Marty Block

Marty Block
Member of the California State Assembly from the 78th district
Incumbent
Assumed office December 1, 2008
Preceded by	Shirley Horton
Personal details
Born	June 28, 1950 (1950-06-28) (age 61) Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Cindy Block
Residence	San Diego, California
Alma mater	Indiana University DePaul University Syracuse University
Occupation	Professor (Retired)

Marty Block (born June 28, 1950)^[1] represents California's 78th district in the California State Assembly. Assembly District 78 includes southern San Diego, Chula Vista, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley. Block is a Democrat. He was elected to the Assembly in 2008, succeeding term-limited Republican Representative Shirley Horton. He is chairman of the Assembly Higher Education Committee.^[2] He successfully ran for re-election in 2010.

Biography

Block earned his BA in political science and education at Indiana University as well as a law degree from DePaul University. He began his career as a history teacher in Illinois before coming to San Diego. Block retired after 26 years as a professor, dean and director at San Diego State University where he founded the National Higher Education Law and Policy Institute. He is a five-time recipient of outstanding faculty awards at San Diego State University and was presented with the University Distinguished Service Award upon retirement by SDSU President Stephen Weber.

Block has been president of both the San Diego County Board of Education and the San Diego Community College District Board of Trustees. He has frequently served as Judge Pro Tem of the San Diego Superior Court. Block’s community involvement includes time as commissioner of the San Diego County Commission on Children, Youth and Families. He also founded the San Diego Latino/Jewish Coalition and served as president of the American Jewish Committee, San Diego Chapter. Block was elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention four separate times in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2004.

2008 California State Assembly campaign

In 2008, Block ran as a Democrat to represent California's 78th district in the California State Assembly. He received the endorsement of the San Diego Police Officer’s Association. The union, whose members are mostly Republican, represents over 2,000 officers. SDPOA’s president, Bill Nemec, said Block has been “sensitive to law enforcement issues” and will receive support from the union’s political action committee.^[3]

In his 2008 California State Assembly campaign, Block ran a series of television commercials promising "I won't take any salary when the Legislature is late passing a budget" ^[4] Both the 2009 and 2010 budgets were passed after the June 30 deadline, yet there has been no published evidence that Block adhered to his 2008 campaign promise and took a reduced salary; though it has been reported that Block collected his full per diem of $28,372 for 2010.^[5]

Block defeated his Republican opponent, John McCann, 92,045 (55.4%) to 74,160 (44.6%).^[6]

David Glanzer, the Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Comic-Con served as Marty Block's Director of Communication for the 2008 campaign and later served as Press Secretary for the Assemblyman.^[7]

2010 campaign

His opponent in the 2010 election is Republican Rick L. Powell.^[8]

References

1. ^ Assembly Member Marty Block of California
2. ^ Los Angeles Times, June 14, 2010
3. ^ James B. Gerber, "Block lands endorsement of San Diego Police Officers", PolitickerCA.com, September 18, 2008.
4. ^ Television advertisement linked from the official campaign website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZx3S0y8TT0&eurl=http://www.martyblock.com/index.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D253:marty-block-for-assembly%26catid%3D32:gadgets%26Itemid%3D30&feature=player_embedded
5. ^ http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/18/lawmakers-cash-in-during-long-weekends/
6. ^ Bowen, Debra (Tuesday, November 4, 2008). "State Assembly - District 78: Districtwide Results". California General Election: Election Night Results. California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080723193936/http://vote.sos.ca.gov/Returns/stasm/7859.htm. Retrieved November 19, 2008. 
7. ^ http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/?q=node/1354
8. ^ smartvoter.com

External links

• Block's VoteSmart Bio Page
• 2008 campaign web site

Persondata
Name	Block, Marty
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	June 28, 1950
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death