Steve Bennett’s public life has run through Nordhoff High School, Ventura City Hall, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and, now, the California State Assembly. He spent twenty years teaching economics and American history at Calabasas and Nordhoff high schools, later leading Nordhoff’s counseling department and working as an assistant principal. His electoral career began with a 1991 write-in campaign for the Ventura City Council and continued through repeated county contests before his election to the Assembly. Along the way, his record included repeated efforts on campaign-finance limits, as well as actions concerning worker pay, offshore drilling and the rules governing local political power. He now represents Assembly District 38.
ROOTS AND FIRST OFFICE
Bennett was born in Indianapolis on Dec. 31, 1950. He graduated from Brown University with an honours degree in economics in 1972 and received a master’s degree in education from Butler University in 1976. He married Leslie Ogden, has four children and moved to Ventura.
In the 1990s, Bennett served as spokesman for Voters for Alternate Sites and was a leader of the Alliance for Ventura’s Future. His first City Council campaign, in 1991, was a write-in effort. Endorsed by Patagonia and the Ventura Sierra Club, he finished fifth among 18 candidates. Two years later, he placed second and won a council seat.
Bennett served from 1993 through 1997, then declined to run again under his promise to serve only one term. His council record included a 1994 vote for a resolution opposing Proposition 187, a 1995 vote to have the city attorney support Santa Barbara’s appeal concerning a federal court ruling, and a 1997 vote against term limits for members of Ventura’s boards, commissions and committees.
FROM CITY HALL TO SACRAMENTO
Bennett announced his campaign for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on April 7, 1999. He defeated Jim Monahan and Rosa Lee Measures in the initial election, then beat Monahan in the runoff. He won again against Jeffrey Ketelsen in 2004, ran without opposition in 2008, defeated Bob Roper after a 2012 contest that also included Christy Weir and Neal Andrews, and beat Dave Grau in 2016. Term limits prevented a sixth term, and Matt LaVere succeeded him.
There was one attempted departure from that county path. Bennett announced a campaign for the United States House of Representatives on Nov. 16, 2011, but withdrew at the California Democratic Party’s state convention. Julia Brownley won the seat in 2012.
Bennett later ran for the Assembly from the 37th Assembly District. He placed second in the primary behind Republican Charles W. Cole, then defeated Cole in the general election. In the state house, Bennett has served on the Budget, Education, Elections, Privacy and Consumer Protection, Rules, and Water, Parks and Wildlife committees. He is also a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
The most persistent part of Bennett’s record is his attention to the terms under which political money enters local government. On the City Council, he proposed a $100 limit on campaign contributions. He also pushed for a 1998 ballot initiative prohibiting organized groups from donating to candidates. As a county supervisor, he proposed an eleven-member ethics panel. These were efforts aimed not merely at officeholders but at the machinery around them: contributors, organized groups and the local bodies responsible for enforcing political rules.
His policy record also identifies the constituencies and interests he has repeatedly placed before public agencies. Bennett supported raising the minimum wage to $8 an hour for workers receiving medical benefits. He called for a resolution prohibiting new federal leases for offshore oil and gas drilling. In 2024, he authored legislation barring the commercial farming of octopuses; Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it in September.
Taken together, the record is clearest on campaign-finance restrictions, worker pay, offshore protection and animal welfare. The documented record includes repeated efforts on campaign-finance restrictions, as well as individual actions involving wage standards, offshore drilling and commercial octopus farming.
- State Assembly · Assembly District 38 · 2022–present
- State Assembly · Assembly District 37 · 2020–
Steve Bennett’s public life has run through Nordhoff High School, Ventura City Hall, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors and, now, the California State Assembly. He spent twenty years teaching economics and American history at Calabasas and Nordhoff high schools, later leading Nordhoff’s counseling department and working as an assistant principal. His electoral career began with a 1991 write-in campaign for the Ventura City Council and continued through repeated county contests before his election to the Assembly. Along the way, his record included repeated efforts on campaign-finance limits, as well as actions concerning worker pay, offshore drilling and the rules governing local political power. He now represents Assembly District 38.
ROOTS AND FIRST OFFICE
Bennett was born in Indianapolis on Dec. 31, 1950. He graduated from Brown University with an honours degree in economics in 1972 and received a master’s degree in education from Butler University in 1976. He married Leslie Ogden, has four children and moved to Ventura.
In the 1990s, Bennett served as spokesman for Voters for Alternate Sites and was a leader of the Alliance for Ventura’s Future. His first City Council campaign, in 1991, was a write-in effort. Endorsed by Patagonia and the Ventura Sierra Club, he finished fifth among 18 candidates. Two years later, he placed second and won a council seat.
