Michael D. Antonovich
Encyclopedia
Michael Dennis Antonovich (born August 12, 1939, in Los Angeles, California
) is a politician and the most senior-serving 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 Valley
s.
. He graduated from John Marshall High School and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve
in 1957. A member of Sigma Nu
fraternity, Antonovich graduated from California State University, Los Angeles
in 1963 with a bachelor's degree
and a Master's degree
in 1966. Antonovich taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District
and later at Pepperdine University
.
Board of Trustees.
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.
Antonovich ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of California
in 1978 against Mike Curb
. He argued against détente with the Soviet Union
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
.
In 1984 he was elected chairman of the California Republican Party
and served for two years.
He served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 1983, 1987 and 1991 and as the self-styled "Mayor of Los Angeles County" in 1983, 1987, 1991, 2001 and 2006.
He ran for U.S. Senate in 1986 in a three way primary. Antonovich received the endorsement of television evangelist Pat Robertson
. He and Bruce Herschensohn
were unsuccessful, and Ed Zschau
went on to lose to the incumbent, Alan Cranston
. He lost the San Fernando Valley
to Herschensohn.
In the 2003 election to recall Gray Davis
, Mr. Antonovich leaned toward candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger
.
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 2012 and can serve until 2016, when term limits will force him to leave office.
Responding to a report that Los Angeles County spent $52 million in welfare benefits to the US-born children of illegal immigrants, Antonovich expressed concern: spokesman Tony Bell told the Los Angeles Times: "The supervisor is very concerned. He believes we have an economic catastrophe on our hands."
professor Erwin Chemerinsky
to be dean of the new law school at University of California, Irvine
, and lobbied against it. The university rescinded the appointment, then later restored it.
, 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 a Hispanic
supervisor likely, threatening to do so himself if the elected officials failed.
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." The appeal failed.
After the redistricting, Supervisor Peter F. Schabarum
retired and Gloria Molina
was elected to replace him.
descent.
On February 15, 1998, he married Christine Hu, a Mandarin actress from Dalian, China, before 900 guests; Red Buttons and Pat Boone
were lay lector
s. Hu, 24 years Antonovich's junior, has two children with Antonovich: a son, Michael Jr., born in 1999, and a daughter, Mary Christine, born in 2000.
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) is a politician and the most senior-serving member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five-member nonpartisan governing board of Los Angeles County, California. Members of the board of supervisors are elected by district. They were as of December 2, 2008:*District 1: Gloria Molina...
. He represents the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County
Los Angeles County, California
Los Angeles County is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 9,818,605, making it the most populous county in the United States. Los Angeles County alone is more populous than 42 individual U.S. states...
, including the Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
, Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita, California
Santa Clarita is the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, California, United States and the twenty-fourth largest city in the state of California. The 2010 US Census reported the city's population grew 16.7% from the year 2000 to 176,320 residents. It is located about northwest of downtown...
, Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, and parts of the San Fernando
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
and San Gabriel Valley
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, United States. It lies to the east of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and west of the Inland Empire. It derives its name from the San Gabriel River that flows...
s.
Education and early career
Antonovich attended Thomas Alva Edison Junior High, where one of his classmates was Henry WaxmanHenry Waxman
Henry Arnold Waxman is the U.S. Representative for , serving in Congress since 1975. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is considered to be one of the most influential liberal members of Congress...
. He graduated from John Marshall High School and enlisted in the United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
in 1957. A member of Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu is an undergraduate, college fraternity with chapters in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Sigma Nu was founded in 1869 by three cadets at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia...
fraternity, Antonovich graduated from California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles
California State University, Los Angeles is a public comprehensive university, part of the California State University system...
in 1963 with a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
and a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in 1966. Antonovich taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District
Los Angeles Unified School District is the largest public school system in California. It is the 2nd largest public school district in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population...
and later at Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
.
Political career
In 1969, Antonovich was elected to the newly formed Los Angeles Community College DistrictLos Angeles Community College District
The Los Angeles Community College District is the community college district serving Los Angeles, California and some of its neighboring cities. In addition to typical college aged students, the LACCD also serves adults of all ages. Indeed, over half of all LACCD students are older than 25 years...
