Ellen Lipton

Ellen Lipton

Democratic Party

Michigan State Board of Education

Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2029

Years in position

4

Prior offices

Michigan House of Representatives District 27

Successor: Robert Wittenberg

---

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Williams College, 1988

Law

Harvard Law School, 1992

Personal

Birthplace

Philadelphia, Pa.

Religion

Jewish

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official YouTube

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Campaign YouTube

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Ellen Lipton (Democratic Party) is an at-large member of the Michigan State Board of Education. She assumed office on January 1, 2021. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.

Lipton (Democratic Party) ran for election for an at-large seat of the Michigan State Board of Education. She won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Lipton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ellen Lipton was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry and art history from Williams College in 1988 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1992. Lipton's career experience includes working as a patent attorney and as a nonprofit professional.

Political career

Michigan State Board of Education (2021-present)

Lipton was first elected to the board in November 2020 and took office in January 2021.

Michigan House of Representatives (2009-2014)

Lipton served in the Michigan House of Representatives, representing District 27 from 2009 to 2014.

Elections

2020

See also: Michigan State Board of Education election, 2020

General election

General election for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Michigan State Board of Education on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ellen Lipton (D)	24.6	2,472,087
✔		Jason Strayhorn (D)	23.5	2,368,523
	Submit photo	Michelle Frederick (R)	23.0	2,316,051
		Tami Carlone (R)	22.8	2,291,915
		Mary Anne Hering (Working Class Party)	1.5	147,345
	Submit photo	Bill Hall (L)	1.2	124,758
	Submit photo	Richard Hewer (L)	0.9	91,661
	Submit photo	Hali McEachern (Working Class Party)	0.8	82,700
	Submit photo	Karen Adams (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)	0.8	80,299
	Submit photo	Tom Mair (G)	0.6	58,397
	Submit photo	Douglas Levesque (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)	0.3	34,033

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,067,769
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic convention

Democratic convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Ellen Lipton and Jason Strayhorn advanced from the Democratic convention for Michigan State Board of Education on August 29, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Ellen Lipton (D)
✔		Jason Strayhorn (D)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican convention

Republican convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Tami Carlone and Michelle Frederick advanced from the Republican convention for Michigan State Board of Education on August 29, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Tami Carlone (R)
✔	Submit photo	Michelle Frederick (R)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Green convention

Green convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Tom Mair advanced from the Green convention for Michigan State Board of Education on June 20, 2020.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Tom Mair (G)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Libertarian convention

Libertarian convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Bill Hall and Richard Hewer advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan State Board of Education on July 18, 2020.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Bill Hall (L)
✔	Submit photo	Richard Hewer (L)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention

U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Karen Adams and Douglas Levesque advanced from the U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan convention for Michigan State Board of Education on July 25, 2020.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Karen Adams (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)
✔	Submit photo	Douglas Levesque (U.S. Taxpayers Party of Michigan)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Working Class Party convention

Working Class Party convention for Michigan State Board of Education (2 seats)

Mary Anne Hering and Hali McEachern advanced from the Working Class Party convention for Michigan State Board of Education on July 26, 2020.

		Candidate
✔		Mary Anne Hering (Working Class Party)
✔	Submit photo	Hali McEachern (Working Class Party)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To view Lipton's endorsements in the 2020 election, please click here.

2018

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Michigan District 9

Andy Levin defeated Candius Stearns, Andrea Kirby, and John McDermott in the general election for U.S. House Michigan District 9 on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Levin (D)	59.7	181,734
		Candius Stearns (R)	36.8	112,123
		Andrea Kirby (Working Class Party)	2.2	6,797
		John McDermott (G)	1.3	3,909

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 304,563
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 9

Andy Levin defeated Ellen Lipton and Martin Brook in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Michigan District 9 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Andy Levin	52.4	49,612
		Ellen Lipton	42.4	40,174
		Martin Brook	5.1	4,865

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 94,651
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Steven Bieda (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 9

Candius Stearns advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Michigan District 9 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Candius Stearns	100.0	47,410

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,410
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2014

See also: Michigan State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Michigan State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, and a general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was April 22, 2014. Incumbent Vincent Gregory defeated Vicki Barnett and Ellen Lipton in the Democratic primary. Boris Tuman was unopposed in the Republican primary. Gregory defeated Tuman in the general election.

Michigan State Senate, District 11 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Vincent Gregory Incumbent	73.3%	70,862
	Republican	Boris Tuman	23.6%	22,846
	Libertarian	James Young	3.1%	2,994
Total Votes				96,702

Michigan State Senate, District 11 Democratic Primary, 2014

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Vincent Gregory Incumbent	34.7%	10,286
Vicki Barnett	34.3%	10,168
Ellen Lipton	31%	9,204
Total Votes		29,658

2012

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2012

Lipton won re-election in the 2012 election for Michigan House of Representatives District 27. She defeated Andrew Robert Cissell in the August 7 Democratic primary and defeated Ezra Drissman (R) and John Wierzbicki (L) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27, General Election, 2012

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Ellen Lipton Incumbent	75.6%	34,389
	Republican	Ezra Drissman	20.3%	9,253
	Libertarian	John Wierzbicki	4%	1,841
Total Votes				45,483

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Ellen Lipton Incumbent	83.7%	9,465
Andrew Cissell	16.3%	1,848
Total Votes		11,313

2010

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2010

Lipton won re-election to the District 27 seat in 2010. She had no primary opposition. She defeated Michelangelo Fortuna III in the general election on November 2, 2010.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27 General election (2010)
Candidates		Votes
Ellen Lipton (D)		19,245
Michelangelo Fortuna III (R)		8,293
John Skosnik (L)		951

2008

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2008

On November 4, 2008, Lipton ran for District 27 of the Michigan House of Representatives, beating David Micola and Shelly Bane.

