Former Assemblyman Levine running for Marin supervisor

Former Assemblyman Marc Levine says he will run for the Marin County Board of Supervisors seat being vacated by Katie Rice.

Levine sacrificed the chance to run for a sixth and final term in the Legislature last year to mount an unsuccessful bid to unseat state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Levine conveyed no unease about seeking a county position that some might regard as a less prestigious than his state office.

“For me public service is about being humble and caring,” said Levine, 49, of Greenbrae. “I love Ross Valley. It is a jewel of a community. It would be an amazing honor to take the experience and knowledge that I have from serving in the Legislature and bring this to Marin County.”

Along with that knowledge and experience, Levine will bring along about $168,000 in previously raised campaign funds, most of which he will likely be able to use in his supervisorial campaign.

Before winning election to the Assembly in 2012 by upsetting an incumbent backed by the Democratic Party establishment, Levine served one term on the San Rafael City Council.

Levine points out that he won’t be the first Sacramento legislator to move down a peg to take a job in county government.

In approaching his term limit in the state Senate at the end of 2012, Joe Simitian was elected as a Santa Clara County supervisor, a position he still holds. Holly Mitchell was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2020 after serving in both the Assembly and state Senate. Kevin de León, a former state Senate president pro tempore, is now a Los Angeles councilman.

“This trend is evident and will grow as the term limits revision from 2012 takes full effect,” David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, wrote in an email. “By 2025-2026, we will see more than half of the California Legislature ‘termed out’ and looking for work.”

Approved by voters in 2012, Proposition 28 reduced the total number of years people could serve in the Legislature from 14 to 12.

Levine’s old seat in the Assembly is occupied by San Rafael resident Damon Connolly, a former member of the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

Levine said he has no regrets about his decision to gamble on a run for insurance commissioner.

“There has been a void of leadership in that space,” Levine said. “While I’m not in place to solve the problem as insurance commissioner, I can continue to work on formulating policies and regulations that are positive for people who badly need insurance for their homes.”

In fact, Levine has an active “Levine for Insurance Commissioner 2026” committee that has raised more than $91,000. Levine said the committee is in the process of being closed.

Bruce Raful, Levine’s treasurer and longtime friend, said Levine has also raised about $77,000 for a 2028 campaign for the Democratic Central Committee of Marin. Raful said most of the contributions Levine has raised previously will be accessible for his bid for supervisor. He added, however, that in cases where an individual donor has contributed more than $5,500, there might be limitations.

“If I was a resident of the second supervisorial district,” Raful said, “I would want somebody who has the experience and contacts to make my district better. Marc has the cell phone number for the governor, the speaker of the Assembly and the president pro tempore of the Senate.”

San Anselmo Councilmember Brian Colbert announced his candidacy for the District 2 seat within days of Rice saying she would not seek reelection next year.

“I work in the private sector, and relish a competitive environment,” Colbert said in an email. “I look forward to a vigorous race and making the case for my candidacy before the voters and stakeholders in District 2.”

Levine said he wouldn’t be running for supervisor if Rice hadn’t decided to retire.

“It wasn’t on my radar,” he said.

Rice has said she will endorse a candidate in the race, but is not ready to do so yet.

Levine mentioned wildfire and flood prevention along with homelessness as issues he will highlight during his campaign.

“I want to really focus our county on the mental health crisis that is before us,” Levine said.

He noted that in 2024, Marin County will have to begin implementing Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court initiative, a system of court-ordered mental health care for people suffering from psychosis.

“We also have the Project Homekey program at multiple locations in Marin including in Larkspur that need great attention,” Levine said.

The Larkspur site, a former skilled nursing center at 1251 S. Eliseo Drive, will house 43 to 50 chronically homeless people. Levine said he voted for the legislation that made both the CARE Court and Project Homekey initiatives possible.

“I want to make sure we get it right,” Levine said, “that we collaborate both with jurisdictions and the neighborhoods so we have a very positive outcome both for the lives we hope to transform and the people who live there.”

Levine also said that flood protection “has been very challenging for jurisdictions in the Ross Valley to agree on.”

Proposals for construction of several flood water detention basins have been blocked by neighborhood opposition.

“I’m not going to say vote for me because I’ve got the solutions,” Levine said, “I’m going to work with the jurisdictions to build trust so that when we identify the solutions there can be agreement that it is for the benefit of every jurisdiction.”