Senator Tom Harman represents the people of the 35th Senate District which includes the cities of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Cypress, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and portions of Buena Park, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster.

After having served six years on the Huntington Beach City Council, Harman was elected to the State Assembly in 2000, and was re-elected in 2002 and 2004 by overwhelming majorities. In 2006 he was elected to the Senate in a special election and then reelected in 2008.

He is widely viewed as a steward of Orange County's world renowned coastline. His balanced approach to protecting our state's precious natural resources while striving to enhance the economy and protect jobs has been hailed by state and community leaders as innovative and groundbreaking. Senator Harman is the only member of the State Legislature appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Harman has also been instrumental in bringing together representatives from the business and disabled communities, builders, inspectors, contractors and policy makers to address predatory lawsuits that hamper business’ ability to comply with the important goals and protections set forth in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Harman's priorities during his tenure in the Legislature include:

• Bringing jobs to California
• Reduce the size of Government
• Lower taxes
• Improve public safety
• Protect our Veterans
• Protect individual property rights
• Improve and strengthen education

Harman has consistently supported legislation to limit the size and scope of government. Throughout his legislative career he has signed and honored his pledge to vote against all new taxes.

To protect children, Harman supported the Project Kid Safe legislative package. This legislation included implementation of the Amber Alert system, which has successfully been used to find abducted children. Project Kid Safe will assist local law enforcement agencies in monitoring habitual sex offenders and enforcing registration requirements.

To fight corruption in politics, Harman introduced legislation to strengthen laws regarding conflicts of interest for public officials. Harman founded the citizen action group Huntington Beach Tomorrow and, while on the city council, launched an Organizational Efficiency Program to improve services, stop waste, and reduce costs in government.

To protect the rights of senior citizens, Harman introduced legislation that requires financial institutions to better communicate with their customers when an account is in danger of being transferred to the State of California because it has been dormant for three years. This bill was signed into law by the governor.

In 2010, Senator Harman was elected to serve as Vice Chairman of the 5-member Senate Rules Committee, considered the most powerful committee in the Senate. Serving as Vice Chairman of Rules Committee is one of the most influential positions in the Senate.

In addition, he serves as the lead Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee; as well as a member of the Senate Committees on Public Safety, Transportation and Housing. Senator Harman also serves on the Joint Committee on Rules and the Joint Committees on Fairs.

Beyond his legislative duties, Senator Harman works hard to improve our communities through local organizations such as the Boys & Girls Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, YMCA, and the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. He has been privileged to be the keynote speaker for the Newport Beach American Legion. Harman is the past president of both the Huntington Youth Shelter and Huntington Beach Rotary Club.

While serving on the Huntington Beach City Council, Harman’s many accomplishments include:

• Increasing the number of police on patrol
• Improving fire protection
• Expanding senior programs
• Reducing the accessibility of narcotics
• Addressing gang-related issues to provide greater safety for residents

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Kansas State University, Harman joined the United States Army and served as a lieutenant in the 4th Infantry Division. After completing his tour of duty, he entered Loyola Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctorate in 1968.

Upon graduating from Loyola, Harman joined the Long Beach law firm of Lucas & Deukmejian, whose partners were future California Chief Justice Malcolm Lucus and future governor George Deukmejian.

Harman, a conservationist, is an enthusiastic and avid outdoorsman who enjoys fly-fishing. He and his wife Dianne have been married for over 40 years and have two children, Michael and Michelle.