Board of Trustees.
In 1972, he was elected to the California State Assembly
California State Assembly
The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
and for three terms represented Glendale
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
, Sunland, Tujunga, Atwater
Atwater Village, Los Angeles, California
Atwater Village is a neighborhood in northeast Los Angeles, California. It lies at an elevation of 404 feet .-Geography:Atwater Village lies between the Los Angeles River to the west and Glendale to the north and east...
, Griffith Park
Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America...
, Lakeview Terrace and Sun Valley. He served as a Republican Whip
Whip (politics)
A whip is an official in a political party whose primary purpose is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. Whips are a party's "enforcers", who typically offer inducements and threaten punishments for party members to ensure that they vote according to the official party policy...
in the Assembly from 1976 to 1978.
Antonovich ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of California
Lieutenant Governor of California
The Lieutenant Governor of California is a statewide constitutional officer elected separately from the Governor who serves as the "vice-executive" of California. The Lieutenant Governor of California is elected to serve a four year term and can serve a maximum of two terms...
in 1978 against Mike Curb
Mike Curb
Michael Curb is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR and IRL race car owner. A Republican, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983 under Democratic Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr...
. He argued against détente with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and for withdrawal from the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
. Mike Curb
Mike Curb
Michael Curb is an American musician, record company executive, NASCAR and IRL race car owner. A Republican, he served as the 42nd Lieutenant Governor of California from 1979-1983 under Democratic Governor Edmund G. "Jerry" Brown, Jr...
, 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
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
.
In 1984 he was elected chairman of the California Republican Party
California Republican Party
The California Republican Party is the California affiliate of the United States Republican Party. The party chairman is Tom Del Beccaro and is based in Burbank, California, a suburb of Los Angeles. The RPC also has a headquarters in Sacramento....
and served for two years.
He served as Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 1983, 1987 and 1991 and as the self-styled "Mayor of Los Angeles County" in 1983, 1987, 1991, 2001 and 2006.
He ran for U.S. Senate in 1986 in a three way primary. Antonovich received the endorsement of television evangelist Pat Robertson
Pat Robertson
Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson is a media mogul, television evangelist, ex-Baptist minister and businessman who is politically aligned with the Christian Right in the United States....
. He and Bruce Herschensohn
Bruce Herschensohn
Stanley Bruce Herschensohn is an American political commentator and senior fellow at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy in Malibu, California....
were unsuccessful, and Ed Zschau
Ed Zschau
Edwin Van Wyck Zschau represented California's 12th District in the United States House of Representatives from 1983-1987. In 1986 he ran as the Republican candidate for a seat in the United States Senate...
went on to lose to the incumbent, Alan Cranston
Alan Cranston
Alan MacGregor Cranston was an American journalist and Democratic Senator from California.-Education:Cranston earned his high school diploma from the old Mountain View High School, where among other things, he was a track star...
. He lost the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
to Herschensohn.
In the 2003 election to recall Gray Davis
Gray Davis
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who served as California's 37th Governor from 1999 until being recalled in 2003...
, Mr. Antonovich leaned toward candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
.
With the recent adoption of term limits, he could be the second longest serving supervisor ever in Los Angeles County, after Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth Hahn
Kenneth "Kenny" Hahn was a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for forty years, from 1952 to 1992. Hahn was on the Los Angeles City Council from 1947 to 1952. He was an ardent supporter of civil rights throughout the 1960s, and met Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1961.-Biography:Hahn...
. He is up for reelection in 2012 and can serve until 2016, when term limits will force him to leave office.
Responding to a report that Los Angeles County spent $52 million in welfare benefits to the US-born children of illegal immigrants, Antonovich expressed concern: spokesman Tony Bell told the Los Angeles Times: "The supervisor is very concerned. He believes we have an economic catastrophe on our hands."