Lipton raised $102,698 for her campaign.

Michigan House of Representatives, District 27
Candidates		Votes
Ellen Lipton (D)		31,758
David Micola (R)		10,099
Shelly Bane (L)		1,215

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ellen Lipton completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Lipton's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am the granddaughter of immigrants, raised to believe that working hard and playing by the rules is the path to a good American life. Scholarships, jobs, and the previous affordability of higher education allowed me to attend Harvard Law School, where I met my husband. While raising two children, I worked as a patent attorney, specializing in chemical technologies. I became involved in public life by joining the fight to allow stem cell research in Michigan. I then ran for State Representative, and was honored to serve the residents of the 27th House District for six years. As a legislator, I served on the Education Committee, as well as the Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on K-12 Schools. Subsequently, I founded the Michigan Promise Zone Association which supports a tuition-free path to higher education in selected communities throughout Michigan.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Safely and carefully re-open schools
• Fund our schools equitably and adequately
• Do not use standardized tests to rank schools or sort students

   Featured local question

What do you see as the largest problem facing public education in the state right now?

Over 20% of our school-aged children live in communities which experience concentrated and chronic poverty. That puts us in the bottom half of states in this country. Research indicates that students who come to school hungry or tired because of unstable living conditions will not learn as well as their more resourced peers because their most basic needs are not being met. In short, children need to come to school "ready to learn" before they can actually learn. As a state we need to be committed to aggressively addressing childhood poverty in order to increase educational access for all our children. Making sure that school districts have the critical resources they need is an important component of making sure that every child has access to a quality education. As such, I will continue to advocate for a differentiated funding model that drives additional resources to school districts that serve high populations of students who receive special education services, English-language learners, and students living in deep poverty.

   Featured local question

Why are you running for the State Board? What qualities make you more qualified than the other candidates?

I believe my experience as a former legislator most qualifies me for this office. I served for six years in the State House, serving as the minority vice-chair of the Education Committee, as well as the minority vice-chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on K-12 Schools. As such, I have a deep understanding of the education policy as well as the funding landscape in this state. I passed legislation to require the state to undergo a comprehensive costing-out study to determine the true cost of educating a child in our state. This law resulted in the determination that we are currently underfunding all our students, and most significantly our special education students, our English-language learners, and students living in deep poverty. Additionally, I helped to uncover the inadequacies of the EAA schools in Detroit, and successfully stopped the harmful legislation proposed by former Gov. Snyder to expand the Educational Achievement Authority across the entire state.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am personally passionate around the issue of school funding. While in the Legislature, I advocated for passage of a bill to require the state to undergo a comprehensive costing out study to determine the true cost of educating a child in Michigan. I could not believe that we were funding our schools on a per-pupil basis with out this critical information. The costing-out study took place after I left the Legislature, but ultimately confirmed that we were not driving enough resources to our most vulnerable students, particularly our students with special needs, our English language learners, and our students living in concentrated poverty.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

I think the Constitutional autonomy of this office makes it a unique and important part of state government and legal system. As set forth in Article VIII, Sec. 3 of our 1963 Constitution: "Leadership and general supervision over all public education, including adult education and instructional programs in state institutions, except as to institutions of higher education granting baccalaureate degrees, is vested in a state board of education. It shall serve as the general planning and coordinating body for all public education, including higher education, and shall advise the legislature as to the financial requirements in connection therewith." At various times, the state board has undergone a system of strategic planning to carry out its mission, as it is currently doing by way of its "Top 10 in 10" plan. Al also set forth in our State Constitution: "The state board of education shall appoint a superintendent of public instruction whose term of office shall be determined by the board. He shall be the chairman of the board without the right to vote, and shall be responsible for the execution of its policies. He shall be the principal executive officer of a state department of education which shall have powers and duties provided by law." Finally, as state-wide elected officials, state board members are the bridge between Michiganders and the MDE, both disseminating information out of and bringing information into the MDE, so that it can be accountable and responsive to the needs of every schoolchild in Michigan.

What legacy would you like to leave?

To leave this world in a better state than when I arrived. To build communities whereby that which a parent wants for their child, they also want and fight for their neighbor's child.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

My first memory of a historical event was watching President Nixon's resignation speech on television with my family. I was seven years old at the time.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Death and Life of the Great American School System by Diane Ravitch because it chronicles the struggles and successes of the great institution of public education.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

---

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

---

Ellen Lipton campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2018	U.S. House Michigan District 9	Lost primary	$837,459	N/A**
2012	Michigan State House, District 27	Won	$18,595	N/A**
2010	Michigan State House, District 27	Won	$35,375	N/A**
2008	Michigan State House, District 27	Won	$102,698	N/A**
Grand total			$994,127	N/A**
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

State legislative tenure

Committee assignments

2013-2014

At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Lipton served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2012
• Appropriations
• Education, Vice chair
• Insurance
• Judiciary

2011-2012

In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Lipton served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2011
• Appropriations

2009-2010

In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Lipton served on the following committees:

Michigan committee assignments, 2009
• Energy and Technology
• Insurance
• Judiciary
• Tax Policy

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Michigan State Board of Education

Website

Twitter

YouTube

Officeholder

Michigan State Board of Education

Website

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Personal

Facebook

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by -	Michigan State Board of Education 2021-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Michigan House of Representatives District 27 2009-2015	Succeeded by Robert Wittenberg (D)