Mike McGuire (born July 21, 1979) is an American politician currently serving as the 52nd President pro tempore of the California State Senate. He is a Democrat and represents the 2nd Senate district, which encompasses the North Coast region, from Marin County to Del Norte County.
Mike McGuire | |
|---|---|
 official portrait, 2017 | |
| 52nd President pro tempore of the California State Senate | |
| Assumed office February 5, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Toni Atkins |
| Majority Leader of the California Senate | |
| In office January 19, 2022 – February 5, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Hertzberg |
| Succeeded by | Lena Gonzalez |
| Member of the California Senate from the 2nd district | |
| Assumed office December 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Noreen Evans |
| Member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors from the 4th district | |
| In office 2011–2014 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Kelley |
| Succeeded by | James Gore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 21, 1979 Healdsburg, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Erika Fremault |
| Education | Sonoma State University (BA) |
From January 19, 2022 to February 5, 2024, he has served as Majority Leader of the Senate, replacing Robert Hertzberg; he previous served as Assistant Majority Leader from December 2018 to his appointment as majority leader.[1] Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2014, he was a member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and served as mayor of Healdsburg, California.[2] By August 2023, he began fundraising to run for Insurance Commissioner in 2026.[3]
Early life and education
editMike McGuire comes from a family of farmers, specializing in grape and prune farming for over 50 years. In 1998, he became the youngest person ever elected to the Healdsburg School Board at age 19.[4] He attended Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 2002.[5]
Career
editMcGuire first held elected office at 19 in 1998 when he was elected to the Healdsburg School Board.[citation needed] In 2004, he was elected to the Healdsburg City Council, where he spent six years, including time as the city's youngest mayor.[6] In 2010, he became a member of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.[7] In 2014, McGuire ran for the California State Senate to succeed Democratic Senator Noreen Evans, who decided not to seek reelection. McGuire easily defeated Republican candidate Lawrence Weisner for the District 2 State Senate seat that year, winning 70% of the vote.[8]
In April 2015, he introduced bill SB 643, with the purpose of legalizing and regulating the medical marijuana industry.[9] The regulation would cover cultivation to consumption.[10] McGuire criticized the state's lack of rules and regulations for medical marijuana,[11] and was opposed to the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64).[12] In September 2017, he was part of the state's legislative session that urged Congress to censure the president Donald Trump.[13]
In September 2018, the bill he introduced to establish a statewide protocol for emergency alerts for all 58 California counties was signed into a law.[14] In December 2018, he was selected to serve as assistant majority leader of the California Senate.[15][16] In early January 2019, Mike McGuire "applauded" Gavin Newsom's 2019 budget plan for California.[17] That same month, when president Donald Trump threatened to withhold government emergency fundings for the wildfires because of poor forest management by the state of California, Mike McGuire replied in a tweet that most California forests affected are managed by the federal government and not the state.[18]
In 2019, he co-authored California Senate Bill 27 (SB27) officially named Tax Transparency Bill which was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on July 30, 2019.[19] He authored a bill that established the Great Redwood Trail as a proposed rail-to-trail project in Northern California.[20]
McGuire was announced as the incoming State Senate President Pro-Tempore on August 28, 2023.[21] He assumed the position on February 5, 2024.
