Ellen Cogen Lipton (born March 26, 1967) is an American politician and patent attorney from Huntington Woods,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. She currently serves on the

Michigan State Board of Education Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio t ...

. She formerly served as a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, she represented the 27th State House District, which is located north of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in south-east

Oakland County Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...

. She was first elected in 2008, and subsequently re-elected in 2010 and 2012. She ran to represent the 11th District in the state Senate in 2014. Incumbent Vincent Gregory defeated Vicki Barnett and Ellen Lipton in the Democratic primary. In 2018, she joined the Democratic field to replace retiring Rep.

Sander Levin Sander Martin Levin (born September 6, 1931) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2019, representing (numbered as the from 1983 to 1993 and as the from 1993 to 2013). Levin, a member ...

in the 9th District of Michigan. She was defeated in the primary by Andy Levin, the retiring incumbent's son winning 42.4% to Levin's 52.4. Lipton carried the Oakland County portion of the District, while Levin carried the Macomb County section. In 2020, Lipton was nominated by the MDP to run for the State Board of Education. She won an 8 year term

Biography

Ellen Cogen was born to a Jewish family in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on March 26, 1967. She graduated from Altamont High School in 1984 and earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1988. She received her Juris Doctor from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1992. She was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan (Section of Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Law) and served as a patent attorney specializing in medicine and technology for several years. She was formerly president of the Michigan Ambassadors for the Weizmann Institute.

Political career

Lipton took office as representative for the 27th District on January 1, 2009, and was subsequently re-elected in November 2010, and November 2012. The 27th District is a small suburban district located north of the city of

, in south-eastern

. It includes all of the following cities: Berkley, Ferndale,

Hazel Park Hazel Park is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Hazel Park borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,983. Haz ...

, Huntington Woods, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, and

Royal Oak Township Royal Oak Township is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Royal Oak Township borders Detroit to the north, roughly north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township ha ...

."Ellen Cogen Lipton's State Representative Website"
. http://027.housedems.com/district-map (website). The district is overwhelmingly Democratic and is the most liberal of all Detroit-area districts. It has a median household income of $49,214, above the Michigan average. The 27th district also has a strong Jewish population. Lipton served on the Education (Democratic vice chair), Statutory Legislative Council (Democratic vice chair), Judiciary, and Insurance Committees. She previously served on the Appropriations Committee. Lipton's campaigns focused mainly on the economy, and her support for public education, green energy, no-fault auto insurance, embryonic stem-cell research, and protecting Michigan's natural resources. She was endorsed by

EMILY's List EMILYs List is a left-leaning American political action committee (PAC) that aims to help elect Democratic female candidates in favor of abortion rights to office. It was founded by Ellen Malcolm in 1985. The group's name is an acronym for "E ...

, an organization that supports pro-choice female candidates, the Michigan

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

, Michigan

Clean Water Action Clean Water Action is an American environmental advocacy group. Created in 1972, the group focuses on canvassing and gaining support for political issues and candidates. It is a 501(c)(4) organization and is based in Washington, D.C. History The ...

Equality Michigan Equality Michigan is an Americans, American civil rights, advocacy and anti-violence organization serving Michigan's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) community. Equality Michigan serves Michigan's LGBT community through victims servi ...

, the Michigan

AFL-CIO The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is a national trade union center that is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 61 national and international unions, together r ...

, ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...

'' and ''

The Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

''. In 2013, Lipton was named Democratic Legislator of the Year by the Michigan Information & Research Service (MIRS), and was named the Sander M. Levin Elected Official of the Year by the Oakland County Democratic Party. She was also named an Environmental Champion by the Michigan Chapter of the

and a Clean Water Hero by the Michigan Chapter of

for her voting on environmental issues. In 2014, Lipton ran to become Michigan's next state senator for the 11th District, which includes the cities of Farmington, Farmington Hills, Ferndale,

, Huntington Woods, Lathrup Village, Madison Heights, Oak Park, Pleasant Ridge, Southfield, and

. Lipton was defeated by incumbent Senator

Vincent Gregory Vincent "Vince" Gregory (July 20, 1948 – October 21, 2022) was an American law enforcement officer and politician who served as a member of the Michigan Senate from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Gregory served as a member of ...

."Ballotpedia"
https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_State_Senate_elections,_2014 (website)."Ellen Lipton's Campaign Website"
. http://www.ellenlipton.com (website). In 2020, Lipton ran for and won a seat on the Michigan State Board of Education, receiving more votes than any other candidate running for a Statewide education office.

Electoral history

*2020 campaign for Michigan State Board of Education *(Need data) *2018 campaign for US House of Representatives, Democratic Primary"2018 Official Michigan Primary Election Results - 9th District Representative 2 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Andy Levin (D), 52.4% **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 42.4% **Martin Brook (D), 5.1% *2014 campaign for State Senate, Democratic Primary"2014 Official Michigan Primary Election Results - 11th District State Senator 4 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Vincent Gregory (D), 34.7% **Vicki Barnett (D), 34.3% **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 31% *2012 campaign for State House"2012 Official Michigan General Election Results - 27th District State Representative 2 Year Term (1) Position Files In OAKLAND County"
http://ballotpedia.org (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 75.6% **Ezra Drissman (R), 20.3% **John Wierzbicki (L), 4% *2010 campaign for State House
. http://miboecfr.nicusa.com (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 67.55% **Michelangelo Fortuna III (R), 29.11% **John Skosnik (L), 3.34% *2008 campaign for State House
. http://miboecfr.nicusa.com (website). **Ellen Cogen Lipton (D), 71.41% **David Micola (R), 22.71% **Shelly Bane (G), 3.07% **John Skosnik (L), 2.81%

References

External links

Official websiteCampaign websiteProject Vote Smart biography''Detroit News'' biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lipton, Ellen 1967 births 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women politicians Harvard Law School alumni Jewish state legislators in Michigan Jewish American women in politics Living people Members of the Michigan House of Representatives People from Huntington Woods, Michigan Williams College alumni Women state legislators in Michigan Candidates in the 2018 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the Michigan Legislature