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Matt Dababneh

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Matt Dababneh
Image of Matt Dababneh

Democratic Party

Prior offices
California State Assembly District 45
Contact

Personal website

Matt Dababneh is a former Democratic member of the California State Assembly, representing District 45 from 2014 to 2017. He was first elected to the chamber in a special election on November 19, 2013 and assumed office on January 6, 2014. He served as state Assembly majority whip in 2014.

Dababneh stepped down from his position as chairman of the Banking and Finance Committee in November 2017 due to sexual misconduct allegations. He announced on December 8, 2017, that he would resign from office effective January 1, 2018.[1] To read more click here.

Committee assignments

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

California committee assignments, 2017
• Banking and Finance, Chair
• Communications and Conveyance
• Insurance
• Privacy and Consumer Protection
• Revenue and Taxation

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Dababneh served on the following committees:

Campaign themes

2014

Dababneh's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[2]

Ecomony And Jobs

  • Excerpt: "California’s future depends on a strong economy and robust job creation. As a member of the State Assembly, I have committed myself to policies that will grow California’s economy and create good paying, middle class jobs in our community."

Education

  • Excerpt: "As an advocate and longtime supporter of programs like Head Start, I know that low-income parents need support to afford childcare. I support the Obama Administration’s efforts to guarantee high quality preschool for every child because children who have rich early learning experiences are better prepared to thrive in school."

Protecting Homeowners And Prop 13

  • Excerpt: "I am committed to protecting Valley homeowners because I know that owning a home is the foundation of our middle class and a strong economy. I have fought for Valley homeowners facing foreclosure and worked to stabilize Valley home prices during the collapse of the housing market."

Environment

  • Excerpt: "It is our responsibility to protect California’s environment and natural resources for future generations. I will help California remain a leader in regulating motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions and requiring higher fuel economy standards."

Healthcare

  • Excerpt: "As California moves forward with implementation of the Affordable Care Act, I am committed to securing affordable, quality and accessible health care for all residents of the Valley. My focus will be to make sure the state-based exchange 'Covered California' is an efficient, well organized and consumer friendly system that provides businesses and individuals with the ability to compare and choose health coverage that best fits their needs and budget."

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.

Elections

2016

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2016

Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election was held on June 7, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was February 25, 2016, for candidates filing with signatures. The deadline for candidates using a filing fee to qualify was March 11, 2016.[3]

Incumbent Matt Dababneh defeated Jerry Kowal in the California State Assembly District 45 general election.[4][5]

California State Assembly, District 45 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Matt Dababneh Incumbent 66.39% 111,148
     Republican Jerry Kowal 33.61% 56,257
Total Votes 167,405
Source: California Secretary of State


Incumbent Matt Dababneh and Jerry Kowal defeated Doug Kriegel in the California State Assembly District 45 Blanket primary.[6][7]

California State Assembly, District 45 Blanket Primary, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Matt Dababneh Incumbent 49.33% 42,135
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Jerry Kowal 26.81% 22,899
     Democratic Doug Kriegel 23.87% 20,387
Total Votes 85,421

2014

See also: California State Assembly elections, 2014

Elections for the California State Assembly took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 3, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 7, 2014. Incumbent Matt Dababneh (D) and Susan Shelley (R) were unopposed in the blanket primary. Dababneh defeated Shelley in the general election.[8][9][10]

California State Assembly, District 45, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Dababneh Incumbent 57.1% 45,321
     Republican Susan Shelley 42.9% 34,055
Total Votes 79,376

2013

See also: State legislative special elections, 2013

Dababaneh won election in a special election for California State Assembly District 45. The seat was vacant following Rep. Bob Blumenfield's (D) election to the Los Angeles City Council. Dababaneh faced ten others in a blanket primary, which took place on September 17. As no candidate received 50 percent of the vote the top two vote-getters - Matt Dababneh (D) and Susan Shelley (R) - met in a runoff election on November 19, which Dababaneh won.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

California State Assembly, District 45, Special Election, 2013
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Dababneh 50.5% 14,984
     Republican Susan Shelley 49.5% 14,665
Total Votes 29,649

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.

Matt Dababneh campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2016California State Assembly, District 45Won $1,424,030 N/A**
2014California State Assembly, District 28Won $698,035 N/A**
2013California State Assembly, District 28Won $672,273 N/A**
Grand total$2,794,338 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.

Endorsements

2014

In 2014, Dababaneh's endorsements included the following:[18]

  • Brad Sherman
  • Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
  • California Governor Jerry Brown
  • California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
  • California State Controller John Chiang
  • Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins
  • Congressman Tony Cardenas
  • Congresswoman Diane Watson (ret.)
  • California State Senator Alex Padilla
  • California State Senator Fran Pavley
  • Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra
  • Assemblyman Mike Gatto
  • Presidential Nominee, Gov. Michael Dukakis
  • California Governor Gray Davis (ret.)
  • California State Treasurer Phil Angelides (ret.)
  • Councilman Dennis Zine (ret.)
  • Mayor Fred Gaines, City of Calabasas
  • Mayor Larry Horner (ret.), City of Thousand Oaks
  • LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, 3rd District
  • LA City Councilman Bob Blumenfield

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in California

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of California scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.








