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== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress]]
*[[List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress]]
*[[Asian Americans in politics]]
*[[Women in the United States House of Representatives]]
*[[Women in the United States House of Representatives]]


Revision as of 13:46, 20 November 2020

This article is about the California politician. For the ESPN reporter, see Michele Steele. For the Australian athlete, see Michelle Steele.
Michelle Steel
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 48th district
Assuming office
January 3, 2021
SucceedingHarley Rouda
Member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors
from the 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 2015
Preceded byJohn Moorlach
Member of the California State Board of Equalization
from the 3rd district
In office
January 5, 2007 – January 5, 2015
Preceded byClaude Parrish
Succeeded byDiane Harkey
Personal details
Born
Michelle Eunjoo Park

(1955-06-21) June 21, 1955 (age 69)
Seoul, South Korea
Political partyRepublican
SpouseShawn Steel
Children2
EducationPepperdine University (BA)
University of Southern California (MBA)
Korean name
Hangul
박은주
Hanja
朴銀珠
Revised RomanizationBak Eunju
McCune–ReischauerPak Ŭn-ju

Michelle Eunjoo Park Steel (born June 21, 1955) is an American politician who is the U.S. Representative-elect for California's 48th congressional district, having defeated incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda in the 2020 election.[1] Steel, along with Young Kim, thus became the joint-first Republican congressional candidates to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in California since 1998, when Doug Ose accomplished the feat in District 3.

Steel, along with incoming Democrat Marilyn Strickland of Washington and fellow Republican Young Kim of California, will be the first Korean-American women to serve in Congress. She is also set to be one of the two (with Kim) Republican women in California's congressional delegation to the 117th U.S. Congress.[2] She has been a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors since 2015 and is a former member of the California State Board of Equalization (2007–2015).[3][4][5]

Early life and education

Steel was born in Seoul, South Korea.[5] Her father was born in Shanghai to Korean expatriate parents. Steel was educated in South Korea, Japan, and the United States. She holds a degree in business from Pepperdine University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. She is fluent in Korean and Japanese.[4]

California politics

Steel has been active in Republican Party politics and served on various commissions in the George W. Bush administration.[6]

California State Board of Equalization

Steel was elected to the California State Board of Equalization in 2006 when Republican incumbent Claude Parrish ran unsuccessfully for state Treasurer.[7] Throughout her tenure, she served as the country's highest ranking Korean American officeholder and California's highest ranking Republican woman.[3] She represented more than eight million people in the 3rd district, which then included the entirety of Imperial, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties, and portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.[citation needed] In 2011, she was elected vice chair of the Board of Equalization.[8]

Orange County Board of Supervisors

Steel speaks during a Thanksgiving Appreciation Lunch at Joint Forces Training Base Los Alamitos, California in 2017.

In 2014, she ran successfully to become a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors representing the 2nd district, defeating state Assemblyman Allan Mansoor.[9]

In March 2018, Steel was the only elected official to greet President Donald Trump when he landed at LAX on his first official visit to California as president.[10] In 2019, she was appointed by Trump to the President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.[11]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, she opposed mandatory face masks in Orange County.[12][13] She voted against requiring face coverings for retail employees,[14] and opposed requirements of masks in public schools. She questioned the medical efficacy of masks in preventing the virus spread.[15]

United States House of Representatives

Elections

2020 general election

Main articles: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 48, Women in the United States House of Representatives, and List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress

In 2020, Steel ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 48th congressional district.[16] Steel received 34.9% of the vote to advance from the primary and defeated incumbent Democrat Harley Rouda in the November 3, 2020, election.[17] She is the ninth Republican elected in 2020 to flip a Democrat House seat,[18] and only the second Republican in California to unseat an incumbent House Democrat in over 20 years.[19]

Steel's platform included opposition to abortion, same sex marriage, and a pathway to citizenship for some undocumented immigrants.[13][20]

Tenure

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Personal life

Steel with her husband, former Chair of the California Republican Party, Shawn Steel, in 2018.

In 1981, Steel married Shawn Steel, a former California Republican Party chairman and current Republican National Committee committeeman from California. They have two daughters and live in Surfside, California.[21]

In 2014, a video showed Steel speaking at a Tea Party event about withdrawing her daughter from the University of California, Santa Cruz and sending her to Loyola Marymount for a "brainwash" after her daughter voiced support for same-sex marriage and Barack Obama.[22][23][24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rep. Harley Rouda Concedes to Republican Challenger in 48th District Congressional District Race, KNBC-TV Channel 4, Los Angeles, California, November 10, 2020. Retrieved November 10, 2020. "We did not win this election, Rouda said. "And while it isn't the outcome we had hoped for, it's never been more important for our leaders to hear the voice of the people, and to accept their judgment. I do."
  2. ^ Herald, The Korea (November 5, 2020). "Korean American woman elected to US Congress for first time". www.koreaherald.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Steel, Michelle Park. "Board Member Michelle Steel". California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  4. ^ a b "亞裔支持朴銀珠選稅委" [Asian Americans support Park's election to tax board]. August 23, 2006. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  5. ^ a b Michelle Steel, JoinCalifornia.com, retrieved September 29, 2011
  6. ^ Hall, Madison; Panetta, Grace; Neilson, Susie (November 10, 2020). "Results: Republican Michelle Steel defeats first-term Rep. Harley Rouda in California's 48th Congressional District". Business Insider. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. ^ 2006 California State Treasurer election
  8. ^ Arie Dana (January 26, 2011). "Michelle Steel Named Vice Chair of the State Board of Equalization" (PDF). California Board of Equalization.
  9. ^ "Two new faces join Board of Supervisors". November 5, 2014.
  10. ^ Gerda, Nick (March 15, 2018). "OC Supervisor Michelle Steel Welcomed President Trump at LAX". Voice of OC. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "Trump names Michelle Park Steel co-chair of president's advisory commission on AAPIs". February 3, 2019.
  12. ^ "Californians must wear face masks in public under coronavirus order issued by Newsom". Los Angeles Times. June 18, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  13. ^ a b Green, Miranda (October 21, 2020). "The Mask Backlash That Could Oust a Democratic Congressman". Intelligencer. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  14. ^ "OC Supervisors Vote To Require Face Coverings For Many Retail Employees". MyNewsLA.com. April 22, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  15. ^ Custodio, Spencer (May 26, 2020). "Orange County Public Health Officials Under Fire Over Mask Order". Voice of OC. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  16. ^ "O.C. Supervisor Michelle Steel to challenge Rep. Harley Rouda in 2020 election". Associated Press. May 3, 2019.
  17. ^ "Michelle Steel". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  18. ^ "Republicans flip 9th seat as California Democratic Rep. Harley Rouda concedes". FoxNews. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "HISTORIC! Republican Michelle Steel unseats California Democrat, 2nd time in 20 years". theleoterrell.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  20. ^ "Race Heating Up For California's 48th District Seat As Rouda, Steel Face Off". September 14, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  21. ^ Steel, Michelle Park. "Vice Chair Michelle Steel". California State Board of Equalization. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  22. ^ "Republican congressional candidate bragged about pulling daughter out of university for 'brainwashing' after she supported equal marriage". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. July 7, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  23. ^ Bollinger, Alex (July 8, 2020). "Republican candidate brags about pulling her daughter out of college for supporting LGBTQ rights". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  24. ^ "California GOP congressional candidate claimed she withdrew her daughter from college for supporting gay marriage". Metro Weekly. July 8, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.

Media related to Michelle Steel at Wikimedia Commons

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 48th congressional district
Taking office 2021 		Elect
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Michelle_Steel&oldid=989694336"