The former star of the 1990s-era ABC sitcom is running as a Democrat for a seat in the Los Angeles area that is being vacated by Representative Adam B. Schiff.
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By Derrick Bryson Taylor
March 7, 2023Updated 9:47 a.m. ET
Ben Savage, the former child actor who was the star of the ABC sitcom “Boy Meets World” in the 1990s, said on Monday that he was running to represent a Los Angeles-area district in Congress.
“I’m running for Congress because it’s time to restore faith in government by offering reasonable, innovative and compassionate solutions to our country’s most pressing issues,” Mr. Savage, 42, said in a statement on Instagram.
“It’s time for new and passionate leaders who can help move the country forward,” he said. “Leaders who want to see the government operating at maximum capacity, unhindered by political divisions and special interests.”
A representative for Mr. Savage did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
Mr. Savage moved to Los Angeles in 1987 and landed a role two years later in “Little Monsters,” a movie about a boy who discovers a world of monsters under his bed. He is best known for his role as Cory Matthews on “Boy Meets World,” a coming-of-age sitcom that was a staple of ABC’s Friday night lineup for seven seasons, from 1993 to 2000. He reprised his role in 2014 in a spinoff series, “Girl Meets World.”
Mr. Savage, who lives in West Hollywood, submitted paperwork to the Federal Election Commission in January to run as a Democrat in the 30th Congressional District, which includes parts of well-known Southern California cities like Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena. (For those familiar with both the show and Southern California geography, the district does not include Topanga Canyon, which shares a name with Cory Matthews’s iconic love interest and sits in the 32nd District.)
Mr. Savage is running to replace Representative Adam B. Schiff, a Democrat who led the first impeachment trial of former President Donald J. Trump and who is now seeking the Senate seat long held by Dianne Feinstein.
Ms. Feinstein, 89, announced last month that she would retire at the end of her term in 2024, capping more than three decades in office.
In November, Mr. Savage ran unsuccessfully for a seat on West Hollywood’s City Council, earning less than 7 percent of the votes, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar’s office.
For his congressional run, Mr. Savage, who described himself as a “proud Californian, union member and longtime resident of District 30,” will campaign on affordable housing solutions, reforms and improvements to police-citizen interactions, and supporting women’s health rights, according to his campaign website.
Mr. Savage, who graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science, joins a growing list of California celebrities-turned-politicians.
Ronald Reagan was an actor in Hollywood before his political career, serving as the governor of California and the 40th president of the United States. In 2003, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican and former action-movie star, was sworn in as California’s 38th governor, serving two terms. And Caitlyn Jenner, the Republican former Olympian and prominent transgender activist, unsuccessfully ran for governor of California in 2021.
Source: nytimes.com
