Claire Levy (born July 3, 1956) is a former legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado. Elected to the Colorado House of Representatives as a Democrat in 2006, Levy represented House District 13, which encompasses Clear Creek, Gilpin, and western Boulder counties. Levy was named the Executive Director of the Colorado Center on Law and Policy on November 1, 2013. The Colorado Center on Law and Policy is a Denver-based nonprofit organization working to advance the health, economic security and well-being of low-income Coloradans through research, education, advocacy and litigation.
Early career
Raised in Indiana, Levy earned a bachelor's degree from Carleton College in Minnesota in 1978, and then a J.D. from Case Western Reserve University, 1982.
Moving to Denver in 1982, Levy worked as a deputy public defender in the Colorado State Public Defender's Office from 1983 to 1986, representing indigents accused of felonies. After moving to Boulder in 1986, Levy briefly worked in private practice with Buchan, Gray, Purvis, and Scheutze. In 1989, she took a job in the Jefferson County Attorney's office focusing on land use and planning issues. Since 1999, Levy has worked in private practice in Boulder.
Levy has served as a precinct captain for the Boulder County Democratic Party, on the boards of PLAN Boulder County (where she has also been vice-chair and chair), the Boulder Arts Academy, and the Boulder Ballet, and as a member of the Boulder County Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee (including three years as its chair), the Boulder County Housing Authority, and the City of Boulder Planning Board. Levy has two daughters, Mara and Ellie.
Legislative career
2006 campaign
Claire Levy faced Jim Rettew, an instructor at the University of Colorado in the Democratic Party primary for House District 13 to succeed term limited Rep. Tom Plant. In the reliably Democratic district, the two candidates differed primarily on emphasis, rather than the substance of issues, with Levy placing her focus on global warming, schools and health care. Levy also accumulated an extensive list of endorsements from local organizations and Democratic Party leaders.
Levy won 71% of the vote at the party assembly for the house district, forcing Rettew to petition onto the primary ballot. She again prevailed in the primary election, earning over 60% of the popular vote and the Democratic Party's nomination for the legislature. Having won her party primary and facing only a Libertarian opponent, Levy dedicated her political efforts during the remainder of the election season to promoting Referendum I, a statewide domestic partnerships initiative. In the general election, Levy defeated Libertarian Rand Fanshier with over 80% of the vote.
2007 legislative session
In the 2007 session of the Colorado General Assembly, Levy sat on the House Judiciary Committee, the House Transportation and Energy Committee, the Legal Services Committee, and was vice-chair of the Joint Rule 36 Complaint Committee. The Rule 36 complaint committee reviews allegations of misconduct by lobbyists, and, during the 2007 session, heard a case involving robocalls made by a lobbyist for business leaders; Levy voted with the majority of the committee, which found that the calls, although deceptive, were protected political speech.
During the 2007 session, Levy was a prominent proponent of legislation related to energy efficiency standards. Successful legislation introduced by Levy included measures to require local governments to include updated energy-efficiency standards in building codes, to require utility companies to provide rebates to customers who use energy-efficient products, and to add a 50-cent fee to natural gas bills to pay for energy-efficiency programs. She was also the House sponsor of a Senate bill to impose new energy-efficiency standards on state buildings.
Following the legislative session, Levy sat on the interim Transportation Legislation Review Committee.
She received a total score of 4.0 out of a possible 100 for her votes that related to taxation from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers during the 2007 session.