Tony Cárdenas | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2015 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's29th district | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Adam Schiff (redistricted) |
| Succeeded by | Luz Rivas |
| Member of theLos Angeles City Council from the6th district | |
| In office July 1, 2003 – January 3, 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Ruth Galanter |
| Succeeded by | Nury Martinez |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the39th district | |
| In office December 2, 1996 – November 30, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Katz |
| Succeeded by | Cindy Montañez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Antonio Cárdenas (1963-03-31)March 31, 1963 (age 62) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Norma Rodriguez |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of California, Santa Barbara (BS) |
Antonio Cárdenas (/ˈkɑːrdəˌnɑːs/KAR-də-NAHSS; born March 31, 1963) is an American politician who served as theUnited States representative forCalifornia's 29th congressional district from 2013 to 2025.
A member of theDemocratic Party, Cárdenas was previously a member of theLos Angeles City Council, representing theSixth 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 theCalifornia 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[1] and was re-elected five times.[2] He did not seek re-election in 2024.[3]
Cárdenas was born on March 31, 1963, inPacoima, Los Angeles.[4] He is one of 11 children of Andrés Cárdenas and María Quezada, who immigrated to the United States shortly after marrying inJalisco, Mexico, in 1946.[5] Andrés Cárdenas was a farm worker nearStockton, California, before the family relocated to Pacoima in 1954.[5]
Cárdenas graduated fromSan Fernando High School in the northeastSan Fernando Valley.[6] In 1986, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree inelectrical engineering from theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara.[4]
In 1996, Cárdenas ran forCalifornia's 39th State Assembly district after Democratic incumbentRichard Katz decided not to run for reelection. He defeatedRepublican Ollie McCaulley 72%-28%.[7] In 1998, he was reelected with 87% of the vote.[8][9] In 2000, he was reelected to a third term with 78% of the vote.[10][11]
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 DemocratAdam Schiff to create the Schiff-Cárdenas Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act.[12]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2020) |
In 2002, Cárdenas ran for theLos Angeles City Council's2nd district.Wendy Greuel defeated him 50.4%-49.6%, a difference of 225 votes.[15][16] In 2003, he ran forthe City Council's 6th district. He defeated Jose Roy Garcia 69%-31%.[17] In 2007, he was reelected with 66% of the vote.[18] In 2011, he was reelected to a third term with 58% of the vote.[19]
Cárdenas is ananimal rights activist. He authored legislation that created Los Angeles's firstAnimal 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 supportedgreen energy. He proposed theRenewable 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.[20]
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 reduce crime while reducing expenditures on crime abatement programs. As vice chair of the city's Public Safety Committee, he spearheaded the country's most comprehensive gang intervention model. 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.[21]
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 allowed students to do community service to eliminate citations.[22]
For the118th Congress:[24]
In 2012, Cárdenas ran for the newly redrawnCalifornia's 29th congressional district after redistricting. He ranked first in the June open primary with 64% of the vote. Independent David Hernandez, president of theSan FernandoChamber of Commerce, ranked second with 22% of the vote, qualifying for the November election. Richard Valdez ranked third with 14% of the vote.[31] In the November general election, Cárdenas defeated Hernandez, 74%-26%.[32][33]
As of October 2021, Cárdenas had voted in line withJoe Biden's stated position 100% of the time.[34]
On November 20, 2023, it was reported that Cárdenas would not run for re-election in 2024.[3]
Cárdenas opposed theoverturning ofRoe v. Wade, calling it an "all out assault on autonomy".[35]
In 2022, Cárdenas was one of 16 Democrats to vote against the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.[36][37]
Cardenas voted to provide Israel with support following theOctober 7 attacks.[38][39]
Chicano literature authorLuis J. Rodriguez is Cárdenas's brother-in-law.[40]
On May 3, 2018, Cárdenas identified himself as the subject of a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County alleging sexual abuse of a minor in 2007. The lawsuit alleged that a (then unnamed) local politician[41] drugged a 16-year-old girl at theHillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles and then sexually molested her while driving her to the emergency room after she passed out, though there has been no evidence to link him to such accusations.[42] Cárdenas issued a statement in response to the charges, calling them "100%, categorically untrue".[43]
On July 3, 2019, Angela Chavez, the woman who made the accusations against Cárdenas, dropped the lawsuit. It was also noted that her father, Gus Villela, approached Richard Alarcon, who ran against Cárdenas in 2016, offering to spread negative information about Cárdenas in exchange for a job with Alarcon's congressional campaign. Alarcon said he declined to hire Villela and reported the meeting to the FBI.[44] The case was settled as a resolution, not a settlement, with prejudice, meaning that the lawsuit cannot be refiled, vindicating Cárdenas.[45]
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 29th congressional district 2013–2025 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| People | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
