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Politico Profiles

State Assemblymembers Mike Honda--He's a native San Josean. He speaks Japanese and Spanish. He sings mariachi tunes. In the state Legislature he's buddied up with the Latino caucus and, though just in his first term, has managed to land choice appointments to the powerful rules and pension committees. Won headlines recently for writing a bill intended to scuttle the upcoming anti-bilingual-education initiative. Liz Figueroa--She's currently eyeing Bill Lockyer's state Senate seat. As chair of the Assembly insurance committee, she's been a steady consumer advocate who regularly takes potshots at insurance industry shill Chuck Quackenbush. Jim Cunneen--The baby-faced Republican saw his star fall when the Democrats regained control of the Assembly in 1996. Yet he's managed to remain an effective legislator who authored a bill putting campaign contribution information on the Internet. Insiders consider him the heir apparent to Tom Campbell's U.S. congressional seat. Elaine W. Alquist--She represents what the Democratic Party leadership considers a "marginal" district with lots of Republicans driving around in Lexii. Her colleagues also sometimes look askance at her because she married a man 40 years her elder, retired state Sen. Al Alquist--earning a name that helped at the polls. Last year she called for an audit of the state's problem-plagued $305 million deadbeat-dad tracking system. Ted Lempert--Call him Mr. Education. He chairs the committee on higher ed. and sits on the education committee. He's got a handful of bills this year dealing with ... education. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]