Newhouse for State Senate
“I’m running for state senate because California can do better.
Let me ask you a question; are we living in our best California?
Don’t get me wrong; I was born here, and to me, California will always be the Golden State. But, we can do better.
I live in Venice, which until recently was ground-zero for the statewide crisis that continues, in many towns, to allow people to suffer and die on our streets. We can do better.
Many of our neighborhoods are less safe than they should be. We can do better.
Finding a good job, at a fair wage, can be difficult. Starting a business can be daunting. We can do better.
Whether it’s buying groceries, buying a house, or renting an apartment, everything has become too expensive. We can do better.
For decades, I’ve dedicated myself to the nuts-and-bolts of solving our local problems. I am a father, husband, educator and small business owner. I’ve volunteered and served across our neighborhoods and cities to learn what the real issues are and listen to those with the expertise to solve them.
As a community leader and housing and environmental advocate, I’ve led on neighborhood councils and planning commissions, promoting community engagement and helping streamline smart building and development to get housing costs and homelessness under control.
Now, I’m ready to take that real world experience and put it into motion to start the work of improving our neighborhoods and the Golden State.
I promise you this: I won’t just offer platitudes and politics. I want to solve our problems … together. I’ll do that by listening, planning, – and most importantly – acting.
Let’s get to work!”
FROM ADVERSITY TO SERVICE
Mike’s mother’s family, the Tranchinos and Castros, came from Italy and Costa Rica to America through Ellis Island and settled in Brooklyn. His great grandmothers worked as seamstresses while his great grandfather was a railroad worker. They moved to the LA area with the Dodgers after World War II while the Newhouses moved to Southern California from Oregon.
Mike learned to respect and appreciate service from his grandparents as both his grandfathers had served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Mike’s parents met while both were at USC and his dad opened a small business before they started a family.
The oldest of three by 7 years, Mike faced adversity at a young age as his dad struggled with bipolar disorder and addiction and his mom suffered with chronic lung issues that made it difficult for her to work. Mike’s grandparents helped provide stability and he helped care for his younger brother and sister.
Mike had to step up as a teenager while his dad spent time in prison. Mike got his first job at a movie theater when he was 15 years old and worked through high school to help pay for rent and food. He knew education was a key for his future and he worked hard in school – while also playing baseball and football – to earn an academic scholarship to USC.
When Mike was 19, his dad died by suicide and Mike dedicated himself to succeeding in school, helping his Mom raise his siblings and being in a position to help provide for his family. He worked as a carpenter and set-builder in the theater department on campus and got involved in campus leadership, starting the on-campus recycling program and serving as Student Body Vice President.
BUILDING STRONGER COMMUNITIES AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATE, HOUSING EXPERT, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER, AND WESTSIDE LEADER
It was at USC that Mike grew his passion for environmental protection. He helped start an Environmental Studies major and spent the summers working for the California Public Interest Research Group (CalPIRG), advocating to combat climate change, clean up the Santa Monica Bay, and hold corporate polluters accountable.
Following his graduation from USC, Mike worked full-time at CalPIRG – where he met his wife Ruthie – before going to law school at Lewis and Clark in Oregon for a Natural Resources Law program. While in law school, he spent time working for the Wilderness Society, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Sierra Club, and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
After earning his law degree, Mike and his wife settled in Venice Beach. He got a job at a small law firm where he learned the nuts and bolts of construction and land use law and worked his way up to make partner at a larger firm, becoming an expert in housing law.
Feeling there was more than daily work to experience, Mike and his wife both took leaves from their jobs for over a year and traveled the country and the world to seek out different perspectives and cultures. Upon returning, they decided to open their own law firm together and start a family while they each got deeply involved in the Venice community.
TAKING ACTION FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, OUR FAMILIES, AND OUR FUTURE
Mike earned the trust of his neighbors and won election to the Venice Neighborhood Council, where he was mentored by longtime community leader DeDe Audet before becoming a two-term President of the Council. He worked closely with another mentor, then-Councilman Bill Rosendahl, on commonsense solutions for Venice and co-founded a regional neighborhood council group for the westside to better advocate for their part of the city to the city council and mayor. That group, the Westside Regional Alliance of Councils (WRAC) is still going strong 17 years later.
Mike was appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti to serve as President of the West Los Angeles Area Commission, where he made the process more efficient and fair for residents while protecting historic neighborhoods. Then Mike went on to earn an appointment from Mayor Karen Bass to serve on the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and use his decades of experience with housing law and policy to help cut red tape, create good jobs at a fair wage, and work to make housing in Los Angeles more affordable, accessible, and energy efficient.
Mike and his wife are raising their teenage sons in Venice while Mike leads the small business of 8 attorneys and also teaches at the USC Law School. Given his experiences as a youth, Mike has prioritized being present as a father. He coached his sons’ youth baseball teams, made sure not to miss a game or event, and has emphasized listening to his kids so they know their perspective matters. He approaches his public service the same way.
When Mike isn’t working with others to solve problems or spending time with his family and their dogs, Mike is building things, restoring old homes, or writing and playing guitar and bass with his band, The Potential Suitors, at venues throughout the westside.
