Mike Honda

Mike Honda DEMDemocrat

American politician

Profile Photo
Mike HondaDEMDemocrat American politician
82
Years of Age
35
Years of Experience
CAResidence (state)

Michael Makoto Honda (born June 27, 1941) is an American politician and former educator. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in Congress from 2001 to 2017. Initially involved in education in California, he first became active in politics in 1971, when then San Jose mayor Norman Mineta appointed Honda to the city's Planning Commission. Mineta later joined both the Bush and Clinton cabinets. After holding other positions, Honda was elected to the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 1990, and to the California State Assembly in 1996, where he served until 2001. In November 2003, Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe appointed Honda as deputy chair of the DNC. In February 2005, Honda was elected a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee under the chairmanship of Howard Dean. In 2009, Honda was reelected for a second term as DNC vice chair, under the chairmanship of former Virginia governor Tim Kaine; he served in this role until 2013. Honda became the subject of an ethics investigation by the United States House Committee on Ethics in 2015 for the alleged use of taxpayer resources to bolster his 2014 re-election campaign. He was defeated for re-election in 2016 by fellow Democrat Ro Khanna.

Voterly's Issue Scores  (1 - 30 of 30)

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Campaign Funding

20
12
$900,844
Total Raised
$1,028,810
Total Spent
$78,222
Cash on Hand
Financial Data Source: Center for Responsive Politics
Education5 - 5 of 3
San José State University
MA Education
1974
San José State University
BS Biological Sciences
1968
San José State University
BS Spanish
1968
Past Positions1 - 11 of 11
Representative
United States House of Representatives
2001 - 2017
Regional Whip
United States House of Representatives
2001 - 2006
Assembly Member
California State Assembly
1996 - 2000
Member
Board of Supervisors, Santa Clara County
1990 - 1996
Member
San José Unified School Board
1981 - 1990
Former Senior Whip
United States House of Representatives
Vice Principal
Sylvandale Middle School
1975 - 1978
Associate Researcher
Urban-Rural School Development Program, Stanford University
1974 - 1975
Former Principal
McKinley Elementary School
Former Principal
Hillsdale Elementary School
Former Science Teacher
Other Experience1 - 18 of 18
Volunteer
Peace Corps, El Salvador
1965 - 1967
Former Chair
Countywide Trails Committee
Member
New Democrat Coalition
Current
Chair Emeritus
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
2003 - 2017
Founding Co-Chair
Congressional Ethiopia and Ethiopian American Caucus
2003 - 2017
Chair
South County Agriculture Preservation Task Force
1995 - 1996
Co-Founder
New Media Working Group, Democratic Caucus
Former Chair
South County Agriculture Preservation Task Force
Former Co-Chair
House LGBT Caucus
Former Commissioner
San José Planning Commission
Former Member
Appropriations Committee, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Gang Task Force, Office of the Mayor, San José, California
Former Member
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies, United States House of Representatives
Former Member
Democratic Homeland Security Task Force
Former Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies, United States House of Representatives
Former Vice Chair
Democratic National Committee
Former Vice Chair
Congressional Progressive Caucus
Founder
Wireless Task Force, Congressional Internet Caucus