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Tom Harman
Thomas "Tom" Harman (b. May 30, 1941) is a former Republican member of the California State Senate, representing District 35 from 2006 to 2012. He served as the minority whip for the California State Senate from 2011 to 2012.
Biography
Harman earned his B.B.A. in business administration from Kansas State University in 1963 and his J.D. 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.
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harman served on 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
- Governmental Organization
- Banking, Finance and Insurance
- Budget and Fiscal Review
- Transportation and Housing
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.[1]
Elections
2012
Harman was unable to run for re-election in 2012 due to term limits.
2010
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 35th District - Republican Primary
- Tom Harman ran unopposed
| 2008 Race for State Senate, 35th District - General Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.[2]
2006
| 2006 Race for State Senate, 35th District - Special Primary Election[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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, 35th District - Special General Election[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Tom Harman (R)
|
61.3% | |||
| Larry Caballero (D) | 29.4% | |||
| Write Ins | 9.3% | |||
| Total votes | 145,875 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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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.[4][5]
On the 2009 Capitol Weekly legislative scorecard, Harman ranked as a 12.[6]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Harman currently resides in Huntington Beach, California with his wife, Dianne. The couple has two children together - Michael and Michelle.
Awards
- Civil Justice Leadership Award (2007) from the Civil Justice Association of California (CJAC)[7]
- 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
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Tom + Harman + California + Senate
See also
- Attorney General of California
- California Attorney General election, 2010
- California State Legislature
- California State Senate
- California Senate Committees
- California state legislative districts
External links
- 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
Footnotes
- ↑ Sacramento Bee, "Top law officer's duty is to uphold constitution," December 7, 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 Campaign contributions," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 CA Secretary of State, "Vote 2006 - Special Election Results," accessed December 9, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ CJAC - Civil Justice Association of California, "State Senator Tom Harman Honored with Civil Justice Leadership Award" 26 Nov. 2007
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
California State Senate District 35 2006–2012 |
Succeeded by Roderick Wright (D) |
