Hoon-Yung Hopgood (born December 8, 1974) is a former member of the Michigan State Senate, representing the 6th district (formerly numbered as the

8th district 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...

) from 2011 until 2018. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and a former member of the Michigan State House of Representatives. He represented roughly half of the cities which make up the Downriver area of

Metro Detroit The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the ...

, as well as other cities in Wayne County. He is the first

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

to hold state office in Michigan.

Early life

Hopgood was born in Incheon, South Korea, in 1974, and was adopted in 1976 by Diane Hopgood, former principal at Johnson Elementary in

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municipa ...

, and the late Rollie Hopgood, who was president of the Michigan Federation of Teachers and School Related Personnel. He received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1996. In 2002 he became an aide to former State Representative Ray Basham.

Political career

Hopgood was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002, representing the 22nd District, which includes the cities of Romulus, Michigan and Taylor. He has become a leader on educational issues in the state. He was a member of the Children's Caucus, a board member of the Michigan Youth in Government, and a member of the House Democratic Task Force on Early Education and Care. He is on the Steering Committee for the Michigan Coalition on Civic Education, and was part of the Michigan delegation to the Congressional Conference on Civic Education in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In his final term, Hopgood served on six committees in the House of Representatives: Transportation - Chair, Education, Subcommittee on High School Graduation - Chair, Energy and Technology, Labor, and Senior Health and Retirement. After serving three terms in the House of Representatives, Hopgood was term limited and was ineligible to serve again. In 2010 Hopgood was elected to the Michigan Senate, where he served on the Senate Education Committee, Energy and Technology Committee, and Appropriations Committee.List of Michigan Senate Standing Committees
/ref> He resides in

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) **List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Plac ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopgood, Hoon-Yung 1974 births American politicians of Korean descent South Korean emigrants to the United States Asian-American state legislators in Michigan Living people Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Democratic Party Michigan state senators American adoptees South Korean adoptees University of Michigan alumni 21st-century American politicians People from Incheon