Congressional Race Coverage: Mike Honda

The Experienced Progressive

Jordan NunesTHE SANTA CLARAOctober 30, 2014[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ep. Mike Honda wants to be my congressman. His challenger wants to be anybody’s congressman.

An experienced legislator who tirelessly represents all his constituents, Honda is well-respected on both sides of the aisle.

Honda is a people’s person, whether it’s talking to students in his district, or singing Spanish love songs at karaoke. He listens to every opinion and strives to bring out the best in all of us.

The representative of California’s 17th Congressional District, he has the endorsement of Barack Obama, Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, Gov. Jerry Brown, Nancy Pelosi and George Takei.

Throughout his time in office, the congressman has brought back $1.3 billion in investments to his district. He has helped to secure funding to extend BART to San Jose.

Before serving in Congress, Honda was a biology teacher and a principal. His understanding of the education system in the United States inspired him to form the Equity in Education Committee. As an appropriator, he secured $8.6 billion for early childhood education programs across the nation.

Congressman Mike Honda is a champion of democratic values. As a child, the congressman and his family were thrown into a Japanese internment camp in Colorado. Even though the United States was at war with Japan, he knows such atrocities cannot be allowed to happen again because of irrational fear.

Honda has said, “The Constitution is never tested during times of tranquility; it is during times of tension, turmoil, tragedy, trauma and terrorism that it is sorely tested.”

Honda has repeatedly shown his leadership abilities in regard to the civil rights issues of our time. As he puts it, “We  shouldn’t encroach upon freedom in order to protect freedom.”

He was one of the first members of Congress to speak out against hate crimes that victimized Sikh Americans after the 9/11 attacks and authored a resolution condemning such crimes.

Additionally, he led the charge against the Transportation Security Administration’s mandatory screening policy for those wearing turbans and supports the NOH8 Campaign promoting marriage and gender equality.

Mike Honda wants to make sure that everyone working in Silicon Valley can afford to live there. That’s why he’s a proponent of raising the minimum wage, as well as expanding and protecting Social Security. It’s also the reason he has brought home over a million dollars to help provide Silicon Valley residents with affordable housing.

Honda is the right leader for the Silicon Valley. He understands his district and strives to better serve them every day. I support Honda because he’s right on education, civil rights, Social Security, the environment and LGBT issues.

He’s a big part of why the Silicon Valley is what it is today, and he still has lots of things he wants to accomplish.

Jordan Nunes is a junior political science major and a volunteer on the Mike Honda campaign.