Antonio Cárdenas ( ; born March 31, 1963) is an American politician who has served as the United States representative for California's 29th congressional district since January 2013.
A member of the Democratic Party, Cárdenas was previously a member of the Los Angeles City Council, representing the Sixth Council District, which covers parts of the northeast San Fernando Valley, including Arleta, Pacoima, Sun Valley, North Hollywood, Panorama City, Van Nuys, and Lake Balboa.
Cárdenas was elected to the California State Assembly for three consecutive terms and chaired the budget committee. He was elected to the Los Angeles City Council in 2003 and reelected in 2007 and 2011. Cárdenas was elected to Congress in 2012 and has been reelected every two years since.
Early life and education
Cárdenas was born on March 31, 1963, in Pacoima, Los Angeles. He is one of 11 children of Andrés Cárdenas and María Quezada, who immigrated to the United States shortly after marrying in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1946. Andrés Cárdenas was a farm worker near Stockton, California, before the family relocated to Pacoima in 1954.
Cárdenas graduated from San Fernando High School in the northeast San Fernando Valley. In 1986, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
California State Assembly
Elections
In 1996, Cárdenas ran for California's 39th State Assembly district after Democratic incumbent Richard Katz decided not to run for reelection. He defeated Republican Ollie McCaulley 72%-28%. In 1998, he was reelected with 87% of the vote. In 2000, he was reelected to a third term with 78% of the vote.
Tenure
Cárdenas's state reforms brought 78,000 new classroom seats and 15 playgrounds throughout Los Angeles. He also secured more than $650 million for new school construction. He authored legislation that reformed California's gang prevention and intervention programs and teamed up with fellow Democrat Adam Schiff to create the Schiff-Cárdenas Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act.
Committee assignments
Energy and Commerce
Los Angeles City Council
Elections
In 2002, Cárdenas ran for the Los Angeles City Council's 2nd district. Wendy Greuel defeated him 50.4%-49.6%, a difference of 225 votes. In 2003, he ran for the City Council's 6th district. He defeated Jose Roy Garcia 69%-31%. In 2007, he was reelected with 66% of the vote. In 2011, he was reelected to a third term with 58% of the vote.
Tenure
Cárdenas is an animal rights activist. He authored legislation that created Los Angeles's first Animal Cruelty Task Force, which arrests animal abusers. He supported the city's mandatory spay/neuter ordinance to reduce the number of stray and homeless animals.
Cárdenas strongly supported green energy. He proposed the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard that established goals for the city's Department of Water and Power to obtain at least 20% of its energy from wind and solar. He also proposed a plan that would convert all of the city's taxis to be fuel-efficient by 2015.
As chair of the city's Ad Hoc Committee on Gang Violence and Youth Development, Cárdenas identified millions of dollars overlooked by the city to help keep kids off the streets, and reduced crime while reducing expenditures on crime abatement programs. As vice chair of the city's Public Safety Committee, he spearheaded the most comprehensive gang intervention model in the country. The Community-Based Gang Intervention Model standardized and defined the methods used by gang intervention workers to help stop violence in some of Los Angeles's most dangerous neighborhoods.
In 2012, Cárdenas passed amendments to the city's daytime curfew ordinance. The new policy eliminated fines of up to $500 that students were facing. It also reduced court visits for parents and students and gave students the opportunity to do community service to eliminate citations.
Committee assignments
Business Tax Reform (chair) Energy and Natural Resources (chair) Gang Violence and Youth Development (chair) Budget and Finance Housing, Community and Economic Development
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress: Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security Subcommittee on Health