Candidate for
United States Representative; District 26

Education: Marjorie holds a Juris Doctor Degree from UCLA School of Law where she excelled in Constitutional and corporate law. While in law school, she published a treatise on the effects of tax limitation measures on land use and development. Mrs. Mikels earned academic honors throughout her scholastic career, graduating Valedictorian from Western Christian High School, where she was also awarded by Bank of America as the Outstanding Liberal Arts Student in Southern California. She attended Westmont College on a full tuition academic scholarship graduating magna cum laude, with a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology.

Career: An attorney for twenty years, Marjorie defends the rights and liberties of citizens and grass roots organizations, and handles complex business, real estate and probate matters. She received excellent mentoring as the first lady attorney hired by each of two well-established local firms; then, in 1988, founded her own law firm, Mikels & Associates, where she continues to practice in Upland. Prior to her legal career she served the community as a social services supervisor, and mental health counselor. In 1989, Marjorie was honored by the American Business Women's Association as one of its Top Ten Businesswomen in the United States.

Political Experience: Politics has always been Marjorie's passion, springing from her concern for social justice. In the 1960's she joined the struggle for Civil Rights, marching, speaking, singing, and canvassing the Black community to register voters. She helped organize debates, rallies and campaigns to persuade government officials to stop the war in Vietnam. With thousands of other women she marched on the state capital in Olympia, Washington, demanding reproductive freedom, and she conducted studies, wrote papers and letters in support of women's issues. In April 1970, her theater group performed for academic and community assemblies commemorating and educating the public on the first Earth Day.

During the 70's, while raising her family, Mrs. Mikels served on the Ontario Community Relations Commission, and the Chaffey High School Attendance Review Board. Marjorie aided the successful movement to incorporate the City of Rancho Cucamonga in 1977, and helped organize a campaign resulting in the election of her husband to Rancho's first city council. She continued work on his council and county supervisor races and assisted other local political campaigns throughout the 1980's. In 1995, Marjorie Mikels helped combat the threat of a nuclear dump at Ward Valley, by co-writing and circulating a ballot initiative, on which she and her sister, Ruth Lopez of Needles, and other committed women obtained over 20,000 voter signatures. She ran for Congress as a write-in candidate in 1996 against Congressman Jay Kim. In 2000, Mrs. Mikels joined the grassroots effort of the citizens of Upland to resoundingly defeat a proposed utility tax.

Extensive International Travel Experience: Marjorie Mikels has traveled in fifty countries throughout Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, including overland travel to Afghanistan and the surrounding region of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and India. She is knowledgeable concerning most of the world's religions and cultural traditions and honors all spiritual paths that honor all people.

Personal: Born in 1946 at Upland, California, Marjorie was one of nine children of Alvin and Hope Musser, raised on the Shady Grove Dairy, owned and operated by her family since the 1920's. Mrs. Mikels is the mother of three grown daughters: Angela, Jessica and Amanda. For recreation Marjorie loves hiking, singing, playing her accordion, practicing yoga, gardening, and baking.