Michael Huffington

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Michael Huffington

| image = Michael Huffington Dod.jpg

| caption = Huffington {{circa|1987}}

| state = California

| district = {{ushr|CA|22|22nd}}

| term_start = January 3, 1993

| term_end = January 3, 1995

| predecessor = Bob Lagomarsino (Redistricting)

| successor = Andrea Seastrand

| birth_name = Roy Michael Huffington Jr.

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|9|3}}

| birth_place = Dallas, Texas, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{marriage|Arianna Stassinopoúlou|1986|1997|end=div}}

| father = Roy M. Huffington

| children = 2

| education = Stanford University (BA, BS)
Harvard University (MBA)

}}

Roy Michael Huffington Jr. (born September 3, 1947) is an American politician, LGBT activist,{{cite web|last=King|first=Ryan James|title=Michael Huffington: The long-awaited Advocate interview|url=http://www.advocate.com/politics/commentary/2006/05/22/michael-huffington-long-awaited-advocate-interview|work=Advocate|access-date=January 11, 2013|date=2006-05-22}} and film producer. He was a member of the Republican Party, and a congressman for one term, 1993–1995, from California. Huffington was married to Arianna Huffington, the Greek-born co-founder of HuffPost, from 1986 to 1997.

Early years

Huffington was born in Dallas, Texas, to Celeste Phyllis (Gough) and Roy Michael Huffington, the founder of the natural gas exploration company, Roy M. Huffington, Inc. (HUFFCO).

In 1965, Huffington graduated from Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana, where he received the Central States Amateur Rowing Association Medal when he rowed on the light weight crew. After graduation, he was elected to the Culver Chapter of the Cum Laude Society. In 1970, he received a BS degree in engineering and a BA degree in economics concurrently from Stanford University. Huffington was a member of the varsity crew, student senator, and co-president of his senior class. In 1972, he received an MBA in finance from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Huffington's wealth is derived from a merchant bank he started and his share of the family's Houston oil, gas and real estate firm that was sold to Taiwan interests in 1990. His father, Roy M. Huffington, made a fortune through natural gas interests in Indonesia.{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Alan C. |date=October 28, 1992 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-10-28-mn-921-story.html |title=Congressional Hopeful Sets Campaign Spending Record. |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=July 14, 2016}}

Politics

Huffington's interest in politics began in 1968, when he was a summer intern in Washington, D.C. for freshman Congressman George H. W. Bush.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan appointed Huffington as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy, with responsibility for conventional arms control negotiations. He was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.

In 1992, Huffington was elected to the House of Representatives from California's 22nd District (Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties). He spent a record $5.4 million on his campaign, 95% of it his own money. He spent about $3.5 million in the Republican primary, in which he defeated veteran incumbent Robert J. Lagomarsino.{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980949-2,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206015815/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,980949-2,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=December 6, 2008 | magazine=Time | title=What Money Can Buy | date=June 20, 1994 | access-date=May 12, 2010}} Huffington later defeated then-Santa Barbara County Supervisor Gloria Ochoa in the general election. He donated his entire congressional salary to the Partnership for Children of Santa Barbara County in 1993, and to the Partnership for Children of San Luis Obispo County in 1994.

In 1994, Huffington did not seek re-election to the House but spent $28 million in a bid for the seat in the United States Senate held by Dianne Feinstein. She had won the seat in a special election two years earlier against John F. Seymour, who had been appointed in 1991 to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Governor-elect Pete Wilson. In the Republican primary, Huffington defeated William E. Dannemeyer. At the time, Huffington's campaign was the most expensive in a non-presidential election in American history. He lost to Feinstein in the general election by 1.9 percent of the vote.1994 United States Senate election in California

During 1998, Huffington was co-chairman (with actor and director Rob Reiner) of Proposition 10 in California, which increased the state excise tax on cigarettes by 50 cents per pack. The resulting multi-hundred million dollars of tax revenue was used for prenatal care and for the health care and education of children under six years of age.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed to demonstrate cigarette taxes are actually being used for the purposes stated in this sentence|date=May 2019}}

In the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election, Huffington endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger. His ex-wife, Arianna Huffington, was an opposing candidate. She withdrew before the election, although her name remained on the ballot.

On June 29, 2006, Huffington co-chaired the Log Cabin Republicans "The Courage To Lead: An Evening With The Governor" dinner that honored California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Huffington also personally contributed $1 for every $2 contributed to the Log Cabin Republicans (a 501(c)(4) tax designated organization) for that dinner.

