Cárdenas, Tony, 1963-

Antonio Cárdenas (born March 31, 1963) is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the U.S. Representative for California's 29th congressional district since January 2013.

Born in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California, he graduated from San Fernando High School before earning a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Cárdenas worked as a realtor and insurance agent before successfully running for ther first of two terms representing California's 39th State Assembly district. While there, Cárdenas' state reforms brought 78,000 new classroom seats and 15 playgrounds throughout Los Angeles. He also secured more than $650 million for new school construction and authored legislation that reformed California's gang prevention and intervention programs and teamed up with fellow Democrat Adam Schiff to create the Schiff-Cárdenas Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act. In 2002, Cárdenas ran for the Los Angeles City Council's 2nd district, being narrowly defeated by Wendy Greuel.

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