Diane Harkey
Diane Lynn Harkey is an American politician who was a member of the California State Board of Equalization, representing its fourth district. She previously served as a member of the California State Assembly and of the Dana Point City Council, and as Mayor of Dana Point. She was a Republican candidate for California's 49th congressional district seat in the 2018 election, losing to Democrat Mike Levin.
Early years and education
Born in Joliet, Illinois, Harkey moved to California with her family as a young girl. Harkey graduated cum laude from the University of California, Irvine, with a Bachelor of Arts in economics.Banking career
Harkey has served as a vice-president in the banking industry and has had a 30-year career in corporate banking and finance.Political career
Dana Point
Harkey's involvement in politics began in 1989, when she actively campaigned for the incorporation of the City of Dana Point. Harkey has served as a board member of the Ocean Institute and Dana Point Fifth Marine Regiment Support Group, a trustee for the Capistrano Valley Symphony, and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. She served on the Dana Point City Council from 2004 to 2008, and during that period, in 2007, she served as the city's mayor.California State Senate election, 2006
In 2006, Harkey ran against then-Assemblyman Tom Harman for the 35th State Senate District in one of the closest California State Senate races in the state's history. Harman defeated Harkey for the Republican nomination by 225 votes or roughly 0.2% of the vote and went on to win the general election by 44,000 votes.California State Assembly
In 2008, she ran as the Republican nominee for the 73rd State Assembly district against Democratic nominee Judy Jones. Harkey received the endorsements of the Republican Congressional delegation in the district, Assemblywoman Mimi Walters, former opponent state Senator Tom Harman, over 80 elected officials in Orange and San Diego Counties, and the Republican Assembly Women's Caucus. Harkey won the election with 53.4% of the vote, while Jones received 40.6% of the vote. She served in the Assembly from November 2008 to November 2014.State Board of Equalization
In 2014, Harkey became term-limited in the State Assembly and ran for a seat on the California State Board of Equalization representing the 4th district, which encompasses Imperial, Orange, Riverside, and San Diego counties, as well as small portions of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. She came in second place in the June 3 nonpartisan blanket primary with 34.0% of the vote, and subsequently won the November general election by a margin of 61.6% to 38.4%. She has been sitting on the board since January 2015.Tenure
Harkey represents the communities of Aliso Viejo, Coto De Caza, Dana Point, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, California, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano, and Trabuco Canyon.Harkey has been an outspoken opponent of California High-Speed Rail, introducing several pieces of legislation to defund the project.
In 2017, the California Department of Finance audited the Board of Equalization and found a conference in Harkey's district had brought in 98 board employees to perform duties including "registration, parking lot duty, and break area facilitation". Harkey denied that she was involved in redirecting staff to these activities.
In 2017, a California State Personnel Board audit of the California State Board of Equalization recommended the dismissal of one of Harkey's aides. The audit found that the aide was allowed to work from the agency's New York office, and that Harkey's staff "used their positions of authority to improperly influence, and arguably pressure, BOE executives to ensure placement" of the aide to a permanent civil service position.
Interest group ratings
As of 2008, Harkey had received an "A" lifetime rating from the NRA.As of 2013, Harkey had a 100% rating from the Capitol Resource Institute, a socially conservative interest group in California.
In a March 2016 opinion piece, Harkey noted that while gas prices around the U.S. had recently dropped dramatically, California prices had stayed high. She pointed out that even though the State Board of Equalization had approved decreases in the state gas tax, prices had not gone down accordingly. The reason for this, she explained, was "overreaching regulatory policies", such as "the cap-and-trade and low-carbon fuel fees".
Harkey has a 100% rating from the California Taxpayers Association, and an "A-" grade from the anti-tax Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association for the six years she served in the California State Assembly.
Committee membership
- Business Tax Committee – Chair
- Franchise Tax Board – Member
- Member of the State Assembly, she served as Vice Chair for the Assembly Committees on Revenue and Taxation and Appropriations.