Bennett served from 1993 through 1997, then declined to run again under his promise to serve only one term. His council record included a 1994 vote for a resolution opposing Proposition 187, a 1995 vote to have the city attorney support Santa Barbara’s appeal concerning a federal court ruling, and a 1997 vote against term limits for members of Ventura’s boards, commissions and committees.
FROM CITY HALL TO SACRAMENTO
Bennett announced his campaign for the Ventura County Board of Supervisors on April 7, 1999. He defeated Jim Monahan and Rosa Lee Measures in the initial election, then beat Monahan in the runoff. He won again against Jeffrey Ketelsen in 2004, ran without opposition in 2008, defeated Bob Roper after a 2012 contest that also included Christy Weir and Neal Andrews, and beat Dave Grau in 2016. Term limits prevented a sixth term, and Matt LaVere succeeded him.
There was one attempted departure from that county path. Bennett announced a campaign for the United States House of Representatives on Nov. 16, 2011, but withdrew at the California Democratic Party’s state convention. Julia Brownley won the seat in 2012.
Bennett later ran for the Assembly from the 37th Assembly District. He placed second in the primary behind Republican Charles W. Cole, then defeated Cole in the general election. In the state house, Bennett has served on the Budget, Education, Elections, Privacy and Consumer Protection, Rules, and Water, Parks and Wildlife committees. He is also a member of the California Legislative Progressive Caucus.
THE POLICY SIGNATURE
The most persistent part of Bennett’s record is his attention to the terms under which political money enters local government. On the City Council, he proposed a $100 limit on campaign contributions. He also pushed for a 1998 ballot initiative prohibiting organized groups from donating to candidates. As a county supervisor, he proposed an eleven-member ethics panel. These were efforts aimed not merely at officeholders but at the machinery around them: contributors, organized groups and the local bodies responsible for enforcing political rules.
His policy record also identifies the constituencies and interests he has repeatedly placed before public agencies. Bennett supported raising the minimum wage to $8 an hour for workers receiving medical benefits. He called for a resolution prohibiting new federal leases for offshore oil and gas drilling. In 2024, he authored legislation barring the commercial farming of octopuses; Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it in September.
Taken together, the record is clearest on campaign-finance restrictions, worker pay, offshore protection and animal welfare. The documented record includes repeated efforts on campaign-finance restrictions, as well as individual actions involving wage standards, offshore drilling and commercial octopus farming.
The record
4,392 events, each with its sourceAB 230 Ransom Assembly Third Reading
AB 96 Jackson Assembly Third Reading
AB 72 Jackson Assembly Third Reading
AB 52 Aguiar-Curry Assembly Third Reading
AB 35 Alvarez Third Reading Urgency
AB 1359 Ahrens Assembly Third Reading
AB 1349 Bryan Assembly Third Reading
AB 1054 Gipson Assembly Third Reading
AB 1070 Ward Assembly Third Reading
AB 1265 Haney Assembly Third Reading
AB 1159 Addis Assembly Third Reading
AB 34 Patterson Assembly Third Reading
AB 1204 Alvarez Assembly Third Reading
AB 643 Wilson Assembly Third Reading
AB 647 Mark González Assembly Third Reading
AB 664 Alvarez Assembly Third Reading
AB 673 Jackson Assembly Third Reading
SB 25 Umberg Senate Third Reading By Aguiar-Curry
AB 1184 Patterson Assembly Third Reading
AB 871 Stefani Assembly Third Reading
AB 768 Ávila Farías Assembly Third Reading
ACR 115 Bennett Consent Calendar Second Day
ACR 117 Sharp-Collins Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary]
SB 429 Cortese Senate Third Reading By Alvarez
SB 414 Ashby Senate Third Reading By Bauer-Kahan
AB 1376 Bonta Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1084 Zbur Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 352 Reyes Senate Third Reading By BRYAN
SB 295 Hurtado Senate Third Reading By Bauer-Kahan
AB 45 Bauer-Kahan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 274 Cervantes Senate Third Reading By Bauer-Kahan
AB 985 Schiavo Concurrence - Urgency Added
SB 254 Becker Third Reading Urgency By Petrie-Norris
SB 237 Grayson Senate Third Reading By WILSON
SB 158 Budget and Fiscal Review Senate Third Reading By GABRIEL
AB 1388 Bryan Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1098 Fong Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 975 Gallagher Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1390 Solache Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1392 Sharp-Collins Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1108 Hart Concurrence in Senate Amendments
SB 67 Seyarto Senate Third Reading By Ta
SB 48 Gonzalez Senate Third Reading By FONG
AB 963 Petrie-Norris Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 1231 ELHAWARY Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 962 Hoover Concurrence in Senate Amendments
AB 226 CALDERON Concurrence in Senate Amendments