In 2006, Huffington became the director of It's My Party Too,{{cite web |url=http://www.mypartytoo.com/advisory_board/Michael_Huffington/ |title=Advisory Board - Michael Huffington |publisher=It's My Party Too |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061117155822/http://www.mypartytoo.com/advisory_board/Michael_Huffington/ |archive-date=November 17, 2006}} a group founded by former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman. A moderate Republican organization with libertarian leanings, it advocated fiscal conservatism, social progressivism, environmental protection and limited government interference in personal matters. In 2007, It's My Party Too evolved into the Republican Leadership Council.[http://www.republican-leadership.com/ Welcome to the Republican Leadership Council! | Republican Leadership Council]

In 2013, Huffington was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief in support of same-sex marriage, submitted to the Supreme Court during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.{{cite news | author=John Avlon | title=The Pro-Freedom Republicans Are Coming: 131 Sign Gay-Marriage Brief | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/28/the-pro-freedom-republicans-are-coming-131-sign-gay-marriage-brief.html | work=The Daily Beast | date=February 28, 2013 | access-date=May 24, 2013}}

Personal life

Huffington married Arianna Huffington, a Greek-born writer and lecturer, on April 12, 1986.{{citation |title=Arianna Stassinopoulos, Author, Wed to R. Michael Huffington, Executive |date=April 13, 1986 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/13/style/arianna-stassinopoulos-author-wed-to-r-michael-huffington-executive.html | work=The New York Times |access-date=October 25, 2009}} They had two daughters{{cite news |author=Rita Wilson |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/arianna-huffington-turns-62_n_1672282.html |title=Arianna Huffington Turns 62 |work=The Huffington Post |date=July 15, 2012 |access-date=September 2, 2012}} and divorced in 1997.{{cite web |author=Michael Huffington |work=The Huffington Post |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-huffington/my-road-to-damascus-led-t_b_38761.html |title=My Road to Damascus Led to the Sundance Film Festival |date=January 16, 2007}} In December 2006, he became a blogger for The Huffington Post,{{cite news| url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-huffington/ | work=The Huffington Post | title=Michael Huffington}} which was co-founded by his ex-wife in 2005.{{cite encyclopedia | url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1192975/The-Huffington-Post | title=The Huffington Post | encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica Online | access-date=March 3, 2009}}

Huffington publicly disclosed that he is bisexual in 1998. Since that time, Huffington has made a number of contributions to LGBT causes. Later that year, he provided the initial grant that launched SOIN (Sexual Orientation Issues in the News){{Cite web|url=http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070503222738/http://www.usc.edu/schools/annenberg/asc/projects/soin/|url-status=dead|title=Sexual Orientation Issues in the News - Gay Issues Media Press Coverage Journalism Education Lesbian Homosexual LGBT Annenberg USC|archivedate=May 3, 2007}} at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication. Then in 2005, Huffington helped to establish a summer fellowship program for LGBT students at Stanford University.[http://e.stanfordalumni.org/Clubs/stanfordpride/pages.asp?PageID=292 Stanford Pride] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071008190719/http://e.stanfordalumni.org/Clubs/stanfordpride/pages.asp?PageID=292 |date=October 8, 2007 }} He also spoke at the National Equality March rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 2009.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1fMxN9xfc4 |title=Gay Rights Rally Washington DC October 11, 2009 pt.21 |publisher=YouTube |date=October 11, 2009 |access-date=March 29, 2012}}

Huffington was raised Presbyterian, became Episcopalian at age 38,{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}} and ultimately joined the Greek Orthodox Church during his marriage to Arianna.{{cite web|last=Capriles|first=Ivan|title=A Donor Profile - Michael Huffington|url=https://www.salzburgglobal.org/news/latest-news/article/a-donor-profile-michael-huffington|date=January 29, 2018|access-date=March 12, 2022|quote=During this time, he fell in love and married Arianna Stassinopoulos in 1986, and he joined the Greek Orthodox Church during their marriage}} Between 2007 and 2012, Huffington gave $2.5 million to establish the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, in order to promote dialogue between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.{{cite news|last1=Abdollah|first1=Tami|title=Promoting dialogue between faith traditions|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-mar-17-me-beliefs17-story.html|access-date=November 5, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 17, 2007}}{{cite web|last1=Loyola Marymount University|title=Huffington Ecumenical Institute|url=http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/ecumenical/|access-date=November 5, 2015}} Concerning the institute's mission, Huffington said, "My dream is that someday I'll get to see members of the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church be able to take communion in each other's churches."{{cite news|title=$5 million promised for new Huffington Ecumenical Institute|url=http://argonautnews.com/5-million-promised-for-new-huffington-ecumenical-institute/|access-date=November 5, 2015|work=Argonaut News Online|publisher=Southland Publishing|date=March 15, 2007}}

Film production

Huffington found a post-political career as a film producer.{{IMDb name |0400252}} From 1991 to 2000, he was co-owner of Crest Films Limited.

