Michael D. Antonovich

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Michael Antonovich
Michael D. Antonovich
Los Angeles County Supervisor
Incumbent
Assumed office 
1980
Preceded by Baxter Ward
Born August 12, 1939
Los Angeles, California
Political party Republican
Spouse Christine Hu
Children Michael Jr., Mary Christine
Residence Los Angeles
Website http://antonovich.co.la.ca.us

Michael Dennis Antonovich (born August 12, 1939, in Los Angeles, California) is a Republican member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He represents the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, including the Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys.[1]

Contents

[edit] Education and early career

Antonovich attended Thomas Alva Edison Junior High, where one of his classmates was Henry Waxman.[2] He graduated from John Marshall High School and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1957. He graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1963 with a bachelor's degree, earned a Master's degree in 1966, where he was a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.[3] Antonovich taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District,[4] and later at Pepperdine University.[3] and Harvard University[3]

[edit] Political career

No incumbent Los Angeles County Supervisor has been defeated for reelection since Antonovich beat former television anchor Baxter Ward in 1980.[citation needed]

He served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 1983, 1987 and 1991 and as Mayor in 1983, 1987, 1991, 2001 and 2006.[5]

With the recent adoption of term limits, he 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.[6]

In the 2003 election to recall Gray Davis, Mr. Antonovich leaned toward candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger.[7]

He ran for U.S. Senate in 1986 in a three way primary. He and Bruce Herschenson were unsuccessful, and Ed Zschau went on to lose to the incumbent, Alan Cranston.[2]

In 1984 he was elected chairman of the California Republican Party[5] and served for two years.[7]

He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of California in 1978 against Mike Curb. His argued against détente with the Soviet Union and proposing United States and for withdrawal from the United Nations. Mike Curb, his primary opponent, portrayed him "as too far-right for Californians." In the general election, he declined to endorse Curb by name, but endorsed the entire Republican slate. Curb beat incumbent Mervyn Dymally in the general election.[2]

In 1972, he was elected to the California State Assembly and for three terms represented Glendale, Burbank, Sunland, Tujunga, Atwater, Griffith Park, Lakeview Terrace and Sun Valley. He served as a Republican Whip in the Assembly from 1976 to 1978.[5]

In 1969, Antonovich was elected to the newly formed Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees.[2]

[edit] Accomplishments

  • Antonovich expended his time, effort, and political capital to build a a new courthouse to serve a distant part of his district, in Antelope Valley. (At the time, Los Angeles County was responsible for courthouses.)[2]
  • The Olive View Hospital was destroyed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquake, and the county did not plan to rebuild it. After fifteen years of Antonovich's persistent effort, the hospital reopened.[2]

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Chemerinskygate

Antonovich objected to the appointment of Duke University professor Erwin Chemerinsky to be dean of the new law school at University of California, Irvine, and lobbied against it.[8] The university rescinded the appointment,[9] and later restored it.[8] [10]

[edit] Illegal aliens

On 2007-10-02, Antonovich released a report that illegal aliens and their families in Los Angeles County collected over $35 million in welfare and food stamp allocations in July. “Illegal immigration continues to have a devastating impact on Los Angeles County taxpayers,” said Antonovich.[11] He issued a similar press release 2008-01-05.[12]

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Jan. 7, 2008 -- New statistics from the Department of Public Social Services reveal that illegal aliens and their families in Los Angeles County collected over $37 million in welfare and food stamp allocations in November 2007 -- up $3 million from September, according to Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. Twenty five percent of the all welfare and food stamps benefits is going directly to the children of illegal aliens, Antonovich said in a statement. Illegals collected more than $20 million in welfare assistance for November 2007 and more than $16 million in monthly food stamp allocations for a projected annual cost of $444 million. “This new information shows an alarming increase in the devastating impact Illegal immigration continues to have on Los Angeles County taxpayers,” Antonovich said. “With $220 million for public safety, $400 million for healthcare, and $444 million in welfare allocations, the total cost for illegal immigrants to county taxpayers far exceeds $1 billion a year -- not including the millions of dollars for education,” he added.[13]

Fellow L.A. County Board of Supervisors member Gloria Molina disputes the "bloated" figures.[citation needed]

Antonovich's anxiety about illegal aliens began before 2003.[2]

[edit] Seal of Los Angeles County

The ACLU threatened to sue the county unless it removed the image of a cross from its seal. Over Antonovich's objections, the county agreed to change the seal.[citation needed]

[edit] Hispanic supervisor district

In August 1988, the ACLU of Southern California, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the U.S. Department of Justice brought a lawsuit (Garza v. County of Los Angeles) charging supervisor districts in Los Angeles County were drawn to disenfranchise Latinos in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. Efforts to settle failed, as did a proposal to expand the number of districts from five to seven. U.S. District Judge David V. Kenyon ordered the county to redraw district boundaries to make the election of an Hispanic supervisor likely, threatening to do so himself if the elected officials failed.[14][15][16][17][18]

United States Attorney General Dick Thornburgh praised the ruling "as a victory against discrimination in the most important role citizens play in our democracy: the right to vote in free and fair elections in districts drawn without bias." Supervisor Antonovich attacked it as "a reckless joy ride of judicial activism" and hoped an appeal would support "the taxpayers of L.A. County."[15] The appeal failed.[19]

After the redistricting, Supervisor Peter F. Schabarum of the first district lost his seat to Gloria Molina.