2017

In 2017, the California State Legislature was in session from December 5, 2016 through September 15, 2017.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported by ACS CAN.
Legislators are scored on their votes on "issues important to the engineering and land surveying industry."
Legislators are scored on their votes on labor issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the chamber.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to labor.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on "how they voted in accord with CMTA."
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of consumers.
Legislators are scored on their votes on Republican issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues pertaining to children.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the interests of seniors.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of consumers.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues pertaining to children.
Legislators are scored on their votes on LGBT issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to the interests of health care consumers.
Legislators are scored on how they voted on taxpayer related issues.
Legislators are scored on how they voted on bills related to the interests of California cities.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on issues related to food and agriculture.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental policy.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to the interests of home care providers.


2016


2015


2014


Noteworthy events

Resignation following sexual misconduct allegations (2017)

See also: Sexual assault and harassment in American politics (2017-2018)

Dababneh announced on December 8, 2017, that he would resign from office effective January 1, 2018. "To be absolutely clear, the allegations made against me are not true. However, due to the current environment, I, unfortunately, no longer believe I can serve my district effectively, as I have done for the last four years," he said in a statement.[1]

On December 4, Dababneh was accused of sexual misconduct by two women. One of the women, lobbyist Pamela Lopez, filed a formal complaint against Dabaneh and held a news conference where she publicly named him. She alleged that, in January 2016, Dababneh exposed himself and masturbated in front of her. She said the incident occurred at a celebration at a Las Vegas hotel after he followed her into a single-use bathroom She had described the allegations in October, but she did not name Dababneh at that time. She was joined at the news conference by Jessica Yas Barker, who claimed that Dababneh harassed her while they both worked in the office of Congressman Brad Sherman (D).

In response to the allegations, Dababneh released a statement that said, "I affirmatively deny that this event ever happened — at any time. I am saddened by this lobbyist's effort to create this falsehood and make these inflammatory statements, apparently for her own self-promotion and without regard to the reputation of others. I look forward to clearing my name.” On December 1, Dababneh's lawyer sent a cease-and-desist letter to Lopez that said he would pursue damages if she held the press conference.

Assembly Rules Committee Chairman Ken Cooley (D) said the Assembly would refer Lopez's complaint to an outside investigator. Dababneh stepped down as chairman of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee after the allegations surfaced.[19][20][21]

On December 14, the Los Angeles Times reported that three additional women had accused Dababneh of sexual misconduct. One of the women said that she had non-consensual sex with him on multiple occasions. The other women said that Dababneh made sexual advances on them or inappropriate comments. Of the allegations, Dababneh said, "These allegations are false and I’m confident that when all the facts are in, it will clearly show that these claims are not true."[22]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 SFGate, "California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh resigns, accused of sexual misconduct," December 8, 2017
  2. ↑ mattdababneh.com, "Issues," accessed September 22, 2014
  3. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Key Dates and Deadlines," accessed April 18, 2017
  4. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for the November 8, 2016, General Election," accessed September 7, 2016
  5. ↑ California Secretary of State, "2016 General Election results," accessed December 23, 2016
  6. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Certified List of Candidates for Voter-Nominated Offices," accessed April 4, 2016
  7. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Statement of Vote," accessed August 22, 2016
  8. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2014 Primary election candidate list," accessed March 27, 2014
  9. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official primary election results," accessed July 15, 2014
  10. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official general election results," accessed December 14, 2014
  11. ↑ scpr.org, "Special elections set for Asssembly, Senate seats are costly, draw few voters," July 4, 2013
  12. ↑ sos.ca.gov, "AD 45 Special Primary Election - Official Certified List of Candidates," accessed July 31, 2013
  13. ↑ latimes.com, "Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell wins state Senate seat," September 17, 2013
  14. ↑ latimes.com, "Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell wins state Senate seat," September 17, 2013
  15. ↑ sos.ca.gov, "Official blanket primary results," accessed November 19, 2013
  16. ↑ vote.sos.ca.gov, "Unofficial election results," accessed November 22, 2013
  17. ↑ sos.ca.gov, "Official special election results," accessed December 11, 2013
  18. ↑ mattdababneh.com, "Endorsements," accessed September 22, 2014
  19. ↑ Capital Public Radio, "Two Women Accuse California Assemblyman Matt Dababneh Of Sexual Assault, Harassment," December 4, 2017
  20. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "California assemblyman accused of forcing lobbyist into bathroom and masturbating," December 4, 2017
  21. ↑ Politico, "Playbook," December 5, 2017
  22. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Three more women accuse California assemblyman of sexual misconduct," December 14, 2017
Political offices
Preceded by
Bob Blumenfield (D) 		California Assembly District 45
2014-2017 		Succeeded by
Jesse Gabriel (D)


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