Accomplishments
- Antonovich expended his time, effort, and political capital to build a new courthouse to serve a distant part of his district, in Antelope ValleyAntelope ValleyThe Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
. (At the time, Los Angeles County was responsible for courthouses.) - The Olive View Hospital was destroyed in the 1971 Sylmar earthquakeSylmar earthquakeThe 1971 San Fernando earthquake struck the San Fernando Valley near Sylmar, California at 6:00:55 a.m. PST on February 9, 1971, with a magnitude of 6.6....
, and the county did not plan to rebuild it. After fifteen years of Antonovich's persistent effort, the hospital reopened.
Chemerinskygate
Antonovich objected to the appointment of Duke UniversityDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
professor Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky
Erwin Chemerinsky is an American lawyer and law professor. He is a prominent scholar in United States constitutional law and federal civil procedure...
to be dean of the new law school at University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
, and lobbied against it. The university rescinded the appointment, then later restored it.
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.Hispanic supervisor district
In August 1988, the ACLU of Southern CaliforniaAmerican Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund is a national non-profit civil rights organization formed in 1968 to protect the rights of Latinos in the United States...
, 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
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
. 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 a Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
supervisor likely, threatening to do so himself if the elected officials failed.
United States Attorney General
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
Dick Thornburgh
Dick Thornburgh
Richard Lewis "Dick" Thornburgh is an American lawyer and Republican politician who served as the 41st Governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987, and then as the U.S...
praised the ruling "as a victory against discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
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
Judicial activism
Judicial activism describes judicial ruling suspected of being based on personal or political considerations rather than on existing law. It is sometimes used as an antonym of judicial restraint. The definition of judicial activism, and which specific decisions are activist, is a controversial...
" and hoped an appeal would support "the taxpayers of L.A. County." The appeal failed.
After the redistricting, Supervisor Peter F. Schabarum
Peter F. Schabarum
Peter Frank Schabarum was a member of the California State Assembly and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.Schabarum was born January 9, 1929, in Los Angeles...
retired and Gloria Molina
Gloria Molina
Jesus Gloria Molina is an American politician, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.-Background and career:...
was elected to replace him.
Antelope Valley Code Enforcement
Antonovich has been a proponent of increased usage of Nuisance Abatement Teams, which have been selectively enforcing code violations in the rural Antelope Valley area of Los Angeles County. A particularly high-profile incident concluded in June 2011, when 59 year old artist Alan Kimble Fahey was convicted of 12 misdemeanor counts, and will be forced to destroy his "Phonehenge West" project.Memberships & honors
- Pacific Council on International PolicyPacific Council on International PolicyThe Pacific Council on International Policy is a non-partisan organization headquartered in Los Angeles with members and activities throughout the West Coast of the United States and internationally....
, a non-partisan organization co-chaired by John BrysonJohn BrysonJohn E. Bryson is the 37th Secretary of Commerce. The Senate confirmed him by a 74–26 vote on October 20, 2011. He was sworn in on October 21, 2011...
and Warren ChristopherWarren ChristopherWarren Minor Christopher was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as President, Christopher served as the 63rd Secretary of State. He also served as Deputy Attorney General in the Lyndon Johnson administration, and as Deputy Secretary of State in the Jimmy...
. - Southern California Air Quality Management District, Governing Board Member, Los Angeles County Representative
- 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."
- Michael D. Antonovich Regional Park
Personal
Antonovich is of CroatianCroats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
descent.
On February 15, 1998, he married Christine Hu, a Mandarin actress from Dalian, China, before 900 guests; Red Buttons and Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
were lay lector
Lector
Lector is a Latin term for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages the word has come to take various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses:...
s. Hu, 24 years Antonovich's junior, has two children with Antonovich: a son, Michael Jr., born in 1999, and a daughter, Mary Christine, born in 2000.
External links
- Antonovich profile Metropolitan News-Enterprise
- LA Times Article on Chemerinsky retracted offer at UCI
- Santa Clarita Radio, KHTS-1220AM
- KCBS 2 Los Angeles News at 4pm October 2, 2007; reporter: Harold Greene.