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The
Honorable Mike
Honda
Mike Honda has represented the
15th
Congressional District of California in the U.S. House
of Representatives since 2001. His diverse district includes
Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and the
leading region for the development of the technologies of
tomorrow.
Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with
his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War
II. His family returned to California in 1953, becoming
strawberry sharecroppers in San Jose.
In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer
President John F. Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He
served in the Peace Corps
for two years in El Salvador, returning with a passion for
teaching and fluent in Spanish.
Mike earned Bachelor's degrees in Biological Sciences and
Spanish, and a Master's degree in Education from San José State
University. In his decades-long career as an educator, Mike was
a science teacher, served as a principal at two public schools,
and conducted educational research at Stanford University.
In 1971, Mike was appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta to San
Jose's Planning Commission. In 1981, he won his first election,
gaining a seat on the San José Unified School Board. In 1990,
Mike was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors,
where he led efforts to acquire and preserve open space in the
county. He served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to
2000.
In 2000, Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
and serves on the Appropriations Committee, with postings on
that body's
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education,
Commerce, Justice, and Science, and
Legislative Branch Subcommittees. As an appropriator,
Mike will focus on directing funding to address such fundamental
needs as: Access to affordable healthcare; worker training; port
and border security; adequate law enforcement to keep our
streets and neighborhoods safe; health care for our veterans;
recovery from natural disasters, particularly Hurricane Katrina,
and education, particularly fully funding No Child Left Behind
and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Mike is serving his second term as Chair of the
Congressional Asian
Pacific American Caucus, coordinating with his
colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus and the
Congressional Hispanic Caucuses to champion the causes of
under-represented communities by promoting social justice,
racial tolerance, and civil rights.
In February 2005, Mike was elected as Vice Chair of the
Democratic National Committee. In his role as DNC Vice-Chair,
Mike works closely with DNC Chair Howard Dean to rejuvenate the
Party's grassroots efforts and to incorporate new and emerging
constituencies into the Party's agenda.
In January, 2007, he was named House Democratic Senior Whip by
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC). Senior Whips are a
select group of Members and Democratic Caucus opinion leaders
tasked with strategic planning about how issues impact targeted
Members or groups, and will help develop strategies to ensure
legislative success.
Mike is widowed and has two grown children. His wife, Jeanne,
was a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San Jose before
her passing in 2004. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer and
Michelle, his daughter, is a public health educator with two
young boys, Trey and Brody.
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