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Mike Thompson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 6, 1999
Preceded by	Frank Riggs
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Janet Thompson
Residence	St. Helena, California
Alma mater	California State University, Chico
Occupation	vineyard owner
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1969-1972
Unit	173rd Airborne Brigade
Battles/wars	Vietnam War

C. Michael Thompson (born January 24, 1951), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999, representing California's 1st congressional district (map), which includes Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte Counties as well as parts of Yolo and Sonoma Counties.

He was born in St. Helena, California, was educated at California State University, Chico, served in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade United States Army, was a vineyard owner and maintenance supervisor, taught Public Administration and State Government at San Francisco State University and California State University, Chico and was a member of the California State Senate before entering the House.

He is married to Janet Thompson and has two sons.

He is a Blue Dog Democrat and was previously a member of the New Democrat Coalition. Thompson is a moderate Democrat, in relation to his Democratic colleagues in the House.

Elective office

Thompson served as an aide to Democrat Jackie Speier (then a state Assemblywoman) before winning election to the California State Senate in 1990. He very narrowly unseated 4th district Republican incumbent Jim Nielsen after Nielsen's reputation took a hit following a series of ethical missteps; Thompson's margin of victory was less than 1 percent.

Following the 1992 general election, Democratic state Senator Barry Keene of the neighboring 2nd District resigned. Thompson, whose hometown of St. Helena had shifted from the 4th district and into the 2nd district after reapportionment, decided to run in the 1993 special election for Keene's seat. He narrowly beat Republican businesswoman Margie Handley but won easy reelection in 1994.

Thompson was approached by National Democrats about running for congress in 1996, but he declined, believing his senate seniority would be more beneficial to his district than would his being a freshman congressman. In 1998, National Democrats successfully recruited Thompson to run for the congressional seat of incumbent Republican Frank Riggs. Thompson was so well known and respected in the area that Riggs opted not to seek reelection after all, believing Thompson was unbeatable. Thompson easily won election and has had little trouble holding his seat.

Environmental record

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The League of Conservation Voters publishes the Environmental Scorecard for each session of Congress which rates how members voted on key energy and environmental issues. Mike Thompson was rated 91% (with 100% being the highest possible rating) for the 2nd session of the 110th Congress. His LCV Scorecard ratings have been at 90% or above for every session of Congress since 2001.

Thompson voted for President Bush's controversial Healthy Forests Initiative, which environmentalists saw as an inordinate gift to the timber industry. He has disappointed some environmentalists with votes against limits to new commercial logging roads in Alaska's Tongass National Forest and against limits to hunting bears over bait. He was also one of only 30 Democrats to vote against an amendment to maintain roadless areas protected under the Roadless Rule. While a California state senator, Thompson helped defeat legislation to halt the use of dogs in hunting of black bears and co-authored and voted for a bill (SB 28) to resume trophy hunting of cougars. SB 28 would have undone provisions of California Proposition 117 (the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990) which had been approved by the voters in the statewide election held on June 5, 1990, that provided some protection for cougars. Thompson was the House sponsor of the Northern California Coastal Wild Heritage Wilderness Act, which was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

Thompson was recognized as Federal Legislator of the Year by the hunting lobbyist group Safari Club International; he received the Hunting Heritage Award from the same group.

Thompson did not endorse California's Proposition 2 (the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act) in the November 2008 election, which passed with an overwhelming statewide 63.5% Yes vote and which also won in every county of Thompson's district. Proposition 2 was officially endorsed by the California Democratic Party.

Thompson is an active member and former co-chair of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, and is a lifelong hunter and fisherman.

Other legislative history

Though Thompson is a Roman Catholic, he is staunchly pro-choice. In May 2004, he, along with 47 other Catholic Democratic Congressmembers, sent a letter to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C. to dissuade him from refusing to administer Holy Communion to Catholic Congressmembers who practice pro-choice legislative voting. Judie Brown, president of the pro-life American Life League, issued a response to the letter saying that it is harmful to the Catholic church to " the lie that you can be a Catholic in good standing and support abortion." In February 2006, Thompson was one of 55 Democratic Representatives who were Catholic who signed a "Statement of Principles," which affirmed a commitment to their faith, but said that they disagreed with their church on some issues. They stated that on those issues, such as abortion rights, they would follow their conscience instead of their church's teachings. In response to the "Statement of Principles", the U.S. Catholic Bishops issued a "Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life" that said, in part, "Catholic teaching calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of unborn human life."

In late 2002, Thompson joined Democratic Reps. Jim McDermott of Washington and David Bonior of Michigan on a fact-finding trip to Iraq. During the trip, the lawmakers spoke to officials in Baghdad and residents in Basra. Presciently, they expressed skepticism about the Bush administration's claims that Saddam was stockpiling weapons of mass destruction.

