Bio of Co-Chair Congressman Mike Honda
Mike Honda was recently named "High Tech Legislator of the Year" by the American Electronics Association for his effective leadership in support of the New Economy. In February 2002 his Congressional Web site was awarded the Gold Mouse Award (one of 15 best sites in Congress) by the Congressional Management Foundation's nonpartisan Congress Online Project.
Mike Honda 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 Blossom Valley in South San Jose.
In 1965, Mike interrupted his college studies to answer President Kennedy's call for volunteer service. He served two years in the Peace Corps building schools and health clinics in El Salvador.
Mike earned a degree in Biological Sciences, a BA in Spanish and a Masters in Education. He became a science teacher in Sunnyvale and conducted educational research at Stanford. Mike became a principal of two public schools while, marrying and raising his family in what is now called Silicon Valley.
In 1971, Mike was appointed by then-Mayor Norm Mineta to the San Jose City Planning Commission. In 1981, Mike was elected to the San Jose Unified School Board. In 1990, Mike became the first and only Asian Pacific American to serve on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Mike was elected to the California Assembly in 1996 and was reelected in 1998 with over 75% of the vote. In over 20 years of public service, Mike Honda has never lost an election.
In the State Assembly, Mike has been a strong advocate for the high-tech community, fighting for legislation to augment the research and development tax credit and working to eliminate taxes on graduate school tuition paid by employers. As a newly elected Member of Congress from Silicon Valley, Mr. Honda is taking a leading role in bringing Democrats and Republicans together to better understand technology issues. In this vein, Honda is forming a bipartisan Wireless Task Force within the Internet Caucus to enable Congress to better understand and support innovative companies that are bringing us the next generation of technology in the wireless industry.
Mike serves on the House Budget Committee; on the Transportation Committee, including its subcommittees on Aviation, Highway & Transit, and Water Resources & Environment; and on the Science Committee, including its subcommittee on Research. Mike is the voice for our high tech companies and institutions on the Science Committee, where he is pursuing initiatives to make research and innovation a top national priority to improve our quality of life and sustain economic growth.
Mike's wife, Jeanne, is a teacher at Baldwin Elementary School in San Jose. They have two grown children, Mark, an aerospace engineer, and Michelle who recently earned her Masters in public health.