Michael D. Antonovich

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Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, and parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys. Antonovich, of Croatian descent, graduated from John Marshall High School and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1957. Antonovich graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1963 with a bachelor's degree, earned a Master's degree in 1966. While an undergraduate at the university, Antonovich joined the Kappa Phi Sigma Fraternity, a local fraternity at that time. While in his last year as a Master's Student, Antonovich, as president of the fraternity, lead an effort to have the organization nationalized as chapter of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.

On May 20, 1966, the Kappa Phi Sigma Fraternity became the Eta Phi Chapter 159 of Sigma Nu Fraternity. He is accredited as the chapters' local "Founder". He later became a civics teacher and Republican activist. In 1969, Antonovich was elected to the newly formed Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees. In 1972, he was elected to the California State Assembly and ran for Lieutenant Governor in 1978, and lost to Mike Curb after Curb painted him as too conservative for California.

A Republican, Antonovich is the most conservative member of the Board of Supervisors. He is the last supervisor to defeat a sitting incumbent, beating former television anchor Baxter Ward in 1980 after Ward reneged on a promise to only serve two terms. Antonovich ran for U.S. Senate in 1986 but was defeated in the primary. With the recent adoption of term limits, Antonovich could be the second longest serving supervisor ever in Los Angeles County, after Kenneth Hahn. He is up for reelection in 2008 and can serve until 2016, when he is termed out of office.

In 1998, Antonovich married Christine Hu, an actress from Taiwan. The highly publicized wedding featured readings from Red Buttons and Pat Boone. [1] Hu, 26 years Antonovich's junior, has two children with Antonovich: a son, Michael Jr., born in 1999, and a daughter, Mary Christine, born in 2000.

Believing that public safety is the number one priority for local government, the Supervisor has initiated numerous programs to ensure County residents have well-funded, professional law enforcement and emergency management agencies. The High Intensity-Criminal Alien Apprehension and Prosecution Program (HI-CAAP) project emphasizes interagency coordination and utilizes state-of-the-art fingerprint and computer technologies to intensify enforcement efforts against repeat criminal illegal alien offenders.

Supervisor Antonovich initiated the D.I.S.A.R.M. (Developing Increased Safety through Arms Reduction Management) program following the tragic shootings more than three years ago at the North Valley Jewish Community Center. The program has seized thousands of weapons and millions of dollars in illegal drugs and drug money and resulted in thousands of arrests since its inception in February of 2000.

In December of 2003, Supervisor Antonovich was sworn-in as a Lieutenant Colonel in the California State Military Reserve assigned to the Office of the Adjutant General Support Group. A former member of the California State Legislature and the Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees, the Supervisor also serves on the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Supervisor Antonovich is a champion for the County’s foster youth and has pushed to streamline the adoption process for these young people. The National Association of Counties honored him with the 2003 Counties Care for Kids Award. “The children aren’t the future, they are today,” says Antonovich, a former educator. “If we don’t meet their needs today, they will have no future.”

Supervisor Antonovich sponsors the Annual Foster Youth Career Fair and Resource Expo, and his motions in support of legislation promoting the adoption of older children and the improvement of educational opportunities for foster youth have been unanimously approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The Child Abduction Regional Emergency (CARE) Alert program, implemented in Los Angeles County on a motion by Supervisor Antonovich, was a model for the nationwide Amber Alert system helping recover abducted children.

Opened to the public on October 20, 2003, the Michael D. Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse so named by Superior Court Judges and other local officials to honor Supervisor Antonovich for his efforts to secure a Courthouse for the Antelope Valley. Recently, Antonovich faced criticism for using taxpayer money to distribute press clippings filled with political columns from Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly and articles from the right-wing website NewsMax. ^[1]