” Assemblywoman Brownley is Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 2 on Education Finance, which hears all K-12 and Higher Education budget matters. California’s education budget amounts to roughly 50% of the state’s overall $100 billion 2007-08 General Fund expenditures. She was also appointed to the Assembly Education policy committee, having served for 12 years on the Santa

read more

Assemblywoman Julia Brownley was elected to the California State Assembly in November of 2006. Public service seems to have run in her family of early Virginia settlers. Brownley’s grandfather, Gordon Williamson Shepherd, at age 23, was one of the youngest men in the 1920 Virginia legislature. He is described in the Official Virginia record of legislators as “an old and wise head on young shoulders.” Assemblywoman Brownley is Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 2 on Education Finance, which hears all K-12 and Higher Education budget matters. California’s education budget amounts to roughly 50% of the state’s overall $100 billion 2007-08 General Fund expenditures. She was also appointed to the Assembly Education policy committee, having served for 12 years on the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District board, including as Board President. Brownley serves on the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and on the Budget Subcommittee 3 on Environmental Resources. Environmental protection and the preservation of the open spaces, public parkland, 70 miles of coast and wetlands and other fragile natural resources are hallmarks of the 41st AD.  Among others, she also serves on the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care, on the Select Committees on Community Colleges and on Domestic Violence, and on the California Commission on the Status of Women. Her 2007-08 legislative package includes bills related to education, wage discrimination, hospital staffing, e-waste recycling, clean water, foster care, affordable housing and insuring that state-funded sex education is bias free. Before being elected, Brownley was named “2005 YWCA Woman of the Year” for her leadership on the Santa Monica-Malibu school board and in her community. She has a B.A. in political science from George Washington University and an M.B.A. from American University. Her two children, daughter Hannah and son Fred, are both college students.              

read less