On March 26, 2008, Muthanna Al-Hanooti, an official of a Michigan charity, was accused of underwriting three members of Congress to travel to Iraq, on behalf of Iraqi intelligence officials. McDermott's office was already organizing the trip when the charity offered to pay trip expenses. McDermott's spokesman stated that the charity was fully vetted by the U.S. government. He also stated that the congressmen obtained a license from the State Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control for the group to travel to Iraq.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Health
  • Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism/HUMINT, Analysis and Counterintelligence
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucuses

• Co-chair of the Congressional Wine Caucus

References

1. ^ "Representative Michael C. 'Mike' Thompson (CA)". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
2. "Thompson Honored for His Dedication to Veterans". Office of Congressman Mike Thompson. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
3. legislator file -- Ranking the House members of the 110th Congress ideologically via the Poole-Rosenthal NOMINATE ideal point estimation algorithm, Thompson is the 126th most conservative of the 235 Democrats in the 110th House of Representatives.Lewis, Jeffrey B. (28 March 2008). "DW-NOMINATE Page". Retrieved 2008-12-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
4. "Is Nielsen fudging again?". Chico News & Review. 2008-04-17. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
5. "Semi-super Tuesday". Chico News & Review. 2008-05-29. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
6. "Statement of Vote - General Election November 6, 1990" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 1990-10-09. Retrieved 2008-12-12. Under "Fourth Senatorial District" on 40th page of this PDF file.
7. "Statement of Vote - November 8, 1994 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. 1994-12-16. Retrieved 2008-12-12. Under "2nd State Senate District" on 69th page of this PDF file.
8. Ken Rudin (1998-11-02). "Political Junkie". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
9. "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 656". U.S. House of Representatives. 2003-11-21. Retrieved 2008-12-11. The vote on H.R. 1904.
10. "Transition talk: Interior motives". The Westerner. 2008-12-09. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
11. "Tongass Protections". League of Conservation Voters. 2004-06-16. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
12. "Bear Baiting Amendment Defeated On House Floor". Steelheader.net. 2003-07-18. Retrieved 2008-12-19. The vote (Roll Call 382) was on an amendment to a Department of the Interior funding bill (H.AMDT.263 to H.R.2691) to prohibit any funding to administer any action related to the baiting of bears except to prevent or prohibit such activity. To display the THOMAS (Library of Congress) links, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/bss/108search.html and search for the word "baiting". In the next screen, search for "2691". (2003-07-17). Retrieved on 2008-12-22. "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 382". U.S. House of Representatives. 2003-07-17. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
13. "Anti-Bear Hunting Bill Withdrawn from Resources Committee". Weekly News: Fishery News of the Great Lakes Basin. Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council. July 21 , 2003. Retrieved 2008-12-17. Congress specifically and repeatedly has affirmed the states' rights to manage non-migratory wildlife, including on most federal lands except for National Parks. H.R. 1472 would have preempted these rights and removed science and professional wildlife management as the cornerstone of America's successful wildlife management program. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
14. "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 149". U.S. House of Representatives. 2006-05-17. Retrieved 2008-12-12. The vote on H.R. 4200.
15. "Official California Legislative Information - Bill Information". California State Senate. 1993-05-25. Retrieved 2008-12-12. Regarding California SB 67.
16. ^ "Official California Legislative Information - Bill Information". California State Senate. 1995-09-15. Retrieved 2008-12-12. Regarding California SB 28.
17. "SCI Recognize Federal Legislator and Heritage Award Winners at 2008 Convention". HuntingLife.com. 2008-01-28. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
18. "Elected Officials and Local Governments". Yes on Prop. 2 - Californians for Humane Farms. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
19. "Election Results: State Ballot Measures". California Secretary of State. 2008-11-26. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
20. "Proposition 2 Election Results Map by County". 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
21. "CDP Recommendations - November 4, 2008 General Election". California Democratic Party. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-12.
22. "Power Trips - Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation". American Public Media. 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
23. "Rep. Mike Thompson Biography". Congressional office of Rep. Mike Thompson. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
24. "Special Report: A Sportsman in Charge". Field & Stream. Retrieved 2008-12-11.
25. ^ "Legislators protest communion recommendation". CNN.com. 2004-05-21. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
26. "House Democrats Release Historic Catholic Statement of Principles". Office of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro. 2006-02-28. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
27. Cardinal William H. Keeler, Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio (2006-03-10). "Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life". United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 2008-12-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
28. Matt Apuzzo (AP) (2008-03-26). "Prosecutors: Saddam Hussein's intelligence agency bankrolled McDermott's prewar trip to Iraq". HeraldNet. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
29. David Postman (2008-03-28). "The story behind McDermott's controversial Iraq trip". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 2008-12-15.

External links

• U.S. Congressman Mike Thompson official House site
• Mike Thompson for Congress official campaign site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Profile at SourceWatch Congresspedia

• Misplaced Pages neutral point of view disputes from December 2008
• 1951 births
• Living people
• Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• California State Senators
• California Democrats
• Italian-American politicians
• American Roman Catholics
• United States Army soldiers
• People from Chico, California
• California State University, Chico alumni
• People from Napa County, California
• American military personnel of the Vietnam War
• San Francisco State University faculty
• California State University, Chico faculty