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Tom Harman
From Ballotpedia
| Tom Harman | ||
 | ||
| California State Senate District 35 | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2006-Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| December 2012 | ||
| Years in position | 6 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Leadership | ||
| State Senate Minority Caucus Leader | ||
| 2012-Present | ||
| Minority Whip, Republican Caucus, California State Senate | ||
| 2011-2012 | ||
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $95,290.56/year | |
| Per diem | $141.86/day for each day in session | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | 2006 | |
| Next election | November 6, 2012 | |
| Term limits | 2 terms | |
| Prior offices | ||
| California State Assembly | ||
| 2001-2006 | ||
| Education | ||
| Bachelor's | Kansas State University, 1963 | |
| J.D. | Loyola University, 1968 | |
| Military service | ||
| Service/branch | United States Army | |
| Years of service | 1963-1965 | |
| Personal | ||
| Birthday | May 30, 1941 | |
| Place of birth | Pasadena, CA | |
| Profession | Attorney | |
| Religion | Protestant | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
Contents |
Harman earned his Bachelor's degree in business administration from Kansas State University in 1963. He went on to receive his JD from Loyola University in 1968.
Prior to joining the senate, Harman was a member of the California State Assembly from 2000-2006 and a member of the Huntington Beach City Council from 1994-2000. From 1963-1965, he was a lieutenant with the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. He was employed as an attorney with Lucas and Deukmejian from 1973-2000.
Harman previously served as State Senate Minority Whip and is currently State Senate Minority Caucus Leader.
Issues
Direct democracy
Harman believes that the Attorney General of California should be legally required to defend any voter-approved initiative or constitutional amendment in court if a lawsuit is filed against it: "As an expression of the people's will, initiative statutes should be shown deference by California's elected officials and zealously defended when challenged in court" Harman expected to introduce legislation called the "Ballot Box Defense Act" in pursuit of this goal. He is said to be motivated by the fact that Jerry Brown, when he was the Attorney General of California, declined to defend the voter-approved Proposition 8 in court.[2]
Legislative scorecard
Capitol Weekly, California's major weekly periodical covering the state legislature, publishes an annual legislative scorecard to pin down the political or ideological leanings of every member of the legislature based on how they voted on an assortment of bills in the most recent legislative session. The 2009 scores were based on votes on 19 bills, but did not include how legislators voted on the Proposition 1A (2009). On the scorecard, "100" is a perfect liberal score and "0" is a perfect conservative score. [3],[4]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Harman ranked as a 12. [5]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harman has been appointed to these committees:
- Fairs, Allocation, and Classification Committee, California Legislature
- Judiciary Committee, California Senate, Vice Chair
- Public Safety Committee, California Senate
- Rules Committee, California Senate, Vice Chair
- Rules Committee, California Legislature
- Transportation and Housing Committee, California Senate
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Harman served on these committees:
- Judiciary[6]
- Governmental Organization[7]
- Banking, Finance and Insurance[8]
- Budget and Fiscal Review[9]
- Transportation and Housing[10]
35th district profile
California Senate District 35 includes much of the coastline of Orange County. Huntington Beach is the largest city in a district that also includes Fountain Valley, Cypress, Rossmoor, Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, and La Palma. Parts of Garden Grove and Westminster are in the district.
Newport Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point are in the district along with about 150,000 residents of Irvine and a part of Santa Ana near Fountain Valley/Costa Mesa.[11]
Other roles
Senator Harman speaks to California Republican Assembly |
- Member/President, Huntington Beach Rotary Club (1975-1995)
- Member/President, Huntington Youth Shelter (1992-1995)
- Member, Bolsa Chica Land Trust
- Member, Boys and Girls Club
- Member, CalTrout
- Member, Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce
- Member/Founder/Former President, Huntington Beach Tomorrow
- Keynote Speaker, Newport Beach American Legion
- Member, Young Mens Christian Association
Elections
2012
Harman was unable to run for re-election in 2012 due to term limits.
2010
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Steve Cooley | 47.3% | |
| Republican Party | John Eastman | 34.2% | |
| Republican Party | Tom Harman | 18.5% | |
| Total Votes | 1,555,709 | ||
2008
- 2008 Race for State Senate, 35rd District - Republican Primary
- Tom Harman ran unopposed
| 2008 Race for State Senate, 35rd District - General Election [13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 Tom Harman (R)
| 58.6% | |||
| Ginny Mayer (D) | 41.4% | |||
| Total votes | 379,420 | |||
Harman raised $653,154 in campaign donations. Out of 743 recorded donors his top donor was the California Association of Realtors who contributed $14,400.[14]
2006
| 2006 Race for State Senate, 35rd District - Special Primary Election [15] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Harman (R)
| 38.8% | |||
| Diane Harkey (R) | 38.5% | |||
| Larry Caballero (D) | 22.7% | |||
| Total votes | 98,344 | |||
| 2006 Race for State Senate, 35rd District - Special General Election [15] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Harman (R)
| 61.3% | |||
| Larry Caballero (D) | 29.4% | |||
| Write Ins | 9.3% | |||
| Total votes | 145,875 | |||
Campaign donors
2010 (Off-cycle)
| California State Senate 2010 election - Campaign Contributions | |
|---|---|
| Top contributors to Tom Harman's campaign in 2010 | |
| AT&T | $3,000 |
| California Dental Association | $3,000 |
| Pacificare Health Plan | $2,400 |
| Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association | $2,000 |
| Union Pacific Railroad (480055) | $2,000 |
| Total Raised in 2010 | $33,016 |
Recent news
This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Tom + Harman + California + Senate
- All stories may not be relevant to this legislator due to the nature of the search engine.
Personal
Harman currently resides in Huntington Beach, California with his wife, Dianne. The couple has had two children together - Michael and Michelle. He is also a practicing Protestant.
Awards
- Civil Justice Leadership Award (2007) from the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC) [16]
- Legislator of the Year Award (2007) from the State Coalition of Probation Organizations
- Outstanding Legislator of the Year (2008) from the California State Sheriffs’ Association
- Scales of Justice Award from the California Judges Association
External links
- Tom Harman for California Attorney General Campaign website
- California State Senate Republican Caucus - Senator Thomas Harman's page
- Project Vote Smart - Tom Harman legislative profile
- Project Vote Smart - Tom Harman biography
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002
- Tom Harman's Facebook profile
References
- ↑ California Chronicle "Tom Harman Kicks-Off his Campaign for California Attorney General" 9 June, 2009
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Top law officer's duty is to uphold constitution", December 7, 2010
- ↑ Capitol Weekly, "Capitol Weekly's Legislative Scorecard", December 17, 2009
- ↑ Fox and Hounds Daily, "Random Thoughts on the Political Scene", December 18, 2009
- ↑ Capitol Weekly", Downloadable 2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard
- ↑ Senate Judiciary committee membership
- ↑ Senate Standing Committee on Government Organization
- ↑ Senate standing committee on Banking, Finance and Insurance
- ↑ California Budget and Fiscal Review committee membership
- ↑ Members of the Senate Transportation and Housing committee
- ↑ Overview of Senate District 35
- ↑ California Secretary of State - 2010 Statewide Primary Election Results
- ↑ CA Secretary of State: Vote 2008 - General Election Results
- ↑ Campaign donations
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 CA Secretary of State: Vote 2006 - Special Election Results
- ↑ CJAC - Civil Justice Association of California "State Senator Tom Harman Honored with Civil Justice Leadership Award" 26 Nov. 2007
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by - | California State Senate District 35 2006–present | Succeeded by NA |
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