Ira Ruskin was elected to the Assembly in 2004, representing the twenty-first district, encompassing much of Silicon Valley, including the Almaden Valley of San Jose, Atherton, East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Menlo Park, Monte Sereno, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos and Woodside.

In his first term, Assemblymember Ruskin was one of five freshmen members to chair a standing committee, the Assembly Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.  As chair he established himself as a leader on environmental issues and helped shepherd legislation to improve water and air quality and protect people from toxic chemicals. 

During his first session, Assemblymember Ruskin introduced bills to establish greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in California, modeled on the Kyoto Protocol, and to promote the use of alternatively fueled vehicles.

In 2006, the Speaker of the Assembly named Assemblymember Ruskin Chair of the Assembly Budget Sub-Committee on Natural Resources.  As chair he will oversee the implementation of AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006; Proposition 84, the Natural Resources Bond; and Proposition 1E, the Flood Protection Bond; as well as the budget for numerous state agencies and programs.

In addition to his role as chair of the Budget Sub-Committee on Natural Resources, Assemblymember Ruskin also serves on the Higher Education, Transportation, and Labor & Employment Committees as well as the Joint Committee on Emergency Services and Homeland Security and the Assembly Select Committee on Foster Care.

Prior to his election to the Assembly, Mr. Ruskin had been elected to three terms as a member of the Redwood City Council, serving as mayor from 1999-2001.

In his work on the city council, Mr. Ruskin played a critical role in the development of the current San Mateo County emergency medical response system, which has resulted in quicker and more uniform response times throughout the county.  He also worked to prevent elder abuse by requiring police officers to visit nursing facilities as well as to provide stable funding for battered women’s shelters.

Mr. Ruskin also played a leadership role in organizing officials from Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda Counties to successfully lobby the state legislature to enact landmark legislation protecting the Bay Area’s water supply and mandating that San Francisco repair the vulnerable Hetch Hetchy water delivery system.  On the basis of these efforts, Mr. Ruskin was elected as first chair of the newly formed Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA), which represents nearly two million residents, businesses and community organizations in the region.

Mr. Ruskin also served as a member of the San Mateo County Transportation Authority, Redwood City Education Foundation Executive board, and several other boards.

For more than twenty years, Ira Ruskin worked in the private sector as a communications consultant, providing strategic marketing materials for technology companies, non-profits and government agencies.

Mr. Ruskin received his B.A. in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.A. from Stanford University in Communications.

Mr. Ruskin and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Redwood City.