Political positions
Immigration
She would like to strengthen border security, and believes that California should pay more attention to that issue. She supports President Trump's desire to build a wall on the southern border of the United States.Environment
Harkey supports taking care of the environment but has stated America is damaging its economy with unnecessary climate change laws. She believes America shouldn't be leading the global fight against climate change when other countries like India and China are releasing higher levels of greenhouse gases. She doesn't support the federal plan to increase offshore drilling in California by the Trump administration, and believes California should get an exemption like the one given to Florida.Economic issues
Harkey supports the Trump administration's 2017 tax reform, especially as it affects employers, but has criticized how it got rid of state and local tax deductions for many California residents.Harkey supports free trade and has found some of the Trump administration's trade pacts "frightening" but believes the issues will resolve themselves.
Gun policy
Harkey said she's not a supporter of gun control laws "because the bad guys will always have guns". She has stated that school shootings are actually the result of drugs and mental health issues, as well as children spending too much time with games and cell phones during their formative years. She has stated children should not have access to cell phones in schools, and that schools should be doing more to identify and address children with mental health issues. She has stated support for locking down schools and arming teachers with guns if they're comfortable with it, but believes that isn't a country-wide solution.Healthcare
Harkey has stated that the Affordable Care Act has caused healthcare costs to rise in California. She has stated that Medicare is a failing program and does not support its expansion. She believes the federal government should be doing more to instill healthy habits in children and focus on improving healthcare technology to bring down healthcare costs. She has stated the NIH should be doing more to treat mental illness.President Donald Trump
Harkey has been endorsed by Donald Trump and supports some of his policies, though has said he lacks "charisma" and his mannerisms are "not attractive", often making women uncomfortable. She wishes he would post on Twitter less often.Husband's financial conviction
Harkey's husband, Dan J. Harkey, is a loan broker who operated the company in Orange County, California called Point Center Financial Inc. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission opened an investigation into the company in 2009 and subpoenaed records relating to $500 million in capital investments, where 60% of the loans had gone into default. In response, 50 investors from his company filed a lawsuit alleging Harkey was making risky investments and giving profits to his wife's political campaigns. Point Center Financial Inc. filed for bankruptcy in February 2013. In July 2013, the company was ordered to pay $11.6 million after Dan Harkey was found guilty of eleven charges related to breach of fiduciary duty and breach of contract, having ruled he was guilty of Elder Financial Abuse by preying on older people for their life savings with "malice, fraud and oppression". Diane Harkey was not implicated in the case and was removed as a defendant. On July 30, 2018, an appeals court affirmed the judgement against Dan Harkey.In September 2013, Harkey sued California state senator Mark Wyland, a Republican from San Diego she was running against for a seat on the Board of Equalization, for $10 million due to alleged defamation. She claimed he misstated the facts and intentionally inflicted emotional distress when he said, "Unfortunately, there has been a lawsuit brought by a lot of investors of modest means against her and her husband for defrauding them.... There was decision that those investors were defrauded and there is a judgment." She claimed the investors weren't of "modest means".
In August 2014, when Diane was an assemblywoman and a candidate for the Board of Equalization, California Controller John Chiang was garnishing 25% of her $95,000 annual salary as state legislator in settlement of the 2013 case. She wrote to Chiang that she was legally separated from her husband Dan and should therefore be exempt from liability for his debts. Chiang rejected this argument.
Electoral history
California State Board of Equalization, Member 4th District election, 2014
! colspan="7" |Votes! colspan="5" |
California State Assembly District 73 election, 2012
! colspan="3" |Votes! colspan="6" |
California State Assembly District 73 election, 2010
! colspan="4" |Votes! colspan="6" |
California State Assembly District 73 election, 2008
! colspan="4" |Votes! colspan="4" |
California State Senate District 35 Republican Primary special election, 2006
California U.S. House of Representatives 49th District election, 2018
On June 5, 2018, in the California "jungle primary", Harkey advanced to the November 2018 general election for California's 49th congressional district, finishing with the most votes in a crowded primary field. She advanced to the general election alongside Democratic environmental activist Mike Levin of nearby San Juan Capistrano, assuring that this north San Diego County-based district would be represented by someone from the Orange County portion.In May 2018, the Orange County Register endorsed Harkey for the U.S. House. In July, the Tea Party Express, America's largest tea party PAC, endorsed Harkey. In late August, President Donald Trump tweeted what the San Francisco Chronicle described as "a glowing endorsement" of Harkey.
Harkey was defeated in the November 2018 general election by Levin, who received 55% of the vote to Harkey's 45%.