Democrats should stick with Mike Glover, in the 70th A.D.

Mike Glover ran for the 70th Assembly District with no support from the Democratic Party of Orange County, twice. This time he finally had an open shot at the seat, with the incumbent, Chuck DeVore, terming out. But the corrupt Irvine Agranistas put one of their own, Melissa Fox, on the ballot, despite her complete inexperience in politics.

Glover is an attorney who previously served in the Kansas State Legislature. He is a good guy and he deserves support. The last thing Democrats in the 70th should do is throw in with the Agranista candidate, Fox.

Here is Glover’s bio, from his campaign website:

Mike Glover is one of those rare resources for the Orange County Democratic Party, a Democrat who has actually served in a state legislature. In the Kansas legislature, he was known for leading the way with progressive legislation, and was “Mr Democrat,” a primary spokesperson for the Democratic Party in a somewhat conservative body where he was often in the minority.

Mike was born in Kansas in 1947, to parents who were raised on farms. His dad, George, was a World War II veteran, and his dad and mom, Evelyn, met during the War in Fort Riley, Kansas.

Mike’s early childhood was spent on a farm in Arkansas, and then in Kansas, where he attended parochial grade school, Lawrence High School, and later graduated from the University of Kansas.

Mike became a political activist early on, and was nominated by the Democratic Party to run for the state legislature in 1970, but lost the election by 219 votes. The following month he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served as a Catholic Chaplain Assistant until he was honorably discharged in 1972. He jumped right back into political life and was elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1972.

During the three and a half terms that he served, Mike ably represented his home District in Lawrence, home of the University of Kansas. Providing funding for the university was a major concern. One major piece of legislation that Mike introduced and finally saw pass was an oil and gas severance tax — a tax that Mike feels California needs, and that would provide funding for UC Irvine and all the other institutions of higher education in the state. Mike served on both the Taxation and the Ways and Means Committees, and helped to pass more progressive income tax rates for the state.

Mike Glover played a major role in Kansas in upholding women’s rights. He worked closely with current Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, in her role as a lobbyist for such causes, and was the Democratic member chosen for the Conference Committee that decriminalized abortion in Kansas. He also introduced and got passed a law shielding women who had been raped from having their sexual history cited, unless it involved the defendant. When Phyllis Shafley came to Kansas to try to get the legislature to rescind its ratification of the ERA, Mike Glover was the point person who convinced Republicans not to listen to her The ratification remained in force.

After Mike graduated from law school, he entered private practice, and then became the Assistant City Attorney/City Prosecutor for Lawrence, Kansas. In 1986, when his wife Bonnie received a good job opportunity in Colorado, and then Orange County, Mike pulled up stakes and moved away from his mid-west roots. He helped raise his two children, Grady and Haley, in Orange County, where they attended public schools, and he practiced law, specializing in Workers’ Compensation cases.

Although Mike and Bonnie divorced in 1999, they remain friends, and both delight in their granddaughter. Mike’s law office is now located in Santa Ana, just on the border of Irvine.

Mike has remained politically active, and in 2006 and 2008 he answered the call of the Orange County Democratic Party for a candidate in the 70th Assembly District. Mike knew that such races received very little support from the Party, and little notice from the public, but he ran to win! In 2006, he got a creditable percent of the vote, 39.5 percent, but in 2008, he did even better, with 42.2 percent of the vote. That was the highest percentage of any of our local Democratic candidates, and was testimony to Mike’s great love of door to door campaigning, where he can meet people and answer their questions.

Mike Glover is passionate about a lot of political issues. He wants to do something about our tax base. As a self-described “poor boy” who used education as a way out of poverty, he wants to see our schools and higher education system thrive, and for students to get the financial backing they deserve. His record on women’s rights and civil rights in general is impressive. However, a major concern are issues like stem cell research and in home health aides. Mike’s family has the tragic gene that causes Huntington’s Disease. He was the fortunate one who did not inherit it, but he has watched his mother, aunt, uncle, sister, and now his brother, become severely disabled and die. Mike knows first hand how important both scientific research and government supported safety nets are. That is part of the history he will take to Sacramento on our behalf.