Michelle Steel speaks to Republicans


The USC College Republicans hosted speaker Michelle Park Steel, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors and USC alumna Tuesday evening at their meeting.

Steel is a former member of the California State Board of Equalization in which she became the highest-ranked Korean-American in national politics. She also worked on the California World Trade Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, the Los Angeles Airport and Fire Commissions and the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders under former President George W. Bush.

“We are very excited to have Ms. Steel,” said Jacob Ellenhorn, director of public relations for the USC College Republicans. “She has a very interesting story and she is a very strong voice within the Republican Party. Having her as a minority in her elected position really shows that the party is a diverse one.”

The session was moderated by USC College Republican President Alex Kludjian. Steel spoke about her background, graduate work at USC and political work before opening up the floor to questions.

Steel described her journey into politics as a personal one. After her husband, Shawn Steel, former chairman of the California Republican Party, chose not to run for the Board of Equalization, Steel decided to run. Her childhood as a hard-working, first-generation American is partially why the position was so appealing to her.

“I’m a first-generation [American], and my dream was to be a housewife,” Steel said. “Most first generations work for 14 to 16 hours per day and that was exactly what I did after school every day. When my mom closed down the clothing shop to open a sandwich shop to work less hours, the Board of Equalization hit her with taxes, plus interest that she didn’t owe.”

After Steel was elected to the Board of Equalization in 2006, she described the learning curve as a stiff one.

“It took eight years to abolish the bad tax policy, but I finally did it,” Steel said. “We returned to the taxpayers over $400 million.”

Steel responded to questions from the College Republicans about the future of the Republican Party, and its role in getting Republican voters, particularly in California, to the polls.

“The Republican Party has to embrace more viewpoints and people,” Steel said. “You can’t cut everyone off. Not all Republicans have to agree on everything. We have to have a bigger umbrella.”

Students responded to how Steel’s political experience in Orange County can be applicable to national politics.

“I think Supervisor Steel gave us a very interesting perspective on Orange County politics and how that translates into national politics and pushing the Republican Party forward,” said Michael Flores, a sophomore majoring in political science.

Eric Dubbury, executive director of the USC College Republicans, spoke about his work with Steel on her campaign for Orange County Supervisor.

“Michelle is someone in the Republican Party who is very moderate, who has a lot of objectivity to her goals and who was running a really non-partisan position,” Dubbery said. “She represents someone in a different ethnic community, really involved in just a different political position that can really show value to areas of politics that aren’t partisan camps. Her position in politics is very valuable for the community.”