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
3,981 events, each with its sourceAB 1178 Pacheco Assembly Third Reading
AB 744 Michelle Rodriguez Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1447 Gipson Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 737 Quirk-Silva Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
SCR 47 Niello Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 320 Bennett Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1518 REV. & TAX. Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 709 Jeff Gonzalez Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1512 Elections Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 308 Ramos Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 377 Tangipa Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
SCR 12 Umberg Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 282 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading
AB 817 Nguyen Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1029 Valencia Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 808 Addis Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1273 Patterson Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 583 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading
AB 374 Nguyen Assembly Third Reading
AB 898 Bryan Assembly Third Reading
AB 1306 Muratsuchi Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 467 Fong Assembly Third Reading
AB 787 Papan Assembly Third Reading
AB 428 Blanca Rubio Assembly Third Reading
AB 263 Rogers Assembly Third Reading
AB 1522 JUD. Third Reading Urgency By KALRA
AB 259 Blanca Rubio Assembly Third Reading
AB 16 Alanis Assembly Third Reading
SCR 39 Durazo Senate Third Reading By Quirk-Silva
AB 1175 Irwin Assembly Third Reading
AB 1286 Boerner Assembly Third Reading
AB 831 Ramos Assembly Third Reading
AB 492 Valencia Assembly Third Reading
AB 536 Patterson Assembly Third Reading
AB 60 Papan Assembly Third Reading
AB 681 Elhawary Assembly Third Reading
AB 1438 Gallagher Third Reading Urgency
AJR 6 Aguiar-Curry Assembly Third Reading
AB 679 Pellerin Assembly Third Reading
AB 1224 Valencia Assembly Third Reading
AB 703 Lee Assembly Third Reading
AB 519 Berman Assembly Third Reading
AB 559 Berman Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
AB 379 Krell Assembly Second Reading Amend By SCHULTZ Set #1 Appeal the Decision of the Speaker By MACEDO
Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar
AB 1526 Governmental Organization Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1004 Wallis Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 799 Celeste Rodriguez Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session
AB 1527 Governmental Organization Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session