Matthew Harper

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Matthew Harper

| image = Matthew Harper 2016 (cropped).jpg

| alt = Matthew Harper

| office = 59th Mayor of Huntington Beach, California

| term_start = 2013

| term_end = 2014

| predecessor = Donald F. Hansen

| successor = Jill Hardy

| state_assembly2 = California

| district2 = 74th

| term_start2 = December 1, 2014

| term_end2 = November 30, 2018

| predecessor2 = Allan Mansoor

| successor2 = Cottie Petrie-Norris

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|06|27}}

| birth_place = Long Beach, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Republican

| alma_mater = University of Southern California

| occupation = Real estate broker, politician

| spouse = Elizabeth Byrne (m. 2014)

| residence = Huntington Beach, California

| caption =

}}

Matthew Harper (June 27, 1974) served as the 59th Mayor of Huntington Beach, California (2013-2014). Harper was elected to three terms to the Huntington Beach Union High School District Board of Trustees (1998-2010), one term to the Huntington Beach City Council (2010-2014) and two terms to the California State Assembly (2014-2018).{{cite web |title= Mayor Matthew Harper Biography, City of Huntington Beach Official Website |url= http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/Government/Elected_Officials/city_council/council_bios/harper.cfm |accessdate= December 2, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304223208/http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/Government/Elected_Officials/city_council/council_bios/harper.cfm |archive-date= March 4, 2016 |url-status= dead }}

Early life

Harper was born in Long Beach, California, and lived briefly in Colorado, but grew up in Westminster and Huntington Beach.{{cite news|last=Carpio|first=Anthony Clark|title=New mayor known for strong stands|url=http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-me-1212-harper-feature-20131211,0,529976.story|accessdate=December 15, 2013|newspaper=Huntington Beach Independent|date=December 12, 2013}} He is a graduate of Huntington Beach High School.

Education

Harper attended Orange Coast College in

Costa Mesa, California. Harper earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Policy and Management from USC in Los Angeles, California.

Career

Harper was first elected to the Huntington Beach Union High School District (HBUHSD) in 1998,{{cite web|title= Smartvoter Information for Matthew Harper, Candidate for Huntington Beach Union High School District 1998 | url=http://www.smartvoter.org/1998nov/ca/or/vote/harper_m/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}} re-elected with the most votes in 2002,{{cite web|title= Smartvoter Information for Matthew Harper, Candidate for Huntington Beach Union High School District 2002 | url=http://www.smartvoter.org/2002/11/05/ca/or/vote/harper_m/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}} and named to an uncontested third term in 2006. There are five governing board members, or trustees, that are each elected at-large by HBUHSD voters. The HBUHSD serves the secondary education needs of the Orange County communities of Huntington Beach, most of Westminster, most of Fountain Valley, a portion of Garden Grove and all of unincorporated Midway City. Four separate feeder elementary school districts serve the primary education needs of the territory served by the HBUHSD. High schools in the district include: Huntington Beach High School, Westminster High School, Marina High School, Fountain Valley High School, Edison High School, Ocean View High School, Valley Vista High School, Coast High School, Community Day School, and Huntington Beach Adult School.

After completing his third term on the HBUHSD Board of Trustees, on November 2, 2010, Harper was elected to become a member of city council for Huntington Beach, California.{{cite news | last = Miller | first = Michael| title = First-time candidate favors economic development: Twelve-year trustee with school district calls Beach and Edingers Corridors Specific Plan a key area of revitalization. | work = Huntington Beach Independent | date = September 1, 2010 | url = http://articles.hbindependent.com/2010-09-01/news/tn-hbi-0902-harper-20100901_1_matthew-harper-school-transfers-racial-balance | accessdate = December 2, 2013}} Harper's campaign platform included public safety, infrastructure, economic development, administrative and fiscal accountability, property rights, personal freedom and opposition to higher taxes.{{cite web|title= Smartvoter Information for Matthew Harper, Candidate for Huntington Beach City Council 2010 | url=http://www.smartvoter.org/2010/11/02/ca/or/vote/harper_m/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}} In 2012, Harper was chosen by the mayors of the Second District to the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors.{{cite web|title= OCTA Director Matthew Harper Biography, Orange County Transportation Authority Official Website | url=http://www.octa.net/About/Board-of-Directors/Matthew-Harper/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}}

