Rep. Mike Honda, Vice Chair
Since 2001, Mike Honda has represented the 15th Congressional District of California in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district includes Silicon Valley, the birthplace of technology innovation and the leading region for the development of the technologies of tomorrow. Mike has been a public servant for decades during which he has been lauded for his work on education, transportation, civil rights, the environment, and high-tech issues.
Mike was born in California, but spent his early childhood with his family in an internment camp in Colorado during World War II. After a decade living in Chicago, his family returned to California in 1953, becoming strawberry sharecroppers in San José's Blossom Valley.
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 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, Mike 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.
Mike served in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2000. In 2000, Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Mike serves on the House Committee on Science, where he is Ranking Member on the Science Subcommittee on Energy, and on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Mike is also Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, coordinating with his Tri-Caucus allies in the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus 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 will be working 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. This includes working with DNC Vice Chair Linda Chavez Thompson on Hispanic Outreach and leading DNC's New Citizenship Project, focusing especially on candidate recruitment and mentoring candidates from under-represented communities. Mike will also serve as a bridge between his colleagues in the U.S. Congress and Party leadership at the DNC and in the states.
Mike is widowed and has two grown children. His wife, Jeanne, was a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San José before her untimely passing in 2004. His son, Mark, is an aerospace engineer and Michelle, his daughter, is a public health educator who recently gave birth to Mike's first grandchild, Trey.