Among his other production credits:

Huffington was an executive producer of Hold Me Down, a 2017 American drama short film about the struggles of a 19-year-old single mother in The Bronx, written and directed by Niclas Gillis.
Huffington was a financial contributor to Out of the Past,{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141699/reference|title=Out of the Past (1998) - IMDb|via=www.imdb.com}} a documentary that won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 1998.
Huffington executive produced three short films at the University of Southern California: "The Promise" in 1998,{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315630/fullcredits|title=The Promise (1998) - IMDb|via=www.imdb.com}} "Lost and Found" in 1999, and "Nuclear Family" in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.minimovie.com/film-128102-Nuclear%20Family |title=Главная страница |publisher=Minimovie.com |access-date=March 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714101459/http://www.minimovie.com/film-128102-Nuclear%20Family |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}
He was an executive producer of the 2000 television series, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne.{{cite web|url=http://www.julesverne.ca/jvsecret_adventures.html |title=Jules Verne: Secret Adventures of Jules Verne - Andrew Nash |publisher=Julesverne.ca |access-date=March 29, 2012}}
He was an executive producer of the 2007 AFI film Santa Croce,{{cite web |url=http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=269417901&s=143441 |title=iTunes - Movies - Santa Croce |publisher=Phobos.apple.com |access-date=March 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710001821/http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewMovie?id=269417901&s=143441 |archive-date=July 10, 2010 }} which was distributed worldwide on through the iTunes Store and Shorts International.
He was an executive producer of For the Bible Tells Me So,{{Cite web|url=http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/|title=For The Bible Tells Me So|website=www.forthebibletellsmeso.org}} a documentary that premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.
He was an executive producer of A Jihad for Love,{{Cite web|url=http://www.ajihadforlove.com/home.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124173229/http://www.ajihadforlove.com/home.html|url-status=dead|title=A JIHAD FOR LOVE:::A Film by Parvez Sharma|archivedate=November 24, 2007}} a documentary that premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival.
He was executive producer of We're All Angels,{{IMDb title|1131610|We're All Angels}} a 2007 documentary about gay Christian pop singers Jason and deMarco, which premiered on Showtime on June 12, 2008.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?seriesid=0&episodeid=132023|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080605161702/http://www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?episodeid=132023&seriesid=0|url-status=dead|title=Showtime : Schedules : Daily Schedule|archivedate=June 5, 2008}}
He was an executive producer of Bi the Way,{{cite web |title=Bi the Way Movie |url=http://www.bithewaymovie.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911215205/http://www.bithewaymovie.com/ |archive-date=11 September 2016}} a documentary about bisexuality in America that premiered at the 2008 SXSW Film Festival.
He was an executive producer of American Primitive,{{IMDb title|0435711|American Primitive}} which premiered at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
He was a producer of Father vs. Son,{{IMDb title|1308112|Father vs. Son}} a comedy that premiered at WorldFest 2010 and won The Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best World Premiere – Feature Films.
He was a producer of Dissolution,{{cite web|url=http://mubi.com/films/23972/ |title=Dissolution - Movie info: cast, reviews, trailer on |publisher=Mubi.com |access-date=March 29, 2012}} which premiered at the 2010 Jerusalem International Film Festival and won the Best Drama Award.
He was a producer of After The Fire{{Cite web|url=http://www.afterthefiremovie.com/|title=AFTER THE FIRE - A True Story of Heroes and Cowards|website=www.afterthefiremovie.com}} directed by Gudio Verweyen, inspired by the Pulitzer Prize story and New York Times bestseller After The Fire by Robin G. Fisher.
Under the banner of his own production company Huffington Pictures,{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpictures.com/|title=Huffington Pictures website|access-date=March 7, 2015}} Huffington was a producer for the 2013 film Geography Club, directed by Gary Entin and based on Brent Hartinger's book of the same name.{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235902/fullcredits |title=IMDb Geography Club (2013) - full credits|website=IMDb|access-date=March 7, 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2235902/companycredits |title=IMDb Geography Club (2013) - company credits|website=IMDb|access-date=March 7, 2015}}

Electoral history

{{Election box begin |title=1994 California United States Senate election}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Dianne Feinstein (incumbent)|votes=3,979,152|percentage=46.7|change=−7.6}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Michael Huffington|votes=3,817,025|percentage=44.8|change=+6.8}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Peace and Freedom Party|candidate=Elizabeth Cervantes Barron|votes=255,301|percentage=3.0|change=+0.2}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Libertarian Party (United States)|candidate=Richard Benjamin Boddie|votes=179,100|percentage=2.1|change=−0.6}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=American Independent Party|candidate=Paul Meeuwenberg|votes=142,771|percentage=1.7|change=−0.9}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Green Party (United States)|candidate=Barbara Blong|votes=140,567|percentage=1.7|change=+1.7}}

{{Election box total

|votes = 8,513,916

|percentage =

|change =

}}

{{Election box majority|votes=162,127|percentage=1.9|change=−14.4}}

{{Election box hold with party link

|winner = Democratic Party (United States)

|swing = −14.4

}}

{{Election box begin no change| title= 1992 United States House of Representatives elections{{cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/1992election.pdf |title=Statistics of the Presidential and Congressional Election of November 3, 1992 |year=1993 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}{{cite web|url=https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/federalelections92.pdf#page=58|title=Federal Elections 92: Election Results for the U.S. President, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives|publisher=Federal Election Commission|date=June 1993}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Michael Huffington

|votes = 131,242

|percentage = 52.5

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Gloria Ochoa

|votes = 87,328

|percentage = 34.9

}}