In 2013, Harper became the 59th Mayor of Huntington Beach, California, until 2014.{{cite web |url=https://justfacts.votesmart.org/candidate/biography/129564/matthew-harper |title=Matthew Harper's Biography |publisher=Vote Smart |accessdate=June 17, 2020}}{{cite web |url=http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/14096 |title=Matthew Harper, Republican |website=joincalifornia.com |accessdate=June 17, 2020}}

As Mayor, Harper worked to complete the Vans Skate Park,{{cite web|title= Huntington Beach, CA skatepark opening | url=http://www.thrashermagazine.com/articles/vans-skatepark-opening/}} broke ground on a new senior center,{{cite web|title= Huntington breaks ground on long-awaited new senior center | url=http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-me-1120-senior-center-20141113,0,5184174.story}} and sought to repeal several laws, including the 1987 ban on state-approved fireworks. In his four years on the Huntington Beach City Council, Harper "built a reputation as conservative, pro-business and unafraid.{{cite web|title= New mayor known for strong stands | date=11 December 2013| url=http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-me-1212-harper-feature-20131211,0,529976.story}}"

Matthew Harper subsequently served as member of the California State Assembly for District 74, encompassing the coastal Orange County communities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods, and Laguna Beach for two terms.

From 2007–2011, Harper served as a policy advisor and deputy chief of staff to then-Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen. In 2011, Harper served as an appointee to the five-member Orange County Redistricting Committee.{{cite web|title= Orange County Redistricting Committee | url=http://ocgov.com/residents/gov/redistricting/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}}

For two years, Harper was the elected Chairman for the Young Republican Federation of California (YRFC) and served on their state board for over ten years. Locally, Harper has been elected to several terms to the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee.{{cite web|title= Orange County Republican Party | url=http://www.ocgop.org/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}} Harper has served on the executive committee for the OCGOP. Statewide, Harper served as the elected Associate Representative to the California Republican Party. As Associate Representative, Harper was an ex-officio member of the state platform committee. In 2014, he was elected to the California State Assembly, defeating Newport Beach Mayor Keith Curry, a fellow Republican. He served two terms and was defeated in the 2018 General election by Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris.

Matthew Harper continues as a delegate to the California Republican Party.{{cite web|title= Smartvoter Information for Matthew Harper, Candidate for Republican Party of Orange County Central Committee | url=http://www.smartvoter.org/2012/06/05/ca/or/vote/harper_m/ | accessdate=December 2, 2013}}

In 2020, Harper was a candidate for Huntington Beach city council and lost, placing 7th out of 15 candidates.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ocvote.gov/fileadmin/live/GEN2020/Run_27/sov.pdf|title = 2020 Statement of votes}}

In 2022, Harper was a candidate for the California Board of Equalization and lost, placing 4th out of 7 candidates in the top two primary.{{cite web |title=California June 7, 2022 Primary Statement of Vote |url=https://elections.cdn.sos.ca.gov/sov/2022-primary/sov/complete.pdf |access-date=July 16, 2022}} In the 2022 General election, Harper was a candidate for the Huntington Beach Union High School District school board and lost, placing 4th out of 8 candidates. {{cite web |title=2022 General Election Statement of Vote |url=https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/live/Gen2022/final/sov.pdf |access-date=May 1, 2025}}

Election history

=2014 California State Assembly =

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = California's 74th State Assembly district election, 2014

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Keith Curry

| votes = 17,013

| percentage = 27.6

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper

| votes = 15,309

| percentage = 24.9

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Anila Ali

| votes = 11,978

| percentage = 19.5

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Karina Onofre

| votes = 9,310

| percentage = 15.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Emanuel Patrascu

| votes = 7,933

| percentage = 12.9

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 61,543

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper

| votes = 60,070

| percentage = 59.5

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Keith Curry

| votes = 40,896

| percentage = 40.5

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 100,966

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = California Republican Party

}}

=2016 California State Assembly =

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = California's 74th State Assembly district election, 2016