Elections
edit2004 Healdsburg City Council Election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike McGuire | 3,894 | 30.3 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary W Plass | 2,821 | 22.0 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lisa W Schaffner | 2,746 | 21.4 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark T Gleason | 2,462 | 19.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tod Brilliant | 928 | 7.2 | |
| Total votes | 12,851 | 100.0 | ||
2008 Healdsburg City Council Election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike McGuire | 4,437 | 35.6 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tom Chambers | 3,031 | 24.3 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary W Plass | 2,928 | 23.5 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tony Pastene | 2,053 | 16.5 | |
| Total votes | 12,449 | 100.0 | ||
2010 Sonoma County Board of Supervisors 4th district election
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Mike McGuire | 15,043 | 61.8% | |
| Nonpartisan | Debora Fudge | 9,210 | 37.8 | |
| Other | Write in | 103 | 0.4 | |
| Total votes | 24,356 | 100.0 | ||
2014 State Senate Election
edit| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Mike McGuire | 104,670 | 57.9 | |
| Republican | Lawrence R. Wiesner | 48,401 | 26.8 | |
| Democratic | Derek Knell | 19,733 | 10.9 | |
| No party preference | Harry V. Lehmann | 8,060 | 4.5 | |
| Total votes | 180,864 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Mike McGuire | 188,142 | 70.0 | |
| Republican | Lawrence R. Wiesner | 80,778 | 30.0 | |
| Total votes | 268,920 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2018 State Senate Election
edit| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Mike McGuire (incumbent) | 163,723 | 76.2 | |
| Democratic | Veronica "Roni" Jacobi | 51,186 | 23.8 | |
| Total votes | 214,909 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Mike McGuire (incumbent) | 233,688 | 67.2 | |
| Democratic | Veronica "Roni" Jacobi | 114,184 | 32.8 | |
| Total votes | 347,872 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
2022 State Senate Election
edit| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Mike McGuire (politician) | 197,999 | 75.1 | |
| Republican | Gene Yoon | 65,762 | 24.9 | |
| Total votes | 263,761 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Mike McGuire (incumbent) | 283,689 | 73.3 | |
| Republican | Gene Yoon | 103,333 | 26.7 | |
| Total votes | 387,022 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
edit- ^ "Our State Senate Representative, Mike McGuire, Just Got Named Majority Leader". Lost Coast Outpost. January 19, 2022.
- ^ Schlanker, Beth (May 16, 2014). "PD Editorial: Mike McGuire is best choice in Senate election". The Press Democrat.
- ^ GRAHAM, ANDREW (August 8, 2023). "As term limits push McGuire from state Senate, is a run for insurance chief next?". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Kutchins, Herb (March 20, 2014). "Mike McGuire, his election assured, remains little known in Marin". The Point Reyes Light.
- ^ "McGuire Distinguished Alum". SSU News. December 21, 2016. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ California State Senate Majority Caucus California Senator Mike McGuire Senate District 2 Biography
- ^ "Supervisor Mike McGuire Hosts Annual Windsor Town Hall Meeting on August 19th". sonomacounty.ca.gov. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "California State Senate elections, 2014 - Ballotpedia". Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "Bill Status". leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
- ^ "California Sen. Mike McGuire proposes regulating medical marijuana industry". Ukiah Daily Journal. April 30, 2015.
- ^ Chabria, Anita (May 3, 2015). "California looks to bring law and order to decades-old medical marijuana market". The Guardian.
- ^ Guy Kovner (October 31, 2016). "Citing marijuana 'mess,' Sen. Mike McGuire opposes California's faulty Proposition 64". Sonomanews.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ David Siders (September 17, 2017). "California tears into Trump". Politico.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Guy Kovner (September 21, 2018). "Gov. Brown signs into law California emergency alerts and wildfire liability bills". Pressdemocrat.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Julie Johnson (December 22, 2018). "Healdsburg Democrat Mike McGuire appointed to a top California Senate leadership post". Pressdemocrat.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Marissa Papanek (December 24, 2018). "Sen. Mike McGuire named assistant majority leader of CA State Senate". Krcrtv.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ Thadeus Greenson (January 10, 2019). "Wood, McGuire Applaud Gov.'s Budget Plan". Northcoastjournal.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "Trump, California lawmakers spar over wildfire funding". Times-Standard. January 9, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "Governor Gavin Newsom Signs SB 27: Tax Transparency Bill". Press release of the office of the Governor of California. July 30, 2019.
- ^ Wear, Kimberly (February 3, 2022). "Moving Up". North Coast Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
- ^ Luna, Taryn (August 29, 2023). "California Senate taps new leader". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
- ^ "Registrar of Voters | Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Registrar of Voters | County of Sonoma" (PDF).
- ^ "Council Member; City of Healdsburg Election Information November 4, 2008 Election".
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Primary Election - Statement of the Vote, June 7, 2022" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
- ^ "General Election - Statement of the Vote, November 8, 2022 - State Senate" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved December 15, 2022.