A Chicano labor group complained in 2003 that the law requires boundaries be redrawn to establish a second Hispanic majority supervisor district.[20]

[edit] Memberships

  • Pacific Council on International Policy[21], a non-partisan organization co-chaired by John Bryson and Warren Christopher.[22]
  • Southern California Air Quality Management District, Governing Board Member, Los Angeles County Representative[5]
  • The U.S. - Japan Young Political Leaders Exchange Program, 2nd U.S. delegation in 1973 (as California State Assemblyman). "An annual bilateral exchange program in which young leaders from Japan and the United States take part in an intensive two-week study tour designed to expose them to the politics and policy-making process of the other country and to enhance their understanding of U.S.-Japan relations."[23][24]

[edit] Personal

Antonovich is of Croatian descent.[2]

On 1998-02-15, he married Christine Hu, an actress from Taiwan before 900 guests; Red Buttons and Pat Boone were lay lectors.[25] 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.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ District Information. Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h GREENE, ROBERT. "County Supervisor Puts a Priority On Justice", Metropolitan News-Enterprise, 2002-12-31. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  3. ^ a b c Michael D. Antonovich Biographical Information (PDF). Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  4. ^ Mr. Michael D. Antonovich. Pacific Council on International Policy. Retrieved on 2008-01-14.
  5. ^ a b c d Michael Antonovich Biography. South Coast Air Quality Management District. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  6. ^ Measure B: Term Limits: Board of Supervisors - Los Angeles County, CA. Smart Voter. League of Women Voters of California Education Fund (2002-04-20). Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  7. ^ a b Gizzi, John. "Politics 2003, Week of September 29", Human Events, Washington, D.C.: Eagle Publishing, 2003-09-26. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  8. ^ a b FISHER, MARLA JO. "UCI rehires law dean", The Orange County Register, Santa Ana, California: Freedom Communications, Inc., 2007-09-17. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. "...fracas over the hiring, firing and rehiring of law professor Erwin Chemerinsky..." 
  9. ^ FLACCUS, GILLIAN. "GOP politician sent email asking how to stop naming of dean", San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, California: Associated Press, 2007-09-14. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. "...like appointing al-Qaida in charge of homeland security..." 
  10. ^ Therolf, Garrett; Dolan, Maura. "UCI reportedly working on deal to rehire Chemerinsky" (fee required), Los Angeles Times, 2007-09-15, p. A.1. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. Archived from [{{{url}}} the original] on unknown. 
  11. ^ "Illegal Alien Welfare Costs Exceed $35 Million", Santa Clarita Radio, Hometown Station, KHTS AM-1220, Santa Clarita, California: Jeri Lyn Broadcasting, 2007-10-02. "...total cost to County taxpayers that exceeds $1 billion a year [excluding] skyrocketing cost of education" 
  12. ^ "Stats detail illegals' bill to taxpayers", Los Angeles Daily News, Los Angeles, California: MediaNews Group, 2008-01-05. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. 
  13. ^ Editor. "Welfare Costs for Illegals Jump to $37 Million in Nov.", 2008-01-08. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. "New statistics from the Department of Public Social Services..." 
  14. ^ Schultz, Jeffrey D (2000). Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics, The American political landscape series. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 530. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  15. ^ a b REINHOLD, ROBERT. "LOS ANGELES BOARD IS SAID TO EXERCISE ANTI-HISPANIC BIAS", The New York Times, New York, New York: The New York Times Company, 1990-06-05. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. "violate the Voting Rights Act by packing Latinos into a single supervisorial district" 
  16. ^ "Hispanic District in Los Angeles", Associated Press in The New York Times, New York, New York: The New York Times Company, 1990-06-28. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. "no Hispanic candidate has been elected to the board since 1875" 
  17. ^ "American Notes CALIFORNIA", TIME, New York, New York: Time Inc., 1990-06-18. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. "Federal Judge David V. Kenyon ruled last week that, in a 1981 redistricting plan, the five-member board had deliberately diluted the voting power of the county's 3 million Hispanic residents to protect their own incumbencies." 
  18. ^ MYDANS, SETH. "LOS ANGELES CASES SEEK HISPANIC GAIN", The New York Times, New York, New York: The New York Times Company, 1989-07-10. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. "nationwide struggle to enhance Hispanic power" 
  19. ^ SCHROEDER, Circuit Judge (1990-11-02). GARZA v. COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - 918 F.2d 763. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. “The judgment of the district court on liability and its decision as to remedy are AFFIRMED.”
  20. ^ Fine, Howard. "Redistricting bombshell - Politics - redistricting proposal for the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors surfaced", Los Angeles Business Journal, 2003-03-10. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. 
  21. ^ Members - Pacific Council on International Policy. Pacific Council on International Policy. Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  22. ^ Mission & Governance - Pacific Council on International Policy. Pacific Council on International Policy. Retrieved on 2008-01-15. “...confront these global transformations through giving more effective voice to West Coast perspectives on them...”
  23. ^ U.S.-Japan Young Political Leaders Exchange Program, 1st-14th Delegations. Japan Center for International Exchange (1996). Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  24. ^ Political Exchange Programs (PEP). Japan Center for International Exchange (1996). Retrieved on 2008-01-15.
  25. ^ SUPERVISOR ANTONOVICH TO WED HU SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1998. Archived from the original on 2006-09-30. Retrieved on 2008-01-14. “A RECEPTION WILL FOLLOW THE CEREMONY AT THE BURBANK HILTON HOTEL...”
Political offices
Preceded by
Carlos Moorhead		 California State Assemblyman, 43rd District
1973–1974		 Succeeded by
Howard Berman
Preceded by
Jim Keysor		 California State Assemblyman, 41st District
1974–1978		 Succeeded by
Pat Nolan
Preceded by
Baxter Ward		 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
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1980—present		 Succeeded by
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