Candidate for
Member of the State Assembly; District 7

A candidate for State Assembly in the 7th District, Michael Allen has been a community leader for over 30 years and has a record of activism that makes him uniquely qualified to tackle the diverse issues facing our community and our state. Michael is a reform-minded progressive leader, who is intent on solving problems in Sacramento and making our Legislature work for Californians.

A resident of Santa Rosa, Michael has had an extensive career as a registered nurse, lawyer and then labor leader right here in our community. Michael raised his five children here and was proud to see them go on to graduate college and become successful in their own right.

Michael was born and raised in Los Angeles by his Latina mother who immigrated to the United States after she married an American mining company attorney. When his mother was widowed when he was just 6 years old, Michael learned first-hand the value of hard work as his mother raised him on her own and worked as a seamstress to support them.

In 1975, Michael began his career as a psychiatric nurse for the Sonoma County Crisis Clinic. Michael put himself through law school, graduating in 1979. He then joined the Sierra Club Legal Defense Team on the Warm Springs Dam initiative before ultimately finding his calling as a negotiator, mediator, and consensus builder at the Sonoma County Organization of Public Employees.

In 1984, the membership promoted Michael Allen to Executive Director of the Service Employees International Union Local 707. Michael's many notable accomplishments include successfully establishing a childcare center, advocating for civil service reform, and utilizing innovative techniques to expand the union membership from 1,000 to 8,000. Michael is also a respected labor attorney, working to protect workers rights and help employers and workers to negotiate many successful contacts throughout the North Bay. Michael also served nine terms as the President of the North Bay Labor Council.

In 2007, state Senator Patricia Wiggins asked Michael to accept the position of District Director for her five regional offices that serve over 880,000 constituents in Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma counties, a position he still holds today. As District Director, Michael works with constituents to resolve local issues and concerns.

Michael Allen's work in the community is just as extensive as his professional work. In the 1980s, Michael helped establish the Sonoma County Day Care Center, which still serves the community today. In 1992, Michael negotiated an innovative and groundbreaking housing benefit for Sonoma County workers that helped hundreds of North Bay families to realize their housing dreams.

In Michael Allen's decades-long involvement with the community, he has brought the often-fractious trio of business, labor, and environmental groups together for the benefit of the North Bay. Michael serves on the Santa Rosa Planning Commission and as Chair of the SMART Train Citizens Oversight Committee, working to create a more sustainable economy through this groundbreaking project.

Michael Allen is also a founding member of Solar Sonoma, a progressive coalition of community members, government representatives and private sector organizations that promotes development of alternative energy sources and reductions in fossil fuel dependency and green house gas emissions.