Honorable Mike Ten

Elected to the City Council of South Pasadena, California in March 2003, Mike Ten served as Mayor Pro Tem and then Mayor in 2004-05. He is the regional council member for the 36th District (Pasadena, La Canada-Flintridge, and South Pasadena) of the Southern California Association of Governments. Currently he serves as Council liaison to the Natural Resources Commission, the Public Safety Commission, the Ad Hoc Quality of Life Committee, the Ad Hoc San Pascual Stables Lease Committee, the Foothill Workforce Investment Board, the Southern California Association of Governments’ Community, Economic, & Human Development Committee, and the Gold Line Phase II Joint Powers Authority Board. He is an alternate representative to the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, and serves on its Transportation Committee and Trauma Care Task Force. He serves as chair of its Solid Waste Committee.

Council Member Ten set both short- and long-term goals for his council tenure. Short-term goals include: minimizing the effect of the Gold Line on neighborhoods, and improving resident participation in the setting of City goals. In the long term, he hopes to see the City Council revitalize the downtown area, separate the Community Redevelopment Agency from the City Council, and improve coordination of resources between the school district and the City.

A graduate of California State University - Los Angeles, Mr. Ten also holds a master's degree from Azusa Pacific University. For the past 26 years, he has been an industrial engineering supervisor for United Parcel Service. His family has also owned and operated the Dragon Pearl Restaurant at Avenue 60 and Monterey Road for over 30 years.

Council Member Ten has been a South Pasadena resident since 1966, graduating from South Pasadena High School in 1975. He and his wife Helen are the parents of three children, David, Nathan and Tiffany, all of whom attend or have graduated from South Pasadena public schools.

Council Member Ten is also a candidate for the California State Senate District 22 which encompasses most of downtown Los Angeles. He is a third generation Chinese American; a third generation Californian. His grandparents survived the San Francisco earthquake.