Alliance Lobbyist Levy to Retire After 14 Years of Service

After 14 years serving as the American Agents Alliance’s representative in Sacramento, lobbyist Ed Levy has decided to retire, effective Aug. 31, 2004. The independent producers’ association called Levy “a key figure in many of our successes in Sacramento, keeping us abreast of bills of interest to our members and providing expert advice on positions and action we might take.”

“Ed has been a valuable resource for us, both as a sounding board for legislative issues and as a State Capitol veteran,” said Alliance Executive Director Lorelle Kitzmiller. “He has been a real asset to our association, and I am honored to have worked with him, and pleased to call him a friend.”

Levy was surprised recently at a Senate Insurance Committee hearing on Aug. 23, when Senator Jackie Speier, who is the committee chairperson, began the proceedings by presenting Ed
with an official proclamation, authored by Speier, “in recognition of his long service as a legislative staffer to the Assembly Finance and Insurance committees, and his 30-year career as a lobbyist for
insurance companies and agents.”

When asked to point at one issue he has been most proud to work on, Levy had a difficult time singling out one particular issue over anything else, although he did agree that assisting Senator Speier in putting teeth in mandatory enforcement (through Alliance-supported AB 650 and SB 651) was a significant accomplishment for the association. “Increasing the visibility of the Alliance in Sacramento and protecting the ability of independent producers to do business freely were goals I consistently focused on as lobbyist,” Levy said.