Thomas Richard Huening (born January 5, 1942) is an American author, politician, and businessman from
San Mateo County, California, in the
San Francisco Bay Area. In his public service role he authored the California's anti-gerrymandering Proposition 119 in June 1990 ballot, co-founded the Garfield Charter School, authored the San Mateo County ballot Measure K extending BART to the San Francisco Airport, and Measure A the Countywide Transportation Expenditure Plan. His latest book, Thomas Jefferson's Bible, Religious Freedom in America (published February, 2024, Spiritual Choices Publishing - KDP) revisits Jefferson's cut and paste personal Bible and his call for the separation of church and state required to preserve our inalienable freedoms. Earlier Huening wrote The Quintessential Good Samaritan, The Authorized Biography of John Joseph Kelly, Champion of Social Justice (published February, 2022, Post Hill Press), the personal account of a spiritually progressive Christian focused on restorative justice. His first book "Spiritual Choices, Putting the HERE in Hereafter" is non-fiction prose dealing with the practice of world religions and the importance of daily action as well as belief.
Family
Huening was born in
Chicago,
Illinois, the second of twelve children of Clarence Edward Huening and Hermina Ann Huening (née Huberts). With his first wife Kathleen Bernice Hynes he is the father of four daughters, who live in California and Texas. Huening and his wife Carol live in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Education
Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 from
DePaul University, Chicago, major in Speech, with a minor in Philosophy.
elected in 1998 as the San Mateo County Controller; reelected in 2002, 2006, and 2010; retired mid-term from public service in 2012.
Other public service
in 1992 Huening was the Republican candidate for US Congress in California's 14th District. As part of his campaign, he organized the Omaha Summit, a post-election gathering of reform-minded freshman Representatives to the US House. Despite losing to Democrat
Anna Eshoo, who still holds this seat, he attended the event held in
Omaha, Nebraska, on November 30, 1992.
co-created and served on Board of Directors of Garfield Charter School (California charter school #49).
Business experience
1977 to the present: runs Huening Investment Co., a commercial real estate re-development firm in the Bay Area
Author
Thomas Jefferson's Bible, Religious Freedom in America (published February, 2024, Spiritual Choices Publishing - KDP) revisits Jefferson's cut and paste personal Bible and his call for the separation of church and state required to preserve our inalienable freedoms.
The Quintessential Good Samaritan, The Authorized Biography of John Joseph Kelly, Champion of Social Justice (publish date February, 2022, Post Hill Press), the personal account of a spiritually progressive Christian.
Spiritual Choices (published 2006, reissued 2008 as Spiritual Choices: Putting the HERE in Hereafter), a nonfiction work examining what the world's major religions have to offer to the spiritually minded.
editor of and contributor to "Unicorn: A Contemporary Journal", published by the
College of San Mateo.
regular contributor of political op-ed articles.
References
Howard, Leslie. "Lucky Man", San Jose Magazine, October 2007:72-76.
Castro, Janice.
"Not So Fast, Rookies!", Time Magazine, November 9, 1992. Accessed October 31, 2007.