Michael Villines
Michael ("Mike") Villines is a former Republican member of the California State Assembly, representing California's District 29 from 2004 to 2010. He was the assembly minority leader.
Villines was a candidate for state insurance commissioner in 2014.[1]
Biography
Villines has a B.A. in political science from the California State University-Fresno. His professional experience includes working as chief of staff to former California Assemblyman Chuck Poochigian. He also served on the staff of Gov. Pete Wilson.
Political career
California State Assembly (2004-2009)
Issue positions
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.[2][3]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Villines ranked as a 0. He was the only member of the California State Assembly that voted in line with what Capitol Weekly identified as the conservative position on each of the 19 votes they scored.[4]
"Sacramento Six"
Villines, along with five other Republicans in the California State Legislature voted for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's solution to the state's $41 billion dollar funding gap. The six Republicans are known as the Sacramento Six.[5]
2010 campaign for insurance commissioner
Currently, Villines is the only high profile GOP candidate for state insurance commissioner. The only other GOP candidate who has filed is Brian Fitzgerald, an employee at the San Francisco office of the state Department of Insurance, who has no reported campaign donations.
Villines' prominent position for statewide office has surprised some, as he still faced resentment from anti-tax conservatives stemming from his decision in February 2009 to support the state budget deal that included new taxes. The primary is scheduled to take place in June.[6]
Committee assignments
Villines served on the following committees:
- Accountability and Administrative Review Committee, California General Assembly
- Rules Committee, California General Assembly
- Utilities and Commerce Committee, California General Assembly
Sponsored legislation
Villines' sponsored legislation includes:
- AB 607 - Education technology: grants
- AB 809 - Taxation: federal conformity
- AB 844 - State-mandated local programs: school districts
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Elections
2014
- See also: State executive official elections, 2014
Villines ran for California Commissioner of Insurance in the 2014 elections.[7]
2010
Villines was ineligible to run for re-election in 2010 due to the term limits of the California State Assembly.
2008
In 2008 Villines was re-elected to the California State Assembly District 29. Villines (R) finished with 110,230 votes while his opponent Humberto Avila (D) finished with 57,100.[8]
| California State Assembly District 29 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Michael Villines (R) | 110,230 | |||
| Humberto Avila (D) | 57,100 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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See also
- California State Assembly
- California Commissioner of Insurance
- California down ballot state executive elections, 2014
External links
- Mike Villines' personal website
- Official website of Michael Villines
- Legislative profile of Michael Villines on Project Vote Smart
- Biographical profile of Michael Villines on Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2008, 2006
- Mike Villines on Facebook
- Mike Villines on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "State budget negotiations were anything but smooth," July 26, 2009
- ↑ 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, "2009 Capitol Weekly State Legislative Scorecard (Archived)," accessed March 13, 2014
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "'Sacramento Six' face conservative backlash," March 22, 2009
- ↑ Fresno Bee, "Villines seeks GOP comeback," March 29, 2010
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance:Statement of Intention," accessed November 27, 2012
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official 2008 General election results," accessed March 13, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Assembly District 29 2004–2009 |
Succeeded by Linda Halderman |
