Ellen Simon

Ellen Simon was a Democratic candidate in the 2006 congressional elections for the 1st Congressional District (map) of Arizona.

Bio
Simon was born and raised in a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors. She graduated in 1974 from Brandeis University with a bachelor's degree in political science and urban studies. In 1979 she received a law degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Legal career
Simon served as law clerk to Judge Ann Aldrich, United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, from 1983 to 1984. After clerking, she became a well known civil rights attorney in the Cleveland area, founding her own firm, and specializing in employee protection law. She was the lead attorney in a several landmark Ohio cases. Among those were winning the first discrimination case of its kind, on behalf of an AIDS patient who was refused admission to a hospital, and winning a case in Ohio's first same-sex sexual harassment trial. In July 2001, the National Law Journal ranked her as one of the "Nation's Leading Litigators."

Simon has taught Employment Law at the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Personal
Simon is married to Blaine Tanner, who has become a campaign issue. Tanner and his previous wife separated in 1991. After the separation, there were allegations that Tanner was a "deadbeat dad." In response, Simon and Tanner filed a libel suit that asked for an injunction against Pamela Tanner, who lives in Canada, saying that she made numerous false and defamatory claims in the postings and accused her of trying to extort $10 million from them by threatening media exposure. Just days before the Arizona Democratic primary, a Canadian court ruled against the ex-wife.

2006 elections
In the Democratic primary on September 12, 2006, Simon won a decisive victory in a five-way race. She lost to incumbent Rick Renzi, however, in the general election.

2008 elections
Simon prepared to run again in the 2008 congressional elections and filed a statement of candidacy with the FEC, but later withdrew from the race.

Campaign contact information
Email: esimon@ellensimonforcongress.com Phone: 928-284-3331 Mail: Ellen Simon for Congress P.O. Box 20435 Sedona, AZ 86341

Related SourceWatch articles

 * 2008 U.S. congressional elections
 * 2008 U.S. congressional election dates
 * Portal:Arizona and the U.S. Congress

External resources

 * Simon's FEC filings
 * Official Ellen Simon for Congress website

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * AZ Congress Watch
 * Man Eegee - Latino Politico
 * Rain Storm
 * Sacred Mountain Blues
 * Daniel's News and Views
 * Western Democrat
 * Blog for Arizona