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Karina Onofre

| votes = 46,077

| percentage = 42.4

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper (incumbent)

| votes = 42,317

| percentage = 38.9

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Katherine Daigle

| votes = 20,258

| percentage = 18.6

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 108,652

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper (incumbent)

| votes = 114,477

| percentage = 56.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Karina Onofre

| votes = 89,362

| percentage = 43.8

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 203,839

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = California Republican Party

}}

=2018 California State Assembly =

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = California's 74th State Assembly district election, 2018

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper (incumbent)

| votes = 46500

| percentage = 41.6

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Cottie Petrie-Norris

| votes = 31626

| percentage = 28.3

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Karina Onofre

| votes = 13536

| percentage = 12.1

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Katherine Daigle

| votes = 12331

| percentage = 11.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Ryan Ta

| votes = 7827

| percentage = 7.0

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 111820

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Cottie Petrie-Norris

| votes = 105,699

| percentage = 52.7

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper (incumbent)

| votes = 94947

| percentage = 47.3

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 200646

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box gain with party link no change

| winner = California Democratic Party

| loser = California Republican Party

}}

=2020 Huntington Beach City Council Election=

{{Election box begin no party no change|title=2020 Huntington Beach City Council Election {{Cite web|url=https://www.ocvote.gov/fileadmin/live/GEN2020/Run_27/sov.pdf|title = 2020 Statement of votes}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Tito Ortiz

|votes=42246

|percentage=14.83}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Dan Kalmick

|votes=30310

|percentage=10.64}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Natalie Moser

|votes=30185

|percentage=10.60}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Gracy Van Der Mark

|votes=23365

|percentage=8.20}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Oscar D. Rodriguez

|votes=21696

|percentage=7.62}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Brian Burley

|votes=20862

|percentage=7.33}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Matthew Harper

|votes=20,055

|percentage=7.04}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Casey McKeon

|votes=19900

|percentage=6.99}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Jeff Morin

|votes=16727

|percentage=5.87}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=William Billy O'Connell

|votes=16602

|percentage=5.83}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Sonya Green

|votes=11560

|percentage=4.06}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Eric "Silk" Silkenson

|votes=10388

|percentage=3.65}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=John Briscoe

|votes=9688

|percentage=3.40}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Thomas Matthew Laparne

|votes=8497

|percentage=2.98}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Amory Hanson

|votes=2699

|percentage=0.95}}

{{Election box total no party no change||votes=284,780|percentage=100.0}}

=2022 California Board of Equalization =

{{see also|2022 California State Board of Equalization elections}}

{{Election box open primary begin no change

| title = California's 4th Board of Equalization district, 2022

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = Mike Schaefer (incumbent)

| votes = 597,948

| percentage = 35.9

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = David Dodson

| votes = 249,971

| percentage = 15.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Denis R. Bilodeau

| votes = 236,625

| percentage = 14.2

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Matthew Harper

| votes = 183,330

| percentage = 11.0

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Erik Peterson

| votes = 180,278

| percentage = 10.8

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = Randell R. Economy

| votes = 109,975

| percentage = 6.6

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Republican Party

| candidate = John F. Kelly

| votes = 107,319

| percentage = 6.4

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 1,665,446

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = California Democratic Party

|candidate = Mike Schaefer (incumbent)

|votes = 1,241,062

|percentage = 58.8

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = California Democratic Party

| candidate = David Dodson

| votes = 867,945

| percentage = 41.2

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 2,109,007

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

=2022 Huntington Beach Union High School District Election=

{{Election box begin no party no change|title=2022 Huntington Beach Union High School District Election {{cite web |title=2022 General Election Statement of Vote |url=https://ocvote.gov/fileadmin/live/Gen2022/final/sov.pdf |access-date=May 1, 2025}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Duane Dishno

|votes=46716

|percentage=18.71}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Bonnie Castrey

|votes=46001

|percentage=18.43}}

{{Election box winning candidate no party no change||candidate=Diana Lee Carey

|votes=41013

|percentage=16.43}}

{{Election box candidate no party no change||candidate=Matthew Harper

|votes=30307

|percentage=12.14}}