Steve Novick is a political activist and former environmental lawyer, and a 2008 Democratic candidate for the Senate seat now held by Republican Gordon Smith.

From Wikipedia:

Novick was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1963. His parents, a waitress and a union organizer, moved his family to Cottage Grove, Oregon, in 1973.
Novick was born with significant physical disabilities which include a missing left hand and missing fibula bones in his legs. As a result he uses a hook prosthesis and stands approximately 4’9″ tall. His unusual physicality has prompted him to use the slogan “The Fighter with the Hard Left Hook.” His levity about his physical stature has drawn both positive and negative reviews from the press.
In 1977, after low funding caused Novick’s junior high school to close, he enrolled at the University of Oregon. After graduating at age 18, he attended Harvard Law School, earning a law degree at age 21.

Career
Novick is an attorney and former U.S. Department of Justice litigator. He spent nearly ten years arguing on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), culminating in the Love Canal case, on which he served as lead counsel. Returning to Oregon, Novick worked as policy director for Tom Bruggere’s 1996 Senate bid. He then served as chief of staff to the Democrats in the Oregon State Senate from 1997 to 1999.

Subsequently, he was Executive Director of the Center for Constructive Citizen Action, which spearheaded the fight against Bill Sizemore’s Measure 91, which would have cut the State budget for schools, health care and public safety by more than 20%.

In 2002, Steve was policy director for Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski in his first, successful campaign for the governorship. From 2004 to 2006, he worked for Citizens for Oregon’s Future, an organization dedicated to providing taxpayers useful, reliable information on tax and budget issues. In 2005, Steve developed a “balance the state budget” classroom exercise for high school students, which was used by social studies teachers in Creswell, Springfield, Salem and Portland.

Beginning in 1999, Steve turned his attention to the Oregon Lottery’s payments to retailers, which he contended were illegally high. He and other education advocates brought a successful lawsuit challenging the lottery’s payment, and redirected millions of dollars to Oregon public schools.

From Congresspedia:

Positions and Record

Iraq War
Novick spoke against the Iraq War in 2003, calling it “an oil grab and public-relations gimmick, sold on false pretenses, which is now producing $4 billion a month’s worth of chaos.” He now calls for full withdrawal of American military bases and personnel from Iraq within six months, coupled with diplomatic re-engagement of regional and international powers.

Taxes
Novick advocates progressive taxation and calls for a reformation of the Internal Revenue Code to abolish the distinction between ordinary income (earned from labor) and capital gains income (earned from the exploitation of wealth).

Health care
Novick favors single-payer health care, but has proposed a more moderate interim approach to “(1) provide health insurance to all citizens; (2) stop insurance companies from discriminating against anyone who might actually get sick…and (3) ensure that all employers pay something toward health care.”

Labor
Novick is pro-union. He argues that all employees have the right to organize into labor unions, and calls for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Civil Rights
Novick supports reproductive rights, anti-discrimination laws, restored habeas corpus, and same-sex marriage.

Global Warming
In September of 2007, Novick announced his support for S. 309, the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act of 2007, which will cut carbon emissions an estimated 20% by 2020 and over 80% by 2050.

Net Neutrality
Novick advocates full net neutrality.

Novick, in his run for the U.S. Senate, has gained conspicuous endorsements from The Oregon Education Association and former Governor John Kitzhaber. Click, and join Steve for a tankard of Left Hook Lager at St. Patrick’s Day events around Oregon.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 3:12 pm and is filed under Elections, General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.