Mike Honda isn’t the founder of Honda Motors or even an owner of a Honda dealership, but a Democratic Congressman for the 15th Congressional District of California, which includes the cities of Cupertino, Milpitas, Santa Clara, Campbell, Los Gatos, the west and some southern parts of San Jose, and Gilroy. But Congressman Honda is much more than that:
“With such a resume when the Democratic theme is dump the status quo, U.S. Rep. Mike Honda has the eye of many Democrats. He speaks at Barack Obama fundraisers, sits as an influential Democratic Party vice-chair and on Tuesday will speak to the Democratic convention. As of now he is just one of four California congress members who have speaking slot. The other three are two Southern California Latinos and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.”“If ever there was an election cycle that was ready for a Spanish-speaking, Japanese-American politician who likes singing karaoke and counts Silicon Valley among his key constituents, this is it. He has yet to write his Tuesday night speech, to be delivered before the much anticipated address by Hillary Clinton, but Honda, 67, gave a preview Tuesday, saying he will urge Americans to vote for hope.”
I had the honor of meeting Mike Honda back in April 2006 at the first ever AAPI Democratic Leadership Summit where Honda was instrumental in organizing, is a Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and saw him most recently when Howard Dean was in town earlier this summer.
He’s a down-to-earth, avuncular-like politician who has deep roots in the Bay Area, and the Democratic leader who actively promotes Asian Americans across the country to run for office. In Congress, he chairs the Asian Pacific American caucus and often is the spokesman for Asian American and immigrant issues ranging from veteran benefits to civil rights.
If you are interested in chatting with Congressman Honda, he and The San Jose Mercury News Political Writer Mary Anne Ostrom will have a live chat from 12pm to 1pm PST this Thursday, August 21st.
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