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Julia Andrews Brownley (born August 28, 1952) is an American businesswoman and politician who has been the
United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
for California's 26th congressional district since 2013. A Democrat, she served in the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
from 2006 to 2012.Julia Brownley Councilmember 41st Assembly District
juliabrownley.com; accessed November 15, 2014.
Before her political career, she worked in marketing and sales.


Early life, education, and career

Brownley grew up in Virginia, and attended Fairfax Hall, a girls'
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in Waynesboro, for four years. Brownley received a bachelor's degree in political science from
Mount Vernon College for Women The Mount Vernon Seminary and College was a private women's college in Washington, D.C. It was purchased by George Washington University in 1999, and became the Mount Vernon Campus of The George Washington University. Founding of Mount Vernon Se ...
of
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
in 1975 and a master's degree in business administration from
American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...
in 1979. Brownley served on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education from 1994 to 2006. During her time on the school board, she served three terms as president.


California State Assembly (2007–2013)


Elections

In 2006, Brownley ran for the
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
in California's 41st Assembly district. She won a five-way Democratic primary with 35% of the vote and the general election with 62% of the vote. In 2008, she was reelected with 66% of the vote. In 2010, she was reelected to a third term with 59% of the vote. Brownley was term-limited in 2012, having served the maximum of three terms in the Assembly permitted under California law. She was endorsed by the
League of Conservation Voters The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "builds political power for people and the planet." Through its affiliated super PAC, it is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. The org ...
.


Tenure

In 2010, Brownley authored a bill that would have banned all plastic shopping bags. It did not pass.


Committee assignments

Brownley served on the following California State Assembly committees: *Aging and Long-Term Care Committee *Education Committee (chair) *Higher Education Committee *Judiciary Committee *Legislative Budget Committee *Natural Resources Joint Legislative Budget Committee *Select Committee on Community Colleges


U.S. House of Representatives (2013–present)


Elections


2012

In February 2012, Brownley announced her candidacy for California's 26th congressional district. The district had previously been the 24th district, represented by 13-term Republican Elton Gallegly. In the general election, Brownley defeated Republican
state Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...
Tony Strickland Anthony A. Strickland (born February 17, 1970) is an American politician who is a California State Senate, California state senator representing the California's 36th senatorial district, 36th district since 2025. A member of the Republican Party ...
, 53%-47%. 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 ...
and
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
.


2014

Brownley was narrowly reelected over Republican state Assemblyman Jeff Gorell in the general election. She is a member of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in ...
's Frontline Program, which is designed to help protect vulnerable Democratic incumbents. After Republican candidates garnered over 50% of the vote in the June blanket primary, the ''
Cook Political Report Amy Elizabeth Walter (born October 19, 1969)"Profile: Amy Walter"
'' changed the rating of the race from "Leans Democratic" to "Toss-up". The race did become close, making for closer scrutiny of the results. Initial results showed Brownley winning 51% to 49%, with about 4,000 votes separating the candidates.


Political positions

Brownley supports the
DREAM Act The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary conditional residency, with the right to work, for illegal immigrants who entered the Unite ...
, the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
, and same-sex marriage. She has advocated increased insurance company regulation, job training funds, toxic cleanup, and increased public education funding. Since her election to Congress, Brownley has voted with the Democratic Party 93% of the time. On November 19, 2015, she voted for HR 4038, legislation that would effectively halt the resettlement of refugees from Syria and Iraq to the United States. As of November 2022, Brownley had voted in line with President
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
's stated position 100% of the time according to ''FiveThirty Eight''. This gives her a Biden Plus/Minus score of +1.7 with higher support for Biden than would be expected given the makeup of her district.


Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress: * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Aviation ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment * Committee on Veterans' Affairs ** Subcommittee on Health (Ranking Member)


Caucus memberships

* Congressional Solar Caucus *
New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...
* House Baltic Caucus * Congressional Arts Caucus * Blue Collar Caucus * Congressional Coalition on Adoption * Rare Disease Caucus


Political positions


Abortion

Brownley strongly opposed the 2022 overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'', calling the decision "unprecedented, deeply disappointing, and ideologically driven".


Israel

Brownley voted to provide Israel with support following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.


Electoral history


2024


2022


2020


2018


2016


2014


2012


Personal life

Brownley is divorced and has two children. She is an
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
.


See also

*
Women in the United States House of Representatives Women have served in the United States House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the United States Congress, since 1917 following the election of Republican Jeannette Rankin from Montana, the first woman in Congress. In total, 396 women ...


References


External links


Congresswoman Julia Brownley
official U.S. House website
Julia Brownley for Congress
campaign website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brownley, Julia 1952 births Living people 21st-century American women politicians California Democrats Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Female members of the United States House of Representatives Kogod School of Business alumni Mount Vernon Seminary and College alumni People from Aiken, South Carolina Politicians from Santa Monica, California School board members in California Women state legislators in California American Episcopalians 21st-century members of the California State Legislature 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives