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Steven Glazer

Senator GlazerCalifornia Senate Tenure

First elected to the Senate in a special election in 2015, Senator Steve Glazer won re-election to a full four-year term in November 2016 by winning 67 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in November 2020 with 66 percent of the vote.

Glazer served from mid-2015 through 2024 in the California State Senate, representing nearly one million residents in Northern California’s Contra Costa and Alameda counties, The district encompasses the communities of Alamo, Antioch, Bay Point, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Clayton, Concord, Danville, Discovery Bay, Dublin, Lafayette, Livermore, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and Walnut Creek.

During his tenure in the Senate, he served as the Chair of 7 Senate Committees, including: Revenue and Taxation; Elections and Constitutional Amendment Committee; Banking & Financial Institutions; Governmental Organization; Insurance; and Business, Professions & Economic Development; and the Select Committee on Student Success.

Governing Principles

Glazer’s Senate service was guided by his 10 Governing Principles:

  1. Represent the people of our Senate district, not political parties or special interests. 
  2. Maintain a balanced budget to allow government to help people, and people to have confidence in government.
  3. Pursue bi-partisan decisions. They are always better and longer lasting.
  4. Emphasize education as the gateway to opportunity and prosperity.
  5. Work hard to set priorities and hold the line on taxes.
  6. Incorporate environmental protection as a part of every decision.
  7. Empower local decision-making rather than state mandates. It is more responsive and trustworthy.
  8. Advance accountability and efficiency with every government program.
  9. Promote civility and respect for all people and perspectives.
  10. Conduct myself always with honesty and integrity.

Bills Signed into Law

Glazer authored more than four dozen laws, including ground-breaking measures that:

  • Helped increase the 4-year graduation rate for the 470,000 students attending California State University from 19% in 2015 to 36% by 2024, requiring the California State University (CSU) system to provide priority enrollment, enhanced academic advising, and other support for students who carry at least 30 units per year. This program was made permanent in 2024 through a bill Glazer co-authored with Assembly member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan;
  • Provided tax incentives to expand rainwater conservation accomplished through the passage of Proposition 87 on the 2018 statewide ballot.
  • Banned the practice known as “pay-to-play,” where entities make campaign contributions to local government officials a year before and a year after they vote on items providing a direct financial benefit to the donor. (SB 1439, Chaptered 2022);
  • Enacted a truth-in-lending disclosure requirement for small business loans, making California the first state in the nation to require disclosure of the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) in any loan offer so small businesses can comparison shop (SB 1235, Chaptered 2018). This bill was made permanent (SB 33, 2023);
  • Banned the sale of flavored tobacco (SB 793, Chaptered 2020);
  • Protected California’s first-in-the-nation ban on assault weapons (SB 880, Chaptered 2016).

Transparency, accountability & ethics legislation

Glazer authored other bills with a focus on providing transparency, accountability and ethics that:

  • Banned pay-to-play (see above).
  • Created the Office of Inspector General for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Authority to look for waste, fraud, and abuse in the agency (as part of SB 595 {Beall}, Chaptered 2017);
  • Required the fiscal impact of proposed ballot measures to be expressed as a rate per $100,000 of assessed property valuation, to make it more easily understood. (SB 798, Chaptered 2023).
  • Created a statewide longitudinal data system that tracked the progress of students into the workforce (SB 2, in budget, 2019);
  • Required plaintiffs who file a CEQA lawsuit to disclose their identity if they contributed $1,000 or more towards the cost of the action. It would also prevent repetitive CEQA lawsuits against housing projects (SB 393, Chaptered, 2024).
  • Proposed legislation to require school districts to report the annual salaries of their employees to the State Controller, ensuring that this information is publicly accessible in the same way as it is for other local agencies (SB 924, 2022);
  • Proposed bills to end the practice of local jurisdictions entering into agreements with businesses to rebate local tax revenue by phasing out current agreements and prohibiting future agreements (SB 1494, 2024) and to require cities to disclose these agreements (SB 531, 2019).
  • Proposed to transfer the responsibility for conducting audits and investigating lobbying reports from the Franchise Tax Board to the Fair Political Practices Commission (SB 1404, 2024);
  • Proposed to require the state to register commercial financing providers and individuals who provide brokerage services in commercial financing. It also would have prohibited broker steering and other unfair tactics (SB 1482, 2024);
  • Proposed to require the disclosure of any payment of $25,000 or more for a communication disseminated within 150 days of an election that clearly identifies an elected state officer and has the intent to influence the officer or public opinion (SB 724, 2023);

Local Journalism

  • In 2022, through the budget, Glazer spearheaded the creation of the $25 million California Local News Fellowships administered by the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley (SB 911, 2021).
  • In 2024, Glazer introduced legislation to help revive local newsrooms in California to promote the civic engagement needed in a healthy democracy. The bill proposed a data extraction mitigation fee that would provide approximately $500 million in annual tax credits to California news organizations that hire and retain journalists. The measure passed on a two-thirds bipartisan vote in the Senate but was not taken up before the Assembly session expired. (SB 1327, 2024).

Podcast

In 2023, Glazer created a unique podcast, Table Talk with Senator Steve Glazer, which shared surprising stories about people, places and politics in California. He is one of only a handful of elected officials in the state using podcasting as a communication tool. Over two years, Glazer hosted more than 50 episodes. All of Glazer’s podcast episodes can be found on platforms like Apple, Spotify, and others.

Honors/Awards

Agriculture

  • CA Women for Agriculture/Cornucopia Award (2016)
  • Agricultural Council of California/Influential Legislator of the Year (2022)

Business

  • California Grocers Association/Legislator of the Year (2016)
  • California Small Business Association and California Small Business Roundtable/Senate Small Business Legislator of the Year (2017)
  • California Association for Micro Enterprise Opportunity/Certificate of Appreciation for Leadership of SB 1235 (2018)
  • CA Business Properties Association/Legislator of the Year (2018)
    California Retailers Association/Friend of California Retail (2024)

Community

  • American Red Cross/Legislator of the year (2022)
  • Easter Seals/Advocacy Award (2018)
  • Rubicon Programs/Values Award (2018)
  • Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs/Certificate of Appreciation Summer Internship Tri-Valley Chapter (2019)
  • Monument Crisis Center/Certificate of Appreciation (2021)

Democracy

  • Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter/Distinguished Service to Journalism (2023)

Education

  • University of California/Lifetime Legislative Champion (2024)
  • The California State University/CSU Champion (2020)
  • California Coalition for Public Higher Education/Champion of  Public Higher Education (2023)
  • California Parents for Public Virtual Education/Golden Apples Award (2023)
  • CA School Boards Association/Special Recognition Award (2017)
  • San Diego State University Aztec Associated Student Achievement Award/Outstanding Alumni Award (2019)

Environment

  • Regional Parks Foundation & East Bay Regional Park District/Radke Championing Advocacy Award (2019)

Health

  • CA Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons/Legislator of the Year (2019)
  • Service Employees International Union/United Healthcare Workers West/Health Care Justice Champion (2020)

Judiciary

  • Civil Justice Association of California/Legislator of the Year (2016)
  • Civil Justice Association of California/Civil Justice Gavel (2020)

Public Safety

  • Crime Victims United of CA/Legislator of the Year (2015)

Veterans

  • AMVETS Department of California/Legislator of the Year (2016)

Women’s Rights

  • Planned Parenthood of California/Legislator of the Year (2024)

Committees

2023-2024
Glazer served as Chairman of the Elections and Constitutional Amendment Committee (2023); Chairman of the Revenue and Taxation Committee (2024); and Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Student Success. He also served on the Education, Governmental Organization, Health, Business, Professions and Economic Development, and Local Government committees.

2021–2022
Glazer was Chairman of the Elections and Constitutional Amendment Committee; Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Student Success; and served on the Agriculture; Education; Governmental Organization; Insurance committees;.

2019–2020
Glazer served as Chairman of the Business, Professions & Economic Development; Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Student Success; and as a member of the Agriculture; Education; Governmental Organization; and Insurance committees.

2017–2018
Glazer served as Chairman of the Governmental Organization and Insurance committees; as Chairman of Senate Select Committee on Student Success; and as a member of the Budget & Fiscal Review, and Human Services committees.

2015–2016
Glazer served as Chairman of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee and as a member of the Insurance and Public Safety committees. 
Glazer is a member of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus.

Local government service

Glazer was elected to Orinda City Council 2004, 2008 and 2012; and was selected by Council peers to serve as mayor of the City of Orinda in 2007, 2012 and 2015. Previously he served on the Orinda Park and Recreation Commission from 1997 to 1999.

He was selected by the Orinda City Council to serve on the Regional Solid Waste Board, serving numerous cities in Contra Costa County.

Work with Governor Jerry Brown

Glazer served as the political strategist and campaign manager for Jerry Brown’s campaign for Governor in 2010. During the governor’s first term, Glazer served as a senior advisor, helping guide California back to financial stability amid the Great Recession.

Glazer previously served as deputy campaign manager for Brown's unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate in 1982. Glazer first worked for Governor Jerry Brown in 1978, managing campaign activities at 20 colleges for Brown's re-election as Governor. 


California State University Board of Trustees

Glazer was appointed by California Governor Jerry Brown in 2011 to serve as a member of the California State University Board of Trustees, where he worked until 2015, advocating for higher graduation rates and improving the community college to university transfer policies. He also set budgetary policy to help guide 23 campuses, 447,000 students and 45,000 faculty and staff — the largest, most diverse and one of the most affordable university systems in the country.

Los Angeles Ethics and Police Reform Commissions

In 1990, Glazer ran the successful campaign to create the City of Los Angeles’s first ethics commission. In 1992, Glazer was the senior advisor to the successful campaign to reform the Los Angeles Police Department, strengthening civilian oversight of the police department.

Personal 

Glazer was born in Sacramento, California. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from San Diego State University. While attending SDSU, he served as president of Associated Students, the university's student governing group, and chair of the California State Student Association.

It was perhaps a single incident in his life that spurred Glazer to seek public office as an advocate for public safety. In October 2003, Glazer was shot in the neck by a high-powered pellet rifle while driving with his family. The .17-caliber projectile just missed his carotid artery and lodged next to his spine. The perpetrator was caught but never charged with a crime because pellet guns were classified as toys in the criminal code. After recovering from this injury, Glazer worked with then-Senator Tom Torlakson to author legislation establishing penalties for pellet-gun attacks (SB 532, Chapter 180, Statutes of 2006). 

Glazer is married to Melba Muscarolas, a retired executive with AT&T, with whom he has two daughters.