Lateefah Simon

Lateefah Simon
Official House portrait of Simon smiling in front of the U.S. flag, wearing a white shirt and black suit with large gold buttons.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2025
Preceded byBarbara Lee
Personal details
Born
Lateefah Aaliyah Simon

(1977-01-29) January 29, 1977 (age 47)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Kevin Weston
​
​
(m. 2012; died 2014)​
Children2
EducationMills College (BA)
University of San Francisco (MPA)
WebsiteHouse website

Lateefah Aaliyah Simon[1] (born January 29, 1977) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for California's 12th congressional district. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

She served on the Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors[2] and on the board of trustees of the California State University system[3]. She currently serves as the president of MeadowFund, a donor-advised fund created by Patricia Quillin, the wife of Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings.[4] Simon was previously the president of Akonadi Foundation, an organization focused on racial justice in Oakland, California.[5] In 2003, she received a MacArthur Fellowship for her leadership of the Center for Young Women's Development (now the Young Women's Freedom Center) from age 19.[6][7]

Early life

Simon earned a Bachelor of Arts in public policy at Mills College, where she was the 2017 commencement speaker,[8] a Master of Public Administration from the University of San Francisco, and was a 2014 Social Entrepreneurs-in-Residence Fellow at Stanford University.[9]

Career

During the tenure of Kamala Harris as San Francisco District Attorney, Simon led the creation of the city's Back on Track program for young adults charged with low-level felony drug sales.[4] Simon also previously worked as the executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area.

In 2016, Simon was appointed to the California State University Board of Trustees by Governor Jerry Brown.[10]

Simon was elected to represent the seventh district on the Bay Area Rapid Transit District board of directors in 2016.[11] Her motivations for running included her reliance on BART, as someone who is legally blind and unable to drive.[12] In 2020, she was elected president of the board of directors.[11]

Lateefah Simon at the Oakland Pride Parade during her campaign for Congress

In February 2023, Simon announced that she was running for California's 12th congressional district.[4] The current representative for the district, Barbara Lee, who did not seek re-election to the seat and instead ran as a candidate in the 2024 United States Senate election in California; Lee did not advance in the Senate primary. On November 2, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom endorsed Simon's candidacy.[13]

Personal life

Simon is the mother of two children.[9] Simon's husband, Kevin Weston, was a recognized journalist and activist who died from leukemia in 2014.[14] She identifies as Muslim.[15]

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Rep. Lateefah Simon - D California, 12th - Biography". LegiStorm. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  2. ^ "Board of Directors | Bay Area Rapid Transit". web.archive.org. February 1, 2024. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  3. ^ "Lateefah Simon". web.archive.org. November 13, 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Garofoli, Joe (February 28, 2023). "BART director, criminal justice reformer Lateefah Simon launches campaign for East Bay House seat". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  5. ^ "Lateefah Simon, President". Akonadi Foundation. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "Three Blacks Named MacArthur Fellows for 2003 Awarded $500,000 'Genius Grants'". Jet. October 27, 2003. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Lateefah Simon". MacArthur Foundation. October 5, 2003. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Civil Rights Advocate Lateefah Simon to Deliver Mills College Commencement Address". Mills College. March 22, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "About Lateefah". Lateefah for BART. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Lateefah Simon | CSU". The California State University. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Lateefah Simon". Bay Area Rapid Transit. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  12. ^ "Lateefah Simon seeks inspiration in promises made". SFGate. January 6, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  13. ^ "Gavin Newsom endorses Lateefah Simon in race to fill Barbara Lee's House seat". The Washington Examiner. November 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "Bay Area media pioneer Kevin Weston dead at 45". The Mercury News. June 18, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  15. ^ Kukura, Joe (March 6, 2024). "Lateefah Simon Commands Huge Lead in Primary Race for Barbara Lee's House Seat". SFist. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  16. ^ "Jefferson Award, presented to Lateefah Simon". SFGate. October 19, 2007. Archived from the original on July 7, 2012.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 12th congressional district
2025–present 		Incumbent