Mark Levine (journalist)

Mark Levine
Mark Levine and the Constitution, 2014
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from the 45th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 13, 2016
Preceded by	Rob Krupicka
Personal details
Born	Mark H. Levine (1966-05-07) May 7, 1966 (age 50) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Residence	Alexandria, Virginia
Alma mater	Harvard University (A.B.) University of Neuchâtel (Fulbright) Yale Law School (J.D.)
Occupation	Journalist
Religion	Jewish

Mark H. Levine (born May 7, 1966) is the Democratic Delegate to the Virginia House of Delegates from Virginia's 45th District, which encompasses the eastern half of the City of Alexandria, some of the northern West End, parts of South Arlington, and the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County. A Constitutional lawyer, Levine served as Legislative Counsel to Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) from 2001 to 2003 and was an early advocate in the "Marriage Equality” movement. Since 2003, Levine has hosted a nationally syndicated progressive public policy radio program and worked as a TV pundit. In 2014, Levine ran in the Democratic Primary for Virginia's 8th Congressional District last year, a seat currently held by Rep. Don Beyer.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Levine earned an economics degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, was a Fulbright scholar in Switzerland, and obtained a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. Levine worked as a Nazi hunter, Jewish historian, and inner-city school teacher before becoming a trial attorney at Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP in Los Angeles, California.

In 1996, Levine's sister Janet Levine March was murdered by her husband Perry; her body has never been found and it took a decade to amass enough other evidence to convict him. In response, Levine drafted a Tennessee law to protect victims of domestic violence and their children. The law passed unanimously. A commentator wrote:

Rather than dwelling on his own misery, Mark turned the vision derived from his family's very personal tragedy into a political action that would protect other women from suffering as his sister did.

Levine flew to Mexico to track down his sister's killer and testified in court against him. March was sentenced to 56 years in prison for murdering Janet and conspiring to kill Levine's parents.

According to the Washington Post, the murder spawned "Levine’s interest in lawmaking."

In 1994, Levine helped organize a march on Hollywood and met personally with high-ranking studio executives to demand they depict gay and lesbian